Siri in Romania: Boating through the southern delta

Monday, September 17, 2012

"Trip in a wild area in the Danube Delta to be acquainted with the colonies of swans and pelicans, herons, egrets, cormorants, wild ducks, etc., but also with the true wilderness of the Danube Delta.
Crisan - Channel Long - Obretinciuc - Obretin - Cuibina - Litcov - Nest with swans - Iacub-channel Caraorman - Crisan." Duration 3-4 h

This is the trip we decide on in a 15hp open motorboat, manned by Adrian, a tall, young, weatherbeaten guy from Crişan across the Sulina Channel. He says he normally guides birdwatchers - his English is quite good, and he possesses a pair of Nikon binoculars and a bird-book - but his winter job is thatching roofs, and throughout his trip with us he's quietly working his phone to secure the purchase and delivery of thatch - a situation we're familiar with from our current problem in Porto Mauí. The thatched roofs here are very similar to ours in Angra. Wish we could use him there.

It's very quiet when the boat leaves the busy channel and enters a fairy land of narrow and shallow straights lined by old gnarled trees and reeds. There's a fresh mossy smell in the air and we hear birds shrieks overhead. After the first channel we enter a lake so shallow that Adrian stops and lifts out the motor and propels us forward using his oar as a stake.

As we slowly take in the scenery, we realize that cormorants are flying overhead and coots are gathered in a large groups in the water. When they suddenly take off, they whip up the water in starbursts of sunlit water. Further in the distance float stately swan families with their rather large grey gygnets -they're almost ready to leave for South Africa -

and way behind, there's a blindingly white and huge batch of hundreds of pelicans.

At some point they begin to take off - to get lunch, says Adrian - and when they fly their wings are white on top and black underneath. Swans too pass us in the air, flying with their necks stretched out, and egrets, and more cormorants... all so wonderful and special - we're quite overwhelmed with our little Canon Powershot Elph 300 HS, which has taken amazing pictues so far.

We press on, though the Litcov Canal, made as a winter alternative to the Sulina, not terribly interesting, but where, with the temperature dropping and the rain already splattering, we reach the last lake and see the maginificent pelicans, stranded because of the same rain, and the restless coots. A loud sound reaches us from across the rain. Frogs singing their "happy rain song", says Adrian.

The we chug on home, using old dry blankets to protect ourselves from the lashing rain. I've read "Along the enchanted way" by William Blacker to prepare for this trip and know to ask for the local prune brandy, Tuica, with a beer chaser and soon we're warm to the toes again.