Another day dawns

We stayed overnight at the Refuge at the top of the mountain. It was quite upmarket for such a place. The food was ok and the views spectacular.

The journey there was long, as we took a few intentional diversions, including stopping at a farm to see the dogs. Not the livestock, the dogs. In Romania, bears and wolves are a problem for farmers, so they have several huge hounds, a bit like a wolfhound but larger, to chase off any predators. Here’s a puppy.

You should see ma and pa!

At 5:30 we parked the Land Rovers, collected our rucksacks and started our hike up. It was quite steep to start with and after 30 minutes the gradient levelled off. The sun was setting so we needed to press on. Finally we made the climb to the col, just below the summit. The sunset came immediately. Nice timing.

The evening entertainment included hot tubs, singing and dancing especially by the young Romanians who were also staying. Fun!

It was our final night so we stayed up until late, some of our group joining in.

When the alarm went off, here’s what we saw through our window.

Amazing.

The climb back down was soon over and we then charged back to Reghin, had a quick shower and lunch before heading to the airport.

It’s been a great week and we’ve achieved so much and seen some awful as well as amazing sights.

Life changing for them and for us too.