If you’re on a tour of Romania, it may include a day trip on the Danube Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage site. However, as time was on our side, we stayed for two nights in the Delta village of Crişan at Pension Vasiliu, which is only accessible by a 60-minute fast boat ride from Tulcea.
All activities are included, with the owner, Pétré, guiding groups. However, at the time of our visit he was accompanying a group of Belgian birdwatchers who were staying at the guest house for five days, so his friend Lucian looked after us.
Our excursions were shared with a British group of three, and so along with both our guides, we totalled seven. The small motorboat, which was moored at their private jetty, had cushioned seating, important due to the time spent on the boat, and we all had an outside seat. Life jackets were provided and worn.
Day One
Setting off at 9am, armed with spotter cards provided by Pétré, our boat headed left on the Sulina Branch. At an obelisk, raised in May 1894 in honour of King Charles I of Romania, we turned into a network of narrow reed lined channels.
The varied bird life included herons, pelicans, grebes and kingfishers with the call of the cuckoo never far away. When Lucian spotted the mushroom chicken of the woods growing on a tree, a guide was despatched to harvest it. It was then taken back and Pétré’s wife Caroline, sauteed it for dinner. We also came across derelict fish farms established during the Ceauşescu era, which proved to be economically and environmentally disastrous.
Before setting off, we’d asked about the type of clothing to wear, and long trousers had been advised as it could be chilly first thing, but we were told our trekking sandals would be fine. Hats were suggested, which we assumed was for when the sun got out. However, it was extremely cold and windy, particularly when we reached large open lakes, and we realised that the hat reference may have been to the woolly variety. Our guide kindly leant me a spare jumper to wrap my hands in and we were grateful for our lifejackets which acted like a gilet.
At lunchtime, we enjoyed a picnic on the riverbank. This was a splendid affair with mici (homemade sausages), pike fish balls, fried zucchini, pasta salad with a tomato dressing and omelette strips. There were flasks of tea and coffee, water and wafers for dessert. The loo was obviously in the bushes.
The afternoon continued in the same manner, until we stopped at Mila 23, a village whose name derived from the waterway marking, mile 23, the distance from Sulina on the Black Sea. Here we enjoyed a warming coffee at the riverside bar, La Gemene.
During the day, we saw very few boats but were told it would be a different story when the fishing season started on 7 June. We arrived back at 4pm, with one of our fellow passengers having recorded 37 species of birds.
Day Two
Having been so cold the day before, we layered up and put on socks and hiking boots. We were off again at 9am, this time heading in the opposite direction to the Letea Forest.
On the two-hour trip, we saw many of the same birds, and in addition a turtle sunning itself on a piece of floating bark, a swimming otter, and an area with lots of frogs jumping between lily pads which made us think of Beatrix Potter’s Mr Jeremy Fisher. Instead of collecting mushrooms, we plucked brook mint or mentha aquatica from the water.
On arrival, two horses pulling a cart were waiting for us. We all got in and set off through the village of Letea inhabited by Russian Lipovans or Old Believers who settled in the area during the 17th and 18th centuries to avoid persecution. As well as being known for their strong adherence to traditional Russian Orthodox rituals and customs, their houses were distinctively painted in white and blue.
Letea is Europe’s northernmost subtropical forest and having unlocked gates, we drove a little way in before dismounting. A forest trail led us to sand dunes and a 400-year-old tree where we turned around and returned to the waiting horses. Unfortunately, our aim of seeing the wild horses the forest is noted for, was unsuccessful.
Before we got back on board we enjoyed a picnic lunch of pork escalope, lentils with a tomato sauce, rice salad and hard-boiled eggs with Romanian Turtă Dulce, or cinnamon and ginger cookies for dessert.
Ironically the journey back was warm and very sunny, and we began divesting the layers. My husband joked, that we were getting sunburn on our frostbite.
