4th of November, 2021.
I am camping in the forest. It is calm and peaceful but unfortunately not so far from the road, so I still can hear the cars passing. I have not seen any traces of human being around, and by that I mean rubbish. But there is a car track and it seems that not much time has passed since it was last used. How did I get in here? Let’s go back a little, shall we?
Curchi Monastery is beautiful and peaceful. The church is based on the St Andrey Church, in Kyiv, designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli. It is very pretty and the whole autumn vibe also helps. I walk all over the place (is not big) and take some photographs. Then I decide to follow the advice given to me by Aurei: ask to put up my tent somewhere. Luckily, there were some young boys who speak English and they translated my request to the deacon. He says it is not allowed to put up a tent but I could stay in one of their rooms. Yay! He also brings me to have a nice meal and say I can have a shower too. Great day for what started not so promising with all that water…
Tomorrow I am leaving to Tipova but I still don’t know if I should carry on with my plans for Codri after that, or should I skip that and go direct to Rosu and meet my host?
When I wake up in the Curchi Monastery, I prepare all my things and after waiting for a while in the room, I decide to take everything to the main square and wait for P. in there. When he comes and sees my pack, he says it is not a good idea to stay only one day and I have to stay another day. What? And he was already signing for me to take my stuff and come back. Excuse me? Are you mad? I do what I want! For one tiny second I am a little bit restless, because after all they were very hospitable, but then I realize that I don’t need to do something against my will only because someone was nice to me. I really appreciate their help but I asked to spend one night. I have my plans to follow. So I apologize with P. and tell him that I have to leave today.
We have breakfast with the teens and then P. tells me that in 15 minutes he can drive me to a good hitchhike spot in the way to Tipova. Yay! He is taking his son and another boy to town, so he could help me a bit more too. It takes much longer than 15 minutes, something like 1 hour, but we finally leave. The place where he drops me it is actually perfect and in 5 minutes somebody stops.
V. says to be going to Tipova but in somehow I get suspicious. He seems like a nice man but there is something in his mannerisms that tells me to keep an eye open. And luckily I do. He was almost passing the entrance to Tipova Monastery, when it was quite clear in the road. Did he really haven’t seen it? I don’t know but I tell him to stop. So then my journey of a quite long walk starts.
I am wondering, at the beginning, if I should keep walking or stay in this bus station and hitchhike from here. Earlier in the morning I was just thinking how nice it would be to go for a long walk and to think about life. Of course that with the backpack is another story but still I think it worth it. Plus it would keep me warm. So I go. I think I might have walked for about 3 or 4 Km when somebody finally stops. I am surprise though with the number of cars which had passed and didn’t stop.
This nice old man is going further away of Tipova but he drives me at the Monastery door, which took him away about 10 Km out of his route. Thank you, sir!
At the monastery, I ask a young lady if I can leave my pack around to go down to the caves and she takes me to their “gift shop”.
The view of the valley it is splendid! And it would be even nicer if it was a sunny day. It is foggy and grey. But still wonderful! I start my way down and I am excited. At some point the path it is divided in two: up and down. I decide to go up first (which I believe it is only a way to a better view and it is after all) so I will not feel so tired later. Wow! The view from here it is even better! Truly beautiful! No photographs can show that! I eat a cookie and admire this wonderful view for a while. Then I go back down to see the monastery.
It is a very nice place. The way in which was “built” in the rocks it is amazing. I admire this kind of places because I keep thinking how we could leave with so little, in such simple conditions before and we were still so happy. Nowadays, the more we have, the more “advanced” we become, it seems the more sad we get. I cannot really walk around because I cannot buy the ticket. It is super cheap though, about 50 cents, but I have nothing on me. I could ask the lady if I could go around but there is this guy (who could be a priest), sitting at the entrance in the second floor, and he does not seem friendly at all. He keeps staring at me while I am admiring the construction. I spend sometime just looking at it and then I leave.
At the gift shop, the young lady is there and I ask her if she has some bread which I could have. She gives me this small individual package of a nice pastry covered with sesame seeds. I am already super happy but then she gives me 2 pears and one apple. I am done. I don’t need anything else. But she leaves and tells me to wait. She actually left me alone in the gift shop. When she comes back, she has a plastic bag full of fruits and some walnuts. And she even gives me another sesame bread. Wow! I am super overwhelmed. I don’t want to disappoint her and tell that it is too much wait and I cannot actually carry it, so I take everything.
I start my long way back to junction where I can have better chances for a lift to Cahul. I have got directions and I have a plan of walking another 3 Km and camping somewhere there, to have a good rest, read and write and tomorrow start again. But soon enough, a man all dressed in army camouflaged clothes stop his car even though I am not holding a sign or asking the cars to stop. Finally! He is going to Resina, right side of the junction, when I am going to the left side. Perfect! I will get in a even better spot than I though and without any effort.
I have some lunch at the same bus stop I was before while I decide where to camp. That is how I ended up in this nice and peaceful forest.
