Thursday July 18

After tearing ourselves away from the fabulous fortified church in Cristian, the gentle rolling farm fields quickly gave way to the rising uplifted glacial mountains & craggy peaks of the Transfaragasan.

 

This  mountain pass is one of THE top roads coveted by sports car enthusiasts the world over for its long series of hairpin “S” curves.

This is the  2nd highest road in Romania, rising 2,034 meters. Originally built as a military road, it is 90 km of twists and turns running north / south across the tallest sections of the southern Carpathian Mountains.  It connects the regions of Transylvania & Wallachia.

We could only imagine the # of folks who’d come from thousands of miles away only to be stuck behind a school bus!!1 (there’s also an easy way up – via tram – complete with a coca cola logo! – aahh.. SO proud of Corporate America!)

The Bus needed a few rests on the way up, which afforded us a number of great photo op’s, and time to gaze at the grandeur of this beautiful scenery1  (And chat with the bevy of passersby who were intrigued about the bus and our journey!)

We bypass the big crowds and gift shops near the top and head straight through the tunnel to the other side to get the bus prepped for our photo shoot.  The plan was for Sarita to ride down on the bicycle  (yes, the donated one –  the one with no brakes…) and then time lapse film our descent down the switchbacks.  We would also have video cameras mounted on the bus front and back filming.

Well, best laid plans…….after much consternation, it’s determined that the bike’s tires were so dry rotted they would not hold any air.  So……on to plan “B”.   She’ll need someone up on the roof rack to video our descent.  I was so busy photographing at the summit I TOTALLY missed out on volunteering for this fabulous crazy ass adventure! DARN!  Cale got the job – lucky bastard!  He donned some warmer clothes, and climbed up onto the roof of the bus!  **SO Jealous**!!

 

In the meantime, Don has traded said bicycle for a waxed round of local romanian cheese – pretty good deal we think.

Another rally car has joined us at the top – Team Detour (Swedish).  They also want to photograph us, but it’s taking too long for us to get the cameras mounted and working, so they head on down.

Finally, we’re ready!  We realize the other side is the much more “filmable” one with it’s visually apparent line of “S” turns on the mountain, but this side is equally as stunning in its scenery and we’re all hanging out the windows with our cameras madly snapping away.  Oh yeah, and Cale is having a fab time up top – with the best seat in the house!!

At some point Team Detour comes screaming past us…..Hey where’d they come from?  Passing us, also going downhill, they are in the uphill / oncoming lane of traffic.  They slow to match our speed and are just in front of, and off our left front bumper.   So, yes, driving down & around a number of blind curves, their photographer has at least half his body hanging out the passenger window turned back toward us, firing off shots of the bus.

So in the  – which is crazier – a guy on the roof, or speeding around blind curves into oncoming traffic – I think they win!

Bus & Don did a fantastic job up & down – and best of all – no brake overhaul required after the descent!

Back at lower altitude, the twisty road continues on for at least another hour – winding its way  past a massive lake.  Views are hard to come by due to the heavily forested shoreline, but we get occasional glimpses.  There is NOWHERE to pull over.  We later discover this lake is dammed at the far end and the observation tower offers stunning views of the lake and back up to the Transfaragasan & the Carpathian mountains we just drove through.

It was 7pm and at least another 2 hour drive to Bucaresti.  Finally out of the mountains, we pass a number of small cafes on the side of the road.  The Masses are tired, hungry (for a hot meal!) and most importantly, THIRSTY!!  Don finally relents to our pleas as we pass the parking lot of the Pensiunea Pomi – with “Team Detour’s” car in the parking lot.  A quick u-turn  and we are happily soon sitting on the outdoor patio,  cold beers in hand, viewing some of the awesome footage they shot of our descent.

We are in the small town of Oestii Ungureni and our hosts at the bar are fabulous.  We enjoyed a great meal,  watched the rush hour traffic go by (the occasional horse drawn hay wagons)  and caught up on our posts to the outside world  via the free wi-fi!  I even got my first (for this trip) “…aaah Chicago…blam blam…Al Capone…eh … eh..?”

This amazing day came to a close with our tents pitched in the field across from the Pomi.