From Vadu Crișului the E3 turns west, heading for the city of Oradea. The area seems to have fewer tourist attractions and facilities, no waymarked trails for example.
As I left Vadu Crișului I noticed a well dressed couple, the man in a suit, heading for church. At another church, whose bell was clanging, a women crossed herself and she walked up the path to its entrance. Of the few other people about however, most seemed to be doing other things this Sunday. Leaving town and heading into the countryside, I found many cars parked beside the road, their owners picking mushrooms, occasionally shouting to each other from the depths of the woods. Later there were also one or two picnics underway.
In the morning the E3 climbed over a hill, through trees and over grassland. There were many tracks and I frequently picked the wrong one although it was easy to find a way back to the correct route. However, most of the day was on roads, mainly tarmac but some gravel. While the roads did pass through woodland there was more farmland than on recent days. The lines of the old strips of land, each strip belonging to a different household, could still be seen. Sometimes they were planted with maize, but mostly the strips had been combined and used as pasture for cattle and sheep, more suitable for the hilly conditions than arable crops. There were a few scattered settlements that I walked through, the barking dogs telling me I was not welcome. Some of the houses were of an unusual design in that they had turrets at one or more corners. The squat, square turrets had pointed, red tiled roofs. I wondered whether they were just whimsical additions or if they had some purpose. I also liked the houses painted in blues and greens.
For a long way the road I was on ran along the base of a valley, which avoided climbing up and down hills. This and the firm surface of the tarmac or gravel pleased my left knee, which had been suffering from uneven, rocky paths in recent days. For the more important roads there were markers every 100 metres beside the road and milestones every kilometre. Counting these down was a means of measuring my progress.
Tonight I am staying in a cabin among a group of other cabins although I am the only resident. The owner messaged to ask when I would arrive. Seeing a sign stating it was three kilometres to Vârciorog I said 4 pm. What I neglected to consider was that the cabin complex was two kilometres to the south of the village. In consequence, although I walked as fast as I was able, it was nearer 4:30 when I arrived. It is a pleasant spot, from the kitchen area I can see the fields on the hillside to my left, and a wooded hill in front of me. In the distance there is a flock of sheep. I have seen two other flocks today, each with a shepherd to guide them. With the evening cooling down, a shower did not seem attractive and by 9 pm I was tucked up in my bed.
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