KlimaCamp - Experiencing an Ecological activist Camp in Germany and blocking a Coal mine: “System change not Climate change”

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Category: Travel stories and visits

Published: Wednesday, 20 March 2019 10:44

Written by Davide Vadalà

Two Klimacamp activists overlooking the coal mine

A yearly activist ecological camp, taking action against climate change, located in the region of Rhineland, not far from Cologne (Köln), North-East Germany. “System change not Climate change”, direct action for direct results, a chance to get involved away from the safety of a keyboard. This is what Klimacamp (Climate camp) represented for me in a nutshell. And all of that happened almost by chance!
The camp took place just a few hundreds meters far away from an open cast coal (lignite) mine, this mining area being the biggest emitter of CO2 in the whole Europe! With constant supervision of police surrounding our camp and even helicopters. Quite scary isn’t it? But it actually was a truly connecting and fulfilling experience if you can believe me!
Despite the dysentery epidemic and conspirational theory as you’ll find out later.

Disclaimer: We’ve only published photos taken in public places and during legally-authorized actions. In case you recognize yourself and you still don’t feel comfortable about it, please let us know.

Beautiful shades of the extracted lignite

Everything started by chance

A couple of summers back, Me and Oti were hitchhiking in the south of Germany, when at a gas station we met another hitchhiker and we started the usual conversation. It doesn’t happen that often to meet fellow hitchhikers, so when it does happen, we are always eager to exchange some stories and hugs! We found out that he was about to go to this almost 2 weeks long ecological activist camp, that we had no clue it even existed before. Long story short, we already had some plans [no entertainment unfortunately, I had to meet a specialist in holistic dentistry for a (failed and expensive) surgery].
But once we were done with it, we thought: “Hey why not?”
I’ve always tried to follow a strict ecological lifestyle as far as my knowledge and capabilities go: eating mostly vegan, travelling overland hitchciking or cycling, buying only necessary items, second hand clothes and electronics, avoiding as much as possible packaging and plastic bags.

The common area of Klimacamp during activity time
At the same time it might feel strange to say, but I’ve never been too much involved in the topic of climate change. In the sense that “why should I care if the climate is changing because of human interaction or not, if either ways I would follow the same ecological approach?” Basically the answer to this dispute didn’t affect too much my choices. But it did affect the others’ choices, the ones of the people that were not too committed to it and the way they perceive the consequences to their actions. And given the actual urge we are in, that’s quite a big deal! Even if it was a fake news (and almost certainly it is not) it was still aiming at the same positive, final goal.
So we took the decision to follow this “sign” and we hitchhiked to the activist camp, knowing very little about the event and its magnitude.

Reaching the activist camp and passing through a ghost town

We easily got a ride to the area, but we had to walk the last 3 km, since there were no cars whatsoever: this came to no surprise, we would find out later why!
While the sun was setting, we started walking through what looked like a ghost town: all the doors were shut closed, often with wooden planks nailed in, not a single person in sight. Out of the 1 km long stretch through this abandoned village we saw just a couple of inhabited houses with dim lights on, visible through the windows, giving a touch of humanity to this unexplained mystery.
We would later find out that Immerath, the actual name of this small village, was forcibly abandoned to make space for the expansion of the coal mine that had already swallowed the fist rows of buildings of the municipality.

View of the open cast lignite mine

Not far away there was also the occupation of the Hambach Forest, or actually what was left of it, after it had been cut down almost completely, sacrificed to the same Profit goodness.  Or course we didn’t know all of these stories before, and with feelings of an untold truth and a bit of unease, we rushed our pace to reach the activist camp and escape from this stalking madness.

Oh what a relief! Once we arrived the atmosphere was so much different! We left behind this trail of death and destruction to dive into colourful people, action, joy and hope. The camp was so much bigger and alive than what we expected! There were about 1000 people coming from all over the world: of course almost every European country was represented, but there were activists coming from as far as Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, and so on.

Klimacamp in a nutshell: the camp and the activities

KlimaCamp is organized according to an anti-authoritarian self-organisation. The camping space is divided into districts (named Barrios), each one having its own thematic focus: gender equality, racism, agriculture, etc. and neighbourhood meetings are held regularly.

The camping ground divided into "barrios"

Outside the camping area there were many medium sized tents to host the several free workshops and discussion groups, and a huge Circus Tent to host plenary meetings.

One of the plenary gatherings under the circus tent
If you are picturing a bunch of punks and anarchists, drinking beer and smoking, that’s totally wrong. Everything looked professional, all the speeches were translated live from translation booths in a multitude of different languages and headsets were provided to the participants. There were a variety of grassroots movements and organizations from around Europe and beyond, and the speakers came from a variety of different of backgrounds: activists, writers, journalists, scientists, etc.

Translation booths during the plenary meetings
As you can guess in such a sensible and supervised event, there were also several undercover agents. That’s why every speaker was invited to never use the first person when speaking but rather say “I heard somebody saying that there will be this and that at that place... or that this or that has happened today”. This way, nobody would take legal responsibility about what was mentioned.
I was positively impressed to see so much care and such a smooth and peaceful organization.
Nothing I would have ever guessed before of a self-organized ecologist camp! In contrast to this reality, the images and adjectives pictured by the media to discredit such actions in similar events, were coming to my mind: illegal, violent, anarchist, communist, black block, hippies and so on. Nothing further from the truth in this case, since what I experienced was a sincerely committed and peaceful gathering of dreamers doing hard work for they fellow human beings!

Evening entertainement at the camp
All the camp activities and the workshops were free, on a donation basis, food included! A professional Dutch crew of cooks came on purpose to feed the 1000 activists with delicious food, and all the participants volunteered on a spontaneous basis to help in the food preparation. Basically a fully working community of people, voluntarily helping each other without any money involved!

The activists lining up for lunch
And let’s speak about dirty things... toilets! That’s an important detail behind the “conspiracional theory” as you’ll find out in a bit as the story develops. There were dozen of professionally built compost toilets and hygienic standards were very strict, with separated toilets for the kitchen crew, for normal participants and for sick people so that the chances of any disease spreading uncontrolled were minimized. After all we were in Germany and German standards applied even to self-organized activist camps!
While the atmosphere inside the camp was really relaxed, collaborative and peaceful, it was not so outside: a disproportional amount of police vehicles permanently patrolled the sides of the camp, and sometimes even a helicopter would come and start circling above us.

KlimaKiller sticker at the panoramic viewpoint

Direct actions during the camp!

Apart from the informative workshops and discussion meetings, some actions were organized during the week.
“I heard that” one of those actions consisted in occupying the abandoned village school that had been closed because of the lignite mine expansion, and bringing it back to life with activities, classes and celebrations.

The village school brought back to life
We also went on a “legal walk” authorized and escorted by the police through the village and around the perimeter of the coal mine to see the “beasts” in action, huge, skyscraper high machine digging and swallowing the land and the leftovers of the village.

Activists during the "legal walk"

Surprisingly what touched me the most was the humanity of the policemen. Once again so far away from what is shown on the media (at least on the Italian ones)! No violence whatsoever from either side and mutual respect, with funky hippie activists walking side by side with public officers and sincerely discussing about the coal mine and climate change. It was really a memorable experience!

An activist peacefully discussing with a policeman

The final action, occupying and blocking the lignite mine: how it turned out?

“I also heard that” the final goal of the camp was actually a huge unauthorized action, planned to take place in the last day of the gathering: the invasion of the coal mine by hundreds of activists and the disruption of its operation. Are you wondering how it ended up? Success! The goal was achieved and the coal mine remained inactive for 24 hours. But the funny fact is that no invasion was needed!

Operations at the lignite mine
In fact the administration of the RWE company controlling the mining site, knowing what was going to happen (remember the undercover agents?), decided to shut down the mine for 24 hours! It was probably still an advantage for them, since the mine was shut anyway, but they decreased the media visibility of the action, so quite a smart decision in a way.

The thermoelectric plant not far away
And now let’s get back to the conspiracional theory. The last days of the camp there was a dysentery epidemic, despite all the hygienic measure taken. Some of the participants, attending every edition of Klimacamp, told us that it was probably a planned sabotage from the side of the authorities, maybe contaminating food or water on purpose to make people sick enough but not permanently, not to be able to attend the final event. In fact it happened almost every year with the same dynamic, exactly before the big action day. Truth or conspiracy? Who knows!

Because of the disease spreading, and us being still healthy enough, we decided to leave in advance the site, before the planned end of the camp, to preserve the normal functioning of our guts.  
We had to leave Klimacamp, but what we experienced in Klimacamp will never leave us! A feeling of unity, unison, collaboration, potential put into action, of people that cares about mother earth and their inhabitants, and are ready to put their own safety and freedom at risk to protect it!
“System change not Climate change” is the motto. Or at least I heard so...

One of the 3 most neglected attractions around Rome: Villa Adriana in Tivoli

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Category: Travel stories and visits

Published: Thursday, 10 January 2019 11:41

Written by Davide Vadalà

Reflections in the water in the Canopus in Villa Adriana

Every time I go back in Rome I end up visiting Tivoli and at least one of its three amazing attractions: Villa Adriana, Villa d'Este and Villa Gregoriana.
A rural Roman complex, an impressive Renaissance Villa and a naturalistic park in the "Romantic style" with a tall waterfall and lush vegetation. Three not to be missed spots that would make Tivoli a must visit destination in any country, but not in Italy given the proximity to the more highlighted Rome. Can you imagine that the first two are even in the UNESCO heritage list?

The waterfall in Villa Gregoriana in Tivoli
Tivoli is about 30km far from Rome, but well connected by cheap and frequent trains. Plus the first Sunday of the month the entrance to Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este is free for all (as of January 2019).

Villa d'Este gardens

So the first Sunday of January, an icy morning for Roman standards, I just grabbed my bicycle and pedaled towards Villa Adriana.
In less than two hours I was there to enjoy this historical site kissed by the winter sun. Hadrian's Villa was build during the reign of Emperor Hadrian in the II century A.C. as his rural residence and it was filled with fountains, artificial water basins, thermal baths and suburban walks.

Alley shaded by olive trees in Hadrian's Villa
Probably it's not the best preserved Roman settlement you cans see nowadays, compared to Pompei or Ostia Antica, but  they are also really different, since the former two were fully functional cities with private residences, and any kind of service.

Ruins of a Roman dome in Villa Adriana

But Villa Adriana has some unique features you can't find in other Roman archeological sites: the relation with nature, with many olive trees filling every empty space in between ruins, and the predominant role of water and reflections in the artificial lakes.

Classical orders reflecting in the water of the Maritime Theater

Maritime theatre in Villa Adriana

If you look closely while exploring Villa Adriana, it is still possible to admire the heating system used to warm up the water of the thermal baths, with burning chambers, water canals and ducts.

Unfortunately most of the sculptures that were adorning this suburban villa are distributed in museums around the globe, sometimes replaced by concrete copies, taking out a bit of its beauty.

Sculptures in the Canopus
Considering it was a winter day, it didn't take long until the sun started to set. The landscape became even more attractive with a low reddish light infiltrating through the olive branches. I was really grateful for this day and to be able to enjoy this place. I still got 5 full hours to roam around, but I had no time left to visit again also Villa d'Este and Villa Gregoriana as I was originally planning. But even the five hours spent inside Villa Adriana in Tivoli, were well worth the effort of pedaling 60km back and forth from Rome!

Magic oliveyard in the perimeter of Villa Adriana

Navagio beach in Greece: best free location to see the shipwreck in Zakynthos island

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Category: Travel stories and visits

Published: Thursday, 19 January 2017 22:41

Written by Davide Vadalà

Oti overlooking the stunning Shipwreck cove

You'll be impressed by the shipwreck in Navagio beach, its crystalline water and fine beaches, and Zakynthos island will be one of the highlights of your trip in Greece! Our suggestions will help you to get the most from your visit.

We are not sure why so much accent it's put on the shipwreck, when all of the beauty of this stunning natural place is actually due to its incredible rock formation, the white sand beach and the crystal blue water. You might not believe it, but the colours of the photos are actually not retouched, the water looks seriously as turquoise as you can see in our pictures! We have never seen anything else like this in our trips around the world. The sea water is said to have this blue tone because of the sulfur coming from the caves.

Probably the modern popularity of the Shipwreck Cove is also due to the fact of having being for many years the main photo of Tripadvisor, the most used travel website for reviews of tours and attractions, so that even if you didn't know where was it, you have seen it regularly.

It is possible to admire the best spot in Zakynthos Island (also known as Zante) for free from the top of the cliff, and we will tell you how, or by boat from the sea joining a tour, as we will discuss more in detail later.

Why is it called Shipwreck beach?

The shipwreck beach was originally named Agios Georgios, and it got its current denomination only after the MV Panagiotis ship got stranded in its white sands in 1980 while being chased by the Greek navy, they say. Supposedly its crew was trying to smuggle cigarettes or alcohol and they abandoned the wrecked boat here, where it remained ever since.

Close-up photo of the shipwreck on Navagio beach

This is the most popular version of the story, even though it is mostly based on suppositions and speculations. In fact the owner of the ship recently diffused the real story, and he claims that the wreckage was simply due to bad weather and a mechanical problem. You would agree that this version of the story is not fun and mysterious as the other, that's why people still prefer to tell and believe to the inaccurate but picturesque legend.

Best free location to see the Shipwreck beach

The Shipwreck viewpoint can be reached either from the south road from the town of Anafonitria, or from the north-east town of Volimes, from where it's less than 4km away (2.5 miles). There are signs on the road pointing to Navagio or alternatively to Agios Gergio Kremnao monastery, so you shouldn't get lost. Most of the tourists rent a car here, but we easily managed to get there for free hitchhiking. While generally looking for rides doesn't work well in Greece, it's great in the islands because there are plenty of foreign tourists.

The visitors area on the edge of the cliff
Once you reach the viewpoint location there is a parking and a visitor centre, and a few steps away a terrace suspended on the edge of the cliffs, that is taking the breath away of the tourists mesmerizing at this unique mix of marine beauty.  It's here the furthest place where most of the tourists adventure to take photos and selfies.

Touristic viewpoint on top of Navagio Beach

While for the majority of the visitors their visit will end here, you better want to follow our suggestion and get to the best viewpoint just a few minutes away, from where all of the postcards and our photos were taken.

The shipwrech and the headland protuding into the sea in Zakynthos Island
Disclaimer: The decision to go to this viewpoint is your own responsibility, it can be a dangerous place, on the very edge of the cliff, and it might be forbidden or not to go there, it's up to you to make sure you are allowed on the area and you feel safe. We advice against going there if you have kids with you.

The steep cliff with the best view towards Navagio beach. The small track is visible

So if we didn't scare you enough and you want to continue to reach the best viewpoint in Zakynthos Island, it is actually quite easy to do so and it takes no more than 4 minutes. After the visitor centre and the terrace just go to the right north in the map below) and continue along the edge: you will see a small track on the cliff going all the way to the tip of the headland, the yellow area that we highlighted on the map.

Shipwreck map with the best viewpoint highligted © OpenStreetMap contributors

Explore your possibility and choose a good location to take your panoramic shots. It might look a little scary because of the steepness of the cliff, but if you are careful enough there is nothing to worry about and there are strong rocks acting as fences, where to lean to.

An amazing viepoint to admire the best beach in Zakynthos

We are sure that you will wonder as we did why 90% of the people just reach the terrace and miss the best viewpoint of Zakynthos: either they are too lazy, or they didn't read our article!

We stayed hours here moving just a few centimeters at a time, trying to grasp every existing detail of this memorable place. It was like saying good-bye to your beloved family when you are leaving for a very long trip. Once you will take the hard decision to leave, you could try the other path going to the south from the visitor centre, still visible on our Navagio beach map, and you will end up right on top of the shipwreck. At the time of our visit, this location was partially closed, because there was an extreme sport event getting ready, probably base jumping.

Even if from the map it looks like the path it's ending really close to the Shipwreck beach, it is actually because of the steepness of the cliff, so that its projection is reaching the beach, but there is stlil a consistent height difference. There is no way to reach Navagio beach by feet, the only possibility is to take a boat.

Boat tours to Navagio beach in Zakynthos Island

It might not look so from our photos, but while we were in Zakynthos Island heading to the Shipwreck cove, the sea was very rough so that all of the tours were cancelled and there were no boats going to the Navagio beach. That's why you don't see the dozen of boats and hundreds of tourists in the cove as in most of the photos around the web! 

So if joining a boat tour and visiting the Shipwreck beach and the Blue Caves it's a priority for you, you better try to get there the first day of your arrival, so that just in case anything goes wrong, you have some extra days to try again. The main harbours to start the boat tour are Porto Vromi, Agios Nikolaos and Cape Skinari. Longer tours are available also from Zakynthos city.

The steep cliffs entering the crystal blue sea in Zakynthos Island, Greece

As for the prices, they don't differ much from one company to the other if you are planning just to visit Navagio cove and the Blue Caves, and we also find out that there was actually no difference in price between the closest departure point, and the other harbours. But prices might have changed in the meanwhile. While we haven't tried it, we know that there are special boat tours with a glass bottom boat, but we can't say if it's worth or not the extra money.

The intense blue water of the Shipwreck cove

Now that you were told everything you need to know to get the most from your Greek holiday in Zakynthos island and to visit the shipwreck in Navagio beach, you just have to relax and to enjoy this amazing beauty!

Our work exchange experience in the UK: plastering with clay a straw-bale roundhouse

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Category: Travel stories and visits

Published: Sunday, 01 January 2017 23:41

Written by Otilia Lefter

Clay sculpture Davide made on the interior of the roundhouse

After a couple of years of break from work exchanges, because of our 1 year scholarship in Indonesia and following trips, it was about time for us to start slowing down our traveling style and to learn new skills for our future projects.
It was end of September. While being in Belgium, we took a bold decision and decided to turn West and chase the winds towards UK, instead of heading south for the milder upcoming Autumn and Winter seasons. We did that with one purpose in mind: to learn the skills on how to build our own house with natural materials through the few remaining work exchange projects about sustainable building still going on, late in the year. UK is the most active region in Europe when it comes to sustainable living, alternative communities, and natural building. Besides, it was the first time for both me and Davide visiting UK, one of the last unexplored pins on our European map. We felt curious, excited!

THe lovely countryside next to our volunteering project

The Apple-Cider-Straw-Bale-Roundhouse-Cob Deposit

While searching on the web for interesting building opportunities, we came across Joe’s project in Devon: helping finishing and plastering with cob a straw-bale roundhouse with a pretty reciprocal roof, a self-constructed family project for the purpose of depositing Joe’s family own production of apples and cider, on the edge of their beautiful apple orchard.

Top hole of the reciprocal roof

Besides this being the main work focus, we could spend some time collecting apples or wood if we were finding it enjoyable or get involved in our own small practical or artsy project if some cool idea for improving the spaces crossed our minds. It was the usual deal: 4-5 hours of work, the weekends free for travelling and food and accommodation provided on site.

Exterior view of the communal dome

But it wasn’t the usual living setting and interactions one might expect. To begin with, all the volunteers were living in a forest Dome, forming a temporary community with fun people from different cultures. But I will tell you more about our Dome community and living in the woodland in a second article.

The apple orchard where we volunteered

The reason we chose Joe’s project to write about, is because it holds our dearest memories despite of the challenges and we consider Joe’s attitude of being “grateful for any kind of contribution” to be the best approach to work exchange. His project was as much about his expectations and vision as about our own expectations and things we wanted to learn and experience.

Interior of the apple deposit on the making

This flexibility and openness from a host is the key to engage a helper not only by the number of hours he works but most importantly is engaging the helper with his creativity, bringing forward a better version of themselves.
We were very happy to add our touch to the Cider Deposit by making some thematic clay sculptures on the walls. Davide felt like he was in his own meditative ceramic bubble where he could have spent days upon days smoothing his cob sculpture unaware of the universe moving around him.

Davide focused on his clay work

He focused his efforts on a sculptural shelf that would represent (of course!) an apple, and at the same time would act as an apple dispenser. Its seedless core would transform into a candle holder at night, providing a dim light and a cosy atmosphere to the apple deposit.

The apple shelf on the making

The apple dispenser filled with apples

I tried to bring a bit of magic myself by adding (still!) clay apples along a window and making a symbolic chicken eye with forest lashes that would represent the pillars of the roundhouse and the initial inhabitants of the farm.

Oti sculpting her symbolic chicken

The decorated corner of the window

The chicken being almost completed

Apart from the great fun we’ve had with our decorations, working with clay plaster was hard and tiring: shoveling clay from the river, carrying it with a wheel barrow, crashing it, drying it, mixing it by hand or with a spade with sand, water and straw until it reaches the perfect consistency.
The plastering itself was a little bit monotonous but somewhat relaxing and a grounding activity.

The smooth surface of the clay on the third layer of plaster

In fact, we were applying the clay with our own hands rather than with the trowel, so that we could perceive every movement on the surface and feel the consistency of this primordial material.  But this had a big disadvantage: cold temperature and wet hands don’t go along together! So, at times we were wearing a double layer of gloves to try to keep them warm.

View of the roundhouse on the making

But the work was not only about the roundhouse: we also developed some simple ideas to improve the “Dome settlement” where we were living, like organising and decorating the sloppy dome, Davide’s wood cutter trunk and his sign installation for the compost toilet.

Preparation work Davide did for clay and wood organic shelves

Davide cutting a fallen branch with the chainsaw, a new skill we learned while workawaying

Three weeks passed fast, winter was approaching and the Dome was freezing, so it was time to move on. But we were really grateful for this work exchange experience, for the people we’ve met and for having had the possibility to express our creativity while learning new skills.

Late autumn brought us beautiful colors and leaves, but also chilly weather

So, what’s the deal with work exchanges? Where to look for? Is it free?

For those who are not familiar with the work exchange deals, the first good news I’m giving you is that there are several online platforms on the internet where you can search for the projects you are interested in, according to keywords or different criteria like: where about, type of work, host ratings, facilities etc. Although every project is working as a unique agreement between the host and the volunteer (so conditions and expectations might differ), the usual deal is that volunteers help out 4-5 hours per day, 5 days per week in exchange of food and free accommodation during their stay.

A worm coming out from the apple and turning into the primordial sinner

When we first heard about this trending travelling style, was all about Woofing – people involved in agriculture projects – but soon, platforms offering a mix of different opportunities started to develop and nowadays the most successful one in terms of popularity, usability and updated content is Workaway. In order to access the contact information of the hosts you are interested in helping, you have to pay an annual subscription fee that varies from a web platform to another, but just to give you an idea, is between 20 – 30 euros per person, or 30 – 40 euros per couple or two friends. The hosts don’t have to pay anything to advertise their projects, so it is easy to understand how their numbers are constantly growing. There is also a feedback and a rating system, similar with the reference system on hospitality networks and all users (hosts and helpers alike) are encouraged to write a few lines about their experience with each other, and grow the trust in between the members and the work exchange network.

House sitting in Greece: Delenia, a hidden pearl on the Aegean Cost

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Category: Travel stories and visits

Published: Monday, 05 December 2016 01:36

Written by Otilia Lefter

Stunning view from one of the bathrooms in Delenia

In the beginning of our travel in Greece, we were very lucky to spot a last minute house sitting assignment and be accepted for 2 weeks in Delenia: a remote rustic property on the island of Evia (Euboea in Greek), and a very special touristic resort for groups in the summer months, placed on the rocky shores of the Aegean Coast, like a kingdom facing the never ending turquoise sea beneath. The closest contact with civilization from where one can get his food supplies, was the village of Nea Styra 15 km away, an adventurous half an hour drive on dirt roads, sometimes winding along the edge of the steep cliff.

Steep Rocky cliffs next to our house sitting location

A village resort just for ourselves. Delenia real estate

The estate consisted of 3 main stone houses, and a smaller, more intimate one designed for staff. We were living in the staff cottage towards the edge of the estate, and with us but in another building was also Karen, an American house-sitter colleague sharing the responsibilities with us and living in one of the main houses.

Refreshing outdoor space while housesitting in Evia Island

Although all the houses shared the same architectural style and attention for details, every interior was unique in is own way, creating a "comfy" atmosphere.

Studio space in one of Delenia rooms

There were a total of 5 bedrooms in the main houses, all having great views of the sea, each with its own fireplace, study areas, plus 2 big living rooms,  2 kitchens and many outdoor spaces: a large terrace, 2 dining areas, a Hammam, a jacuzzi and a swimming pool (all 3 in use only in the touristic season) a tennis court surrounded by huge hedges of rosemary, a bread oven, a chicken coop, a converted barn (in the making).

The swimming pool in "winter conditions"

I'm sure the list could go on if I could remember everything, but is enough to give the readers an idea of the amplitude of Delenia which looked like a mini-village rather than just 1 big building property.

One of the bedrooms of the residence

There were also exciting fun features like the discovery of a hidden door behind the mirror in the 'kids room' leading into the next room, so that the kids could spy on their parents, or their neighbors.  There were always cool details to be unraveled on the property and the surroundings if we paid close attention.
 

Meeting the owner and the house sitting agreement

The owner of Delenia is Chryssa, a very nice laid-back lady who also offered us her flat in Athens for the night before arriving on Evia island, even if she was out of town, and never met us before. It was her dad's dream to design and build Delenia as a quiet and inspiring place to write his books, but now the property was for rent during the touristic months and needed constant maintenance and a human vibe in the rest of the year.

There was somenthing relaxing about Delenia resort

There were also some lucky furry inhabitants and some feathered ones living on the estate: several chickens, 2 cats, Pablic the dog (+ other visiting dogs in the weekends) and Tardu ' the majestic one-winged Macaw parrot with a bad temper who made sure we never got bored as long we are living on his property and he is under our care:))) He is the protagonist of many funny moments we will always carry with us.

Tardu, the parrot we were pet-sitting

The scaring look of Tardu

There were also random visitors we had to take care of, and one morning while caring for the chickens Davide was surprised to find an unexpected thief in the chicken cop: a snake running away with the loot in his mouth!

The snake running away with an egg in his mouth

The house sitting agreement was that Davide, myself and Karen would take care of the animals, inhabit the houses and occasionally help preparing the property for the touristic season together with Chryssa and her friends in the weekends in exchange of free stay, use of car and gas once a week for going shopping in Nea Styra and food provided during the days Chryssa and her friends were around.

One of the furry guests in Delenia

 The benefits and challenges of living in isolation on Evia island

It was mid April and Nature was at its peak on Evia island. In the greenest month of the year the senses are enhanced on every level: the colors are brighter, the flowers smell stronger, the sea sounds louder, the silence - deeper, the night - darker, the wind - windier and so forth.

The path leading to the Aegean sea

I can still remember descending barefoot on a beautiful sunny day, on the string of stairs leading down the property to the swimming spot. The water was still too cold this time of the year for having a swim, and that was the reason why the tourist season had not yet begun.

 Davide challening the cold Greek waters

I walked by purple Mediterranean flowers bigger then my palm until I found myself stepping into a mesmerizing white carpet: an explosion of chamomile flowers filled with quiet butterflies and busy bees covering every single inch of earth, eager to grasp every opportunity of life, racing against time to expand their colonies everyday a little further.

Oti on a carpet of chamomille flowers

There were 2 wooden chairs and a small table between them at the very center of this hidden field overlooking the sea and once I took my seat, everything seemed timeless; after a while, the sea was shouting my hurting hearth and inviting in my dearest soul from heaven to take a sit next to me and share in silence the present moment. It was perfect.

The perfect location overlooking the sea

 Other times, on stormy nights, when electricity went off, we lid a candle and felt like modest inhabitants of a world lost in the savage battle of the elements. We curled together in bed and tried to fall asleep with the wind raging its powerful fist on our windows and the rain threatening to cleanse the property of the cliff and into the sea. Of course that was not a real danger but it's funny what scenarios the sleeping mind builds when it cannot perceive anything else other than sounds. Loud sounds. It was scary, but it was fine.

The most peaceful day of the year. Celebrating Easter in Delenia

Besides the pleasures and challenges of every day living in remote Delenia, there was a very special day that made it to the "golden archives" of my memory: celebrating Easter.

Our Easter lunch table in a stunning location in Greece

We were approaching Easter day with uncertainty, trying to avoid facing the overwhelming question "what's your plan for Easter"', running away from the though that we might not celebrate with our families for the very first time in our history, which meant at least for me like violating a sacred family tradition, and being a deserter in a very frail moment of my family's life.  Each one of us kept a half-opened escape door, not making decisions and taking into consideration leaving Delenia and returning to be with family or friends somewhere else. On top of the list was the fact the Internet failed to work from time to time and until it got fixed by Davide, we felt completely isolated and our days all of a sudden seemed way longer. The place felt desolating for some days. Chryssa wasn't sure if she was going to come to Delenia with her friends and celebrate Easter with us or not, and just the thought of being alone on Easter day was challenging for us an Karen as well.?

Red painted eggs against the beautiful Aegean sea

Just few days before Easter, with no plans on the run, no cooking skills and the chickens on strike (with minimum amount of eggs laid), when we no longer could avoid facing the obvious scenario that we were going to be in Delenia all by ourselves, we took a very brave turn of perspective and we decided we are not going to let Easter just pass by: we are going to celebrate it with all the basics which for me meant: red painted eggs and cozonac (a Romanian must-have symbolic sweet bread on big celebrations).

So I took on the responsibility of making my Easter feel familiar and me feeling at home. Davide and Karen were enthusiastic to engage each one in their own bold project and own version of Easter as well: Davide baking Spanakopita (the Greek spinach pie) and Karen making a lemon cake.

Getting ready to prepapre spinach pie

So once we decided the recipes, we hopped in the car, drove to the village and did our best understanding the different Greek ingredients and how to adapt them to our recipes the best we could.  We were determined to put all our efforts cooking something we have never cooked before, each one faithfully following instructions on the Internet with our laptops on the kitchen table covered with flour fingerprints. Easter's Eve was spent in the kitchen until late at night when all of us collapsed exhausted on our beds after finishing our work.

Davide and Oti having fun with Romanian rituals

But it was all worth it!

The universe rewarded us with a perfect Easter day: a stunning sun on a clear blue sky and the crystal waters of a peaceful sea. We had our Easter brunch set up outside on the stone table facing the sea, with all the goodies we prepared the previous day (great success!) and we remained there relaxing and sharing good vibes until the evening, not needing anything else, just enjoying ourselves and each other, and the silence and peacefulness of the present moment.
It was the most meaningful and harmonious Easter up to date!

Davide making friends and risking his fingers to feed Tardu

Karen and Oti testing a new strategy to avoid geting bitten by the grumpy Tardu

Overall, Delenia was an amazing experience for us and we owe a big deal of gratitude to Chryssa for thrusting us as house sitters and pet sitter for her beloved animal friends and to www.trustedhousesitters.com for sponsoring us and giving readers the possibility to experience places like this for free, a fantastic platform on which we found Delenia listed and many other interesting projects that awaits us in the future!

Road trip to Transfagarasan highway, a scenic Romanian mountain road not to be missed!

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Category: Travel stories and visits

Published: Monday, 19 September 2016 16:38

Written by Davide Vadalà

View of the hairpin turns on the Transfagarasan road from the viewpoint in Balea Lake

Since the first time I visited Romania 6 years ago, I started to hear stories about this mythical road trip on the roof of Romania along the Transfagarasan Road, that every adventurous visitor shouldn't miss on his journey to Romania.

Transfagarasan road seen at night from the viewpoint
This summer we happened to be in Romania to visit Oti's family at the beginning of the summer, and the period coincided with the opening of the road, usually accessible only for 3 full months a year (July to September). Access is restricted according to snow conditions, so be sure to check if it's open before approaching the Transfagarasan.

Photo taken on the way to Balea Lac

The Transfagarasan highway was built during Ceaucescu Regime between 1970 and 1974, and it's famous for its stunning views, winding roads and for reaching an altitude of 2.042 meters in the Carpathian mountains, second only to the Transalpina road in Romania (another scenic trip on our 'to visit' list).
Despite its misleading name, it has nothing to do with a motorway, being a two lanes road, one for each direction.

Amazing panorana from the viewpoint in front of Capra waterfall on the Transfagarasan road

There are several attractions where to stop along the way, and possibilities can multiply according to the time you want to devote to this experience and if you are planning to sleep and hike in the area or to just cross it from beginning to end by car. If you are short in time you can even go though this 90km of road in just 2 hours, but you would miss part of its beauty, that needs to be tasted and admired slowly.
It can be run on both directions, from south to north and viceversa, and you'll find an equal number of people that will assure you that one of the two is better than the other: choose according to your instinct and convenience, or if in doubt just do both!

Oti with her luggage while exploring and hitchhiking along the Transfagarasan highway

Since we were hitchhiking (public transport is anyway non existent here), we weren't free to go and stop wherever we wanted, but we still managed quite well taking many short rides and stopping at our convenience, so it is definitely doable also with your thumb sticking out. We started from the south coming from Curtea de Arges (the village Corbeni is a reference point on this side of the route) and took a direct ride to 'Barajul Vidraru'.

The imposing Vidraru Dam
The 'classic itinerary' contemplated also a stop a few km before Vidraru Dam, to the base of 'Cetatea Poienari' a castle on top of a rocky pinnacle where also Vlad the Impaler lived, historical counterpart of Dracula. We decided that the view from the road was enough for us, and didn't want to add an extra stop, but that's totally personal.

Several people suggested us to stop also in 'Valea Lui Stan' a short but beautiful hiking path, starting just 2km before the Vidraru Lake, that was unfortunately closed at the time of our arrival because of too much water obstructing the way.

Davide and Oti while visiting the dam

So we reached directly the Vidraru Lake and Dam and spent some time going back and forth along the route. The barrage is quite high and impressive and the view on the side of the lake is worth a stop: green covered banks anticipating a series or peaks on the background overtaking one each other and fading away towards the horizon.

View of Vidraru Lake from the dam
But apart from that there is not much else to see here: a few souvenir stands and a tunnel leading to a parallel and non paved alternative road on the opposite side of the lake. Well, there is also an unappealing metal sculpture named 'Prometeo' on top of a hill, that looks strangely popular with Romanian visitors.

After the dam, we started hitchhiking again and got a ride with a nice couple from Bucharest, going straight to Balea Lac, the highlight of the whole trip. Right after the dam is finished, the route is entering inside a thick forest and any view toward the long artificial lake is obstructed.
But once the forest disappeared at higher altitude, we stopped on a few random locations on the way, to admire the beauty of the area and take some photos. Worth a mention is the 'Cascada Capra' a small but nice waterfall on a rocky ridge, whose presence is announced by a line of stands selling traditional Romanian products.

Cascada Capra, seen from the bottom of the waterfall

Davide and Oti with the view opposite the waterfall

Soon after, we continued our trip and reached the Lake of Balea, the highest point of the whole route and the most panoramic one.
We were having an idealized vision of the lake in our minds, and we were a little bit disappointed to find out upon our arrival that a huge parking and bazar were invading what we were expecting to be a peaceful and natural location.
The area is more man-made than it was probably necessary, with several huts serving food and offering accommodation to cater for the comfort of the tourists arriving here by car.

Part of the huts and parking at Balea Lac

Food stalls at night at Lake Balea

We greeted our drivers and travel companion for a couple of hours and started exploring further the lake. We went towards a pointed chapel on top of a small hill, and luckily we already found the most known viewpoint of the whole Transfagarasan highway hiding just on its back. From here you have the stunning view of dozen of hairpin bends winding down through this amazing valley in the Fagaras Mountains: probably you have already seen a similar photo over the internet and maybe that's why you are considering to visit the Transfagarasan road!

View of the hairpin turns on the Transfagarasan road from the viewpoint in Balea Lake

View from the best viewpoint of the Transfagarasan highway in the early morning

Close-up of the hairpin turns
We happened to be here for the first time around sunset, so that the reddish light hue and the contrast of the shade of the surrounding peaks was creating a magical combination adding up to the already beautiful landscape.
After our first sample of the best viewpoint, we got more intimate with the lake, going to taste its shores not far away. It is possible to hike the whole loop around this high mountain crystalline lake, but since it was getting dark, we decided to postpone it for the following day.

View of Balea Lake after our arrival

At this point most of the people jump back on their cars and continue on their way to Sibiu, but we came here with the intention to spend some time hiking in the Fagaras Mountains and to camp next to the lake.
Unfortunately we found out that it was forbidden to camp in this protected area, except for a single camping on a private land, that despite the payment required, was offering no services: no showers, kitchen, electricity or toilet of any kind. Luckily we had access to the restaurant toilets when needed.

The Official campimg place in Lake Balea

The sky at night at Balea lake, milky way and shooting star
The location was also not particularly inspired, far away from the lake, in a steep area with no flat space to pitch the tent, exposed to wind and next to cars and noise.
We later found out that many hikers and backpackers were going to camp at a higher altitude at Capra Lake, while possibly still forbidden by a non enforced law, where at least there was a totally natural environment in companionship of other nature's lovers.

Free camping around Capra lake

The following day we explored further the area hiking to Balea Lake, Capra Lake, Fereastra Zmeiilor and Varful Vanatarea lui Buteanu. Read also this article if you want to find out our favorite hike from Balea Lac!

View from the hike to V?rful V?n?tarea lui Buteanu

An immersion into rural and authentic Romania while hiking in the Transfagarasan area
On our third day (that could still be included in your 1 day itinerary if you started early enough) we got an early morning ride to Cascada Balea, the tallest waterfall in Romania. There is also a panoramic cable car coming here all the way from Balea Lake, and different hiking routes, taking around 3-4 hours to complete. There were also many cyclist climbing all the way here, either alone or in groups, so there are transportation options available for any taste and budget. The access to the waterfall is once more marked by several souvenir and food stalls, and the entrance to the hiking path and the cascade is free.

Already from the road the view of Cascada Balea, far away on top of the forest, is revealed, and we actually found this view to be much more attractive than the one in its proximity.

Balea waterfall seen from the access to the hiking pathIt took us around 35 minutes to reach the waterfall passing mostly through a pleasant forest on a mildly uphill track, except for the last part, rising more abruptly. Bears and other wildlife are supposed to inhabit this region, but hardly you'll encounter any of them in this highly visited path.

The view next to the fall is not impressive at all as we already stated, since only part of it is visible from the bottom, due to the nature of the waterfall made of several receding steps.

Balea Cascada seen from close-by

Once back from the waterfall we had to walk quite a lot further down to find a good hitchhiking spot, and eventually got a ride to Cartisoara with a Road maintenance van, before continuing our trip towards the surprising Alba Iulia.
All in all we were satisfied with our first approach with the Transfagarasan highway and we would suggest to any visitor to explore this scenic mountain road and possibly to take into account some extra days to hike in the surroundings of Balea Lake and Fagaras Mountains!