After packing up, trying not to fall down the steep slope beside the tent, I walked along the road to the main part of Bulzestii de Sus. I had noted a shop and tap in the village in my plans. Sadly the shop cum café was not open until 12:00 and the tap did not work. Heading uphill I filled up with water from a nearby stream, babbling down the hillside, adding a couple of water purification tablets. A Cabana is a kind of mountain accommodation and on my walk through Romania they usually seem to be closed. The one I passed on the way to the village this morning, although marked on the map, was definitely shut with no signs to advertise what it was. However near the beginning of my long ascent today, I passed another one which looked more welcoming. It had a signs with included the word "Punct Gastronomic" which I associated with food. So I went in and asked if I could have breakfast. The kind lady provided coffee, fried eggs, salami, tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, jam and bread. Most of it was grown or made by the owners (their previous pig was responsible for the salami). There were three kinds of jam, one made with a flower, another a plant and the third a berry, the lady and her husband did not know the English words for them but all three were delicious.
Suitably replete I had a 900 metre climb, first on tarmac roads, then on a variety of paths and tracks. Although somewhat overgrown in places with encroaching young trees or brambles, I managed to push through, sweating profusely. Near the top I encountered a "bendy bus" with its rear engine removed, incongrous in this mountain setting far from proper roads. It must have been difficult to get it up the rough tracks, and I wondered why they bothered.
Once on the ridge I joined a gravel track that continued for many miles following the high ground, sometimes in open grassland, other times under trees. A series of 4 wheel drives vehicles passed, some at least, out for a Sunday drive. A few pools of muddy water hindered me and several uphill sections over minor summits slowed me down. There were grand views of wooded mountain ranges in all directions, deeply incised by valleys, although to the west the hills were becoming lower.
I was glad I had loaded up with water this morning as climbing in the heat was thirsty work. There were no opportunities to gain extra water, although I crossed two damp areas that might have been streams in the spring.
At 5 pm, I decided to stop, seeing a desirable camping spot, almost flat, on the moss among conifer trees. A discarded can and bottle suggested I was not the first to admire this spot. Tomorrow there is a big mountain to climb before a night at a Pensuinea in Vartop.
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