A fish pond in the Danube Delta

Rapeseed Field south of Tulcea

Delta Danerea

Delta Danerea

The Danube Delta is a large section of Northeastern Romania. Here the long Danube enters into the Black Sea and forms a wide area of marshes, lakes and reed beds. Much like the more famous Mississippi and Nile deltas, the Danube Delta is an ideal place for birds and wildlife. Travel occurs by boat and the settlements are small fishing villages that have begun to turn to tourism as a livelihood.

Nancy and I and Jane Walker, a long time friend visiting from the United States, took the opportunity to spend four days in the Delta last week. We were guided through the narrow channels and canals to view all sorts of waterfowl and other birds. The list of new species that are now checked off our birder’s life list include Sea Eagles, red beaked and regular pochards, great crested grebes, squaeca herons, black woodpeckers, hoopoe and the amazingly blue Romanian kingfisher.

The kingfisher is smaller than our belted kingfisher and has the most vivid iridescent blue on its back and wings when it flies. It has an orange breast and the combination of orange and blue reminds one of the University of Virginia school colors.

We found it sitting on reeds and small limbs hanging just above the water in the canals. When still, it was hard to spot, but when it flew ten meters further along the waterway it shown brilliantly. It would fly from one resting spot to another, staying just about the water. Only after leading us a long way would it over fly us back to its original fishing place. It is the symbol of Nancy’s Birdlife Romania organization so it was doubly worthwhile whenever we ran across one of the species.

We arrived in the Delta area after a two day conference in the mountain resort of Sinaia. This conference was the final gathering of our Peace Corps group which we’ve shared experiences. I presented two slide shows of pictures that the group had taken over the last two years and both were well received. Hopefully the presentations can be used as a collective remembrance of Romania.

The first of our group will be leaving country the first of June. We’re planning to check out around the 20th of July and do some exploring through parts of Europe that are still new to us. The Danube runs through eight countries and now that we’ve seen the Delta, perhaps we’ll take a hydrofoil up river to Vienna to start our journey home.

The pictures included with this entry do not show any birds. My little camera is great at landscapes, but I’m not much of a wildlife photographer. The two pictures include one of the water and reed beds and one of the rapeseed fields that line the roadway between Tulcea and Bucuresti. Rapeseed is used as an oil and as a primary ingredient in the formulation of Biodiesel.

Rismet Valley, Alba County

Reciting the Watering Poem

The Watering

Paşte, Peste, Peşte

Last weekend Nancy and I were invited back out to a small village east of Aiud. This is the same spot where last fall we made jars and jars of the traditional Romanian food Zacusca. This time around we went to share the Easter weekend and tour the surrounding countryside.

The Romanian term for Easter is Paşte. The Romanian term for fish is peşte and the term for more than is peste. Confused? It is pretty simple actually, but only if you can remember things. I’ve been frustrated by my inability to remember. But this is a posting about our weekend and a description should include the strange tradition of watering the women.

It is a Hungarian tradition started centuries ago and modified by the coming of perfume in spray bottles. It is still common in the villages where ethnic Hungarians are plentiful. Almost like halloween, young boys go from house to house on the day after Easter with a bag in hand and a spray bottle of cheap perfume in the other. Whenever they come upon a female of any age – the spray bottles come out and the woman is coated in yucky smelling liquid. The boys then are thanked for this by a gift of money and a dyed hard boiled egg. Older boys and men and even old men join in the house to house watering. Their gift is a glass of wine or ţuica, the powerful Romanian plum brandy, instead of money.

By the time most of the gentlemen came to the home where we were staying, they had been to most of the other houses in the village and had been enjoying many glasses of ţuica. The younger lads were much cuter. I’ve included a picture of a trio of boys, one reciting the obligatory poem that is said prior to the spraying.

Most Hungarians are either Roman Catholic or Protestant. Nearly all Romanians are Orthodox. This year, both eastern and western churches celebrated Easter on the same day. Many years it is actually two holidays as the church calendars do not align.

The day before the watering, on Easter, we had ridden back into the mountains of that region to an isolated series of villages where the steeped ridge thatch roof was still in use. Near the village of Kismet in Alba county, which is about 60 km from Cluj, the road was dirt and the mountains steep. Our hosts asked if Americans would recognize the area as Romania. We suggested many Americans assume that this is how most Romanians still live. Truth is, only in this isolated village have we seen the thatch roof. Most Romanians live in cities or towns with access to nearly all the supplies of a modern life.