Europe

[Visited: July 2020]

We are on our way to the last of the famed wooden churches of Maramureș when we enter Iza Valley from the west. On our way to Poienile Izei on an early Sunday morning, we stop frequently to take in the views of tree-covered rolling hills, with green meadows and brown haystacks lined up. We pass small villages where people wear their local garb. After seeing the churches of Poienile Izei and Ieud, we continue to Vișeu de Sus, and I immediately go back to Iza valley. I want to see more of the landscape, and see several trails on my map, but they do not seem to connect. I decide to take my chances, park my car in Poienile Izei where the road becomes too rough, and start hiking up. The dirt track is steep and muddy, and in the forest, becomes slippery and wet. Gliding down and forcing myself up, I manage to work my way to an open stretch where the going is easier.
The reward for the hard work is that I get better views of Iza Valley below me. I see one haystack with wooden sticks supporting it. In the distance, I hear dogs barking, but otherwise, it is silent as I continue climbing the hill. I disappear in the woods again, where the dirt track becomes more muddy again. I have reached the ridge of the hill, and have views into another branch of the Iza Valley to the north I pass a wooden monument, with Jesus and 2013 carved out, a Romanian and French flag, and wonder what it means. According to my map, the trail is supposed to stop here, but to my delight, it continues. The trees disappear, I walk to a viewpoint, and I have unobstructed views of the surrounding mountains, with hills with trees, meadows with haystacks, and here and there, a farmhouse.
The trail continues, and I take a left when I reach a fork, and start descending towards the valley. I now see a big herd of sheep with two shepherds and several dogs below me. When I get closer, the men start to shout at me, but I don't understand what they are trying to say. One of them comes running to me, it turns out he wants to protect me from the dogs that are coming towards me from his farmhouse. I make it safely to the river, and then arrive at the road that we have been driving in the morning. I have almost completed my hiking tour, from here the going is easy. The road takes me past small and big fields with lines of haystacks, with a small shack here and there. I see much more than when we passed this same road before. I take my time to stop, take pictures, thoroughly this bucolic landscape. When I walk the streets of Poienile Izei again, people are cheerful, greet me, and I cannot resist the temptation to drop by the wooden church for the third time on my way to Vișeu de Sus. I wanted to enjoy the landscape of Iza Valley, and I am very satisfied with my afternoon hike when I leave the valley behind.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Iza Valley (Romania). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Iza Valley.
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Iza Valley > Romania > Europe

[Visited: July 2020]

Around the World in 80 Clicks

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