We began with digging. Latrines, compost; space for tents had to be scythed. Set up takes WORK!
Then an attempt to feed children with nothing but wet wood and grechka.
Not all is bad when soaked. Our day of hiking Pip Ivan (in the Carpathian mountains) was lovely with its misty morning.
Found a shack for some dairy farmers. They live there for four months straight, feeding and milking the sheep and cows. What a job!
Feeling dominating.
Ransacking lunch at the ransacked observatory. YUM.
Tent City. I could move in here.
In between being awesome, teaching me the Ukrainian national anthem, and carrying buckets of water, Vlad took a moment to steal the rest of the female hearts with his guitar.
Last day of camp: WET. For days it rained, and now here we go!
Best Parts of Camp:
Some of the campers could not come with us on the big hike, either because they couldn't do it physically or there wasn't space for them on the bus. This leaves some potential for tension when we come back, a fact that always makes me nervous. However, they welcomed us home like we were the star finishers of a marathon. They had cheers ready, "go team!" written on their arms, water bottles as we came through the 'chute,' and tons of smiles. What a wonderful welcome!
My other favorite moment happened as we made our soggy return to civilization. The walk to town is easily longer than an hour, and it had rained hard for two days before. My friend, Ally, and I slept in puddles in our leaky tent, finally called it quits at 7:00 the last morning of Survivor, and packed everything up in the downpour. Since we had responsibilities, we helped take down the camp by filling in the latrine and the compost--in the downpour. Then, we headed down the mountain in the torrential flood that said downpour had created. We were wading through some pretty intense rivers with all our stuff. YIKES. It took us over an hour just to reach the outskirts of town, and as we were making our final turn toward the bus station, a car pulled up. The man inside started out in Ukrainian offering us a ride, and then switched to English. Here we were, these drowned rats trudging through the wet, and he was offering to take us exactly where we needed to be for the same price as the bus. We figured he wasn't going to kill us, so we got in. He started talking about his life and family and was a very sweet and genuine man. His second son has development problems, we also discovered. The symptoms sounded similar to muscular dystrophy.
Anyway, the 2 1/2 hour bus ride soaking wet and being glared at by the other passengers was much more enjoyable in Mihael's back seat, which took a little over an hour. One our way into the town, he called his wife, saying, "I happened upon these two American girls...can I bring them home?" A hot shower (the first in weeks) was followed by a hot bowl of delicious soup made fresh for us, and the most amazing family time ever! The oldest boy was about 4, and ADORABLE. Seriously. He was very active, but always very attentive to his surroundings. And his brother, who was in a sort of wheely chair meant for kids between crawling and walking. That boy had the most captivating joy...everything was a delight to him. his father had been away for a few days, and when he came in, he gave the boy a tousle of his hair; his smile lit the room. We played with both boys before they went down for their naps, and then saw photos from the couple's wedding. Mihael's wife was so kind and had a very woman-at-rest demeanor. Of course, Mihael didn't let us pay him anything. We left when our other friends arrived in the town and went to get on our trains. I wish we had gotten photos with the boys before they went to bed.
So, it wraps up nicely and warmly. I've washed and dried everything and finally gotten the campsmoke out of my hair. It was a good week, full of challenges, adventures, and many beautiful peaks seen and felt.
1 comment:
Love this!!!
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