It was quite an amazing experience that I will always remember.
It happened a few years ago while I was travelling around Romania in a rental car.
In the trunk of the car were my tent, my backsack and my guitar. Travelling solo in that configuration is my favorite way to explore a country and discover its people. I improvise my way around and enjoy fun experiences like the one I am about to share with you.
I had been travelling around Romania for a few days already, and was heading towards the Danube Delta from Brasjov.
However, the travel was being unexpectedly long: On the way, I realized I had to run through kilometers of this (See 30-second video below), even though on the map it was indicated as a main regional road !
So I wouldn’t reach my destination in accordance to the travel schedule I had set…
So what? I was on holiday!
Yet, I was starting to feel quite exhausted and needed to rest for the night. I stopped in the village of Tulnici , entered a local café and asked around if there was a place where I could put my tent down.
One guy said to me that a few kilometers back in the forest there was an old camping site not being used anymore although there was still guy guarding the place and I could ask him.
So I jumped back into the car, found the place, asked the guy who was OK with me hanging out there for the night and laid down the tent. He opened a toilet for me and left for the night. Romanian kindness.
It was very isolated: exactly what I needed to spend one of these calm and enjoyable evenings, diving into a good book, sipping a beer and relaxing under a warm and clear evening sky.
Just when I started laying on the grass to enjoy the last hours of daylight reading the novel I was into, a pack of about 8 - 10 dogs approached.
Ooops…
They were not really aggressive, more like curious: Only an orange alarm had gone off in my head. I soon realized that they were there to stay: this place was their turf! So, I sat on a nearby log, assessing the situation and realizing that it would be a good idea to move camp… but I was so exhausted… And I really wasn’t feeling like sleeping in the car.
Then, one of them approached me, it looked like a female, growling a bit, but not indicating any other aggressive signs. I had noticed that this one appeared to be the boss. So I gently rose my hand in mid-air, palm open towards the ground. To my surprise, it worked: she slowly slid her muzzle under my hand, and I started to stroke her, with calm and confidence. We stayed like this for a few minutes.
That made me realized that I actually was welcome as a guest!
Consequently, I decided to spend the night in the company of the pack, not 100% reassured, but sufficiently to know that I’d be OK.
To be honest, I didn’t sleep well that night, kind of keeping one eye opened. I had the puppies crawl into the tent, very cute, but I had to push them away with their collection of flees and ticks! I wouldn’t take open pictures of the pack with the flash, but I managed to do so with one of the puppies that attempted to find comfort on the duvet I was using as sitting cloth.
I remember also waking up a few times because of much barking and agitation around my tent. I definitely didn’t feel like going out to check out what was going on!
When finally, the sun decided to rise, I was rested enough to go on with my journey. The dogs were running all around me, in a joyful manner, welcoming their guest for the new day. I actually enjoyed their company at that moment, and felt completely relaxed. I took out the food I had in the car, and shared breakfast with them. Strangely, I recall them being quite ‘disciplined’, waiting patiently for me to share the food. I ended up using all I had.
After that, I packed, and said goodbye to the dogs.
In the nearby village, I stopped for a food refill, and told my story to the clerk. When I mentioned the part about me waking up at night due to the unusual amount of noise outside the tent, he offered an explanation that baffled me.
“ The pack protected you, you were their guest.”
“ Protected me from what? ”
“ Bears, they are everywhere in the forest, you should not have put your tent down. That was very dangerous. You were lucky to have the dogs with you!”
Man, I had not expected that!
At that moment, I hadn’t thought much of it. It is only later, when I reflected on that night with the pack, that I realized I had experienced a unique fusion with nature. Maybe a little like being Mowgly of the Jungle Book for a few hours. A welcomed guest, under the protection of a pack of dogs (I do not think it would have worked so well with wolves though!).
I realized also that hospitality is not only a human trait… it is a character universally shared among all social species.
And to finish this post, another 30-second video to show you how beautiful the landscape is in this area. Definitely worth a visit for those that a fond of nature!
The map was created using snapchots of Googlemaps.
Friezes are based on illustrations found on Pixabay.
The title picture was found on Pixabay.
The video and other photos are by me.
Hi,
I’m @muphy,
My life revolves around music production, teaching sciences, and discovery through travel.
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That's a real nice story, hospitable and adorable dogs. I bet that must have been a remarkable experience. The guardian of the park should have warned you about the bears though?
Yup, he should have... but he didn't! Thinking about it, that was quite reckless of him... I can't really put a face on him, but I roughly remember him like a weird ethylated old man.. he probably didn't think about it or care: the place was officially closed and totally outside touristic tracks, I might have been the only visitor in months!
Well, now that I think of it too, he must have already gotten used to bears being around the park that he doesn't see it as any special anymore. Maybe that was why it skipped his mind. LOL....
I would love to go on a road trip like that too, have some nomadic experience, it'd be the most beautiful thing ever.
Great adventure - great story.
Thank you for sharing @muphy
It shows beautiful the saying: "Collect moments not things."
Have a great day,
Thomas
wow you share full story .. great one thank you for sharing with us
Thank you @moharkan, I am glad you enjoyed the story. It was indeed quite an interesting moment.
yap its seems ... you are welcome ☺
Wow! that was quite a road. Spending the night with a pack of dogs and being protected by them. That was quite a twist, thank god for those dogs. Great post!
It was indeed something. It makes me want to pack my backsack again, and resume exploring this region!
Yeah, do that but in a safer place with no bears. :)
:-). Well, beautiful places come with their inconveniences...
Amazing story loved it voted and followed :D Hope you may like my posts too? :D
Thank you/ I checked you out @amavi, I understand why you enjoyed this post :-)!
Thank you for sharing your story @muphy! @angelicagarcia, my sister, mentioned you to me that you're teaching physics. I'm an officer of the national organization of physics students in the Philippines. Hope to have some collab with you. You have earned a follower. Hope you'll have time to check my blog too. See you around @muphy!
Thank you @johnalexius. Angie's brother! I definitely followed you too!
Yes I am a private physics teacher (end high school, beg. Uni), I really enjoy helping students realise their potential, and then fall in love with how our world works!
Like Angelica and you, I am pretty new here: Your comment motivated me to start posting on the subject , with the first episode of my atomic physics series: https://steemit.com/science/@muphy/the-energy-of-an-atom-atomic-physics-video-series-part-1.
I hope you enjoy it!
We'll keep in touch.
That’s wow! The guardian could have warned you about bears. But thanks to the pack of dogs that protected you. More of your travel stories, @muphy! :)
Yes Angie, he should have...
It's going to be hard keep up lol, fun stories like these do not happen so often!
What an interesting story! Is it really true or just spinning a yarn?
Yes it is true. The kind of adventure one doesn’t experience everyday, but if you put yourself out there, these stories do happen. That the dogs welcomed me in their pack, that, I am sure. That the dogs defended me against the incursions of a bear… that, I will never really know. It was what the food store guy suggested.
However, I did consider his words plausible because two days earlier, while I was hiking near Brasjov, alone, I saw three young guys, hikers too, running in the opposite direction shouting to me to run with them, which I did. They had just been face to face with a bear… I didn’t see the bear... But, many locals were complaining about bears coming down the mountains to seek food in domestic trash bins, and there were signs of caution for hikers posted at Brasjov's forest trails entry points.
img credz: pixabay.com
Nice, you got a 47.0% @onealfa upgoat, thanks to @muphy
Want a boost? Minnowbooster's got your back!
I submitted it to curie, so not a good idea to use this bot. You may get higher reward
I suggest to always use bots after 1 day of your posting.
Thx Monajam! I was seeing this post relating one of my most beautiful stories sinking in oblivion, so I fell under the temptation of trying out bots for the first time... I guess for @Curie, it's over, because of the 1$ threshold . But thank you, I really appreciate this!
And there will be more stories to come ;-)
I look forward to it :)
Hey, you are from Leiden! Me too :-)!
Yes, I am :) Where do you live in Leiden ? (My Dutch is not good)
Neither is mine lol! I am from Oegstgeest more precisely. I should offer you coffee, so you can share your Steemit experience!
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This post has received a 2.78 % upvote from @booster thanks to: @muphy.
Hey, it is not a good idea to use these boosters within 24 hours of posting. In your future posts, please use them after 24 hours.
Thank you for the advice... Newbee mistake!
This post has received a 9.06 % upvote from @lovejuice thanks to: @muphy. They love you, so does Aggroed. Please be sure to vote for Witnesses at https://steemit.com/~witnesses.
Dogs are great animals
What an amazing experience to have in this stunning location! Thanks for sharing.
Lovely story. Thanks
Awesome