www.mariusztravel.com logo



THE BALKANS 2008

ROMANIA. CONSTANCA AND DANUBE DELTA (Oct 2008)    photos

We were driving all day along the Black Sea coast, stopping in a few places on the way, like Saturn or Venus. To be honest, it was a waste of time. I had high hopes for Constanta, because it's a city with a lot of history, and also the biggest port in the country. The only place we liked in Constanta was Casino Paris and it's surroundings. There were many ruined buildings in the center, which is a shame because if renovated, they could be very beautiful indeed. I'm sure it will happed sooner or later. From there we continued north to Enisala Castle ruins, overlooking the huge and wild Danube Delta.

The next day we took a tour along some of the canals that are part of this second-biggest delta in Europe. Normally it's a great opportunity to see a lot of birds, some very rare, but by October most of them already left, only to come back when winter is over. I wish we could come back, too! There is a lot to see, hundreds of channels if not more. It would be great to explore them in kayaks. We stopped in an old fishing village called Mila 23. It used to be 23 miles from the sea, but now the river found a shorter way.

One travel agent in Tulcea, where we started and finished our delta trip, recommended us Cylic Dere Monastery as a cheap place to sleep. At first we had trouble communicating, but in the end one of the superior nuns spoke very good English and she offered us a room. Te monastery is like a small village, it consists of many buildings, a church and even a wind mill. Not in use, only as decoration. The next day we went towards Moldova and crossed the border in Orancea.   photos