Day 7 Fortresses

Today we set off on the minibus once more - longer drive than yesterday. We pass through Babadag which was bombed by the Russians in 1854 in the Crimean War; it also has the oldest mosque in Romania, built in 1610.

We continue to the old town Ceamurlia de Jos. From here we had a lovely ride - very pretty: rural, green, lots of flowers. Stopped for an icecream. Well actually, MF had said we only had 40 Lei (worth $A16) - this has been since Bucharest.

Since then, he has ‘found’ a couple of hundred Lei in his wallet. Arghh!! Anyway, it meant we could afford an icecream!!!

We turn off at Jurilovka and have the most divine ride with no traffic WITH LOTS OF FLOWERS: purple and yellow. Absolutely wonderful. Even in the town, the gardens are lovely: lots of roses; these have been a real feature everywhere in Romania that we have visited.

A bit of (very rough) dirt and a winding path brings us to the nature reserve of Cape Dolosman with the Greek-Roman excavations of Argamum which separate the Delta-lakes Golovita and Razim.

We have a ‘swim’ here; the water is warm but rocky and slippery so it is a bit of an effort to get in but nice and refreshing.

A short cycle brought us to a visitor centre where we had a picnic lunch on the verandah out of the sun; it was quite hot! There were men making thatch roofs using reeds here and we saw a snake on the way (Caspian whip snake).

Then back to Jurilovka; there was a blackboard outside a restaurant here with ‘... crap’ written on it. It had me puzzled until Erika suggested it was ‘carp’ misspelt. How apt!

We continue by bike to the medieval fortress of Enisala, which is located high over the Danube and a view over the Lagoon Razim. This was a lot of ups and downs with one long arduous climb at the end. It was very hot by now but we have been very lucky as thunderstorms had been predicted. In fact, a small amount of rain starts as we drive back.


This is the end of the bike riding - and the tour. The bikes go back on the bike trailer, we walk up to the fortress and then it is bus back to our guesthouse in Tulcea.

When we return to our guesthouse, MF and I walk down to the main town and enjoy a well-earned drink with the last of our Lei watching the traffic go by from the bar.

It is a dash back to our guesthouse to shower and get some washing done before dinner where we make our presentations to our two wonderful guides. They in turn treat us to a terrific concert provided by two musicians plus cake and prosecco! Really, this has been a most exceptional tour. It has been value-added all the way; the crew have been fantastic, with nothing being too much trouble.

Cycle: 44.5 kms Steps: