Our next plan for a hike was to get the train to Azuga from Busteni and then walk 28 kilometres along a ridge to a train station halt somewhere in the middle of nowhere to get a once in a blue moon train back. Now this seemed ambitious in the extreme so we decided to scale back our plans after studying the map I had recently bought. It looked like we could loop back from the ridge directly down to Busteni. Still a long trek but not having to rely on getting to a station by a certain time, much more doable.
We got the train for the short hop to Azuga and then headed out of town to find the trail head. Of course it wasn’t where Mr Google believed it to be but we found a small trail heading off into the forest a short distance further down the road. We headed up the track through the forest steadily gaining height. Another couple of trekkers were setting off at the same time as us but apart from that it was tranquil trek. After an hour we emerged from the forest onto a meadow and we had stunning views across the valley to the cliffs behind Busteni. At this point we came across an old shepherd herding his flock and his sheep dog came to say hello.
After a short break we carried on and not long afterwards we arrived at the top of the cable car at Azuga ski resort. See we didn’t cheat this time. Here the trail followed the ridge and it was an easy stroll with views on both sides. The path was wide so even we couldn’t get lost. In fact it is more of a mountain biking trail and we saw many more cyclists than walkers. It really was a fantastic walk and we were enjoying it immensely. We came to the trail junction with a sign pointing down to Busteni. However, it was still early so we decided to carry on along the ridge and with the aim of reaching the highest point for lunch before backtracking to the Busteni trail.
So we followed the path up and down several peaks until we got to what we guessed was the highest. We had a brew and our picnic whilst admiring the incredible views. We were glad that we hadn’t been foolish enough to attempt the whole ridge as we had originally planned, as we would still have a long way still to go and would have had to rush in order to make the train connection.
We headed back towards the Busteni trail and I spotted another track that I reckoned would meet up with the Busteni trail. Emma had her reservations of my orienteering skills, on what grounds I have no idea, but I was sure it would cut a corner. I was right for once and we soon met up with the main trail at an abandoned farm. We headed back down the mountain and we were soon engulfed in the forest as we approached Busteni. Again we had a nice wide path to follow and it was well sign posted. The trail went on and on and on switch backing through the forest. We were eventually spat out on the edge of Busteni and we wandered through the quiet streets until we hit the main drag.
It was another wonderful walk and we are constantly blown away by the beauty of Romania. The weather forecast said a storm was on its way so it was time to flee the mountains and go and explore the Danube Delta.
