Connie says driving in Romania is like thumbing through a stack of National Geographic magazines: there is something interesting and unexpected on every page. Today was no exception.
In every village we passed people walking to church dressed in their traditional best as we searched for the wooden churches of Marmamures County near the Hungarian border. Our first big surprise was a roadside pig auction. A dozen horse drawn wagons were stuffed with squealing piglets, fat sows, and local farmers, while other folks sold harnesses and blankets.
We were forced to a stop on a dirt road in a small village while the newlyweds drove off and the wedding guests dispersed, some in shiny silver suits and others in suits with pumpkin orange shirts. The road became worse and worse as we drove on, probably on the wrong road. As we slowly crested a hill we saw one of the most colorful valleys in prime fall colors – and the correct road in the distance. A little farther on we watched a couple of men loading hay with wooden pitchforks.
The “Wooden Churches of Marmamures County,” our goal for the day, are part of a World Heritage site and locating them was worth the effort, not unlike finding the “Bridges of Madison County.” We found two in the town of Rogoz and another in Surdesti. They date from the 17th and 18th Centuries and were built by the town people. The interiors are decorated with frescoes but the only one we could enter was the Greek Catholic church in Surdesti. It is still in use and we had to wait while two elderly women sat and prayed.
At a lonely cemetery on the way to Baia Mare, where we are staying tonight, we watched as hundreds of people were decorating gravesites in preparation for All Hallow’s Eve. We can hardly wait to see what’s in store tomorrow.
