Frogs and birds

A day on the Danube delta looking at birds, what could be more perfect than that.

The night had been another noisy one, those pesky frogs sure can croak. We were also accompanied by a small pack of dogs, who took refuge in the shade of Dora. She does create quite a large amount of shade.

Supper hadn’t been eating marvellous fresh caught fish from the delta, we couldn’t find an open restaurant, but we enjoyed it anyway; a starter or a smoked small fish, something like a sprat, we gave the heads and tails to the dogs which were probably quite interesting for them. This was followed by nasi goreng, frozen from Lidl, which turned out quite nice.

The next morning the boat pulled up outside at just before seven. It was just us, he hadn’t persuaded anyone else to join.

The stillness of the river created a mirror, only disturbed by us gently cruising through.

We passed up a small channel before entering the

the river proper, which was enormous, peaceful and so calm.

We stopped in at a local store to get some water and to fill up with fuel, things work differently on the water!

And then we headed back into the main stream

We passed many moorings, and other dwellings clinging onto the river banks.

Including this old remnant of the Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu era, their pad on the Danube.

Not sure what it is used for now but still seems to be occupied.

Old boats litter the banks of the river.

We continue downstream.

Some are more dilapidated than others.

We pull away from the main channel, heading down a tributary. Several early morning fishers are lined up along the banks, trust they have better luck than me.

As the banks get closer, we start to see more birdlife.

Terns perform acrobatics, swooping down into the water.

We see a cuckoo perched at the top of a tree, and a flash of blue and red, as a kingfisher flies along the riverbank.

The trees start to close in.

But actually as you look closely, the trees no longer sit on a riverbank,

they are engulfed in water, like in some mangrove swamp.

Eventually, just as we think the trees will close in completely we pull through a small gap, into a large expanse of water, a lake.

And there, just in front of us, a pelican.

It is enormous.

Eventually we get too close for comfort and he decides to fly off. Like some lumbering seaplane he manages to get aloft, where once again he becomes somewhat graceful.

The lake is full of plants, which gives our pilot some difficulty as he tries to navigate the propeller through it, continuously reversing trying to free it from weeds.

At the edges of the lake lies reeds, moorhen, coots and grebe are in abundance. There are also Lilly pads.

And with Lilly pads you get frogs. This one is trying to find his Lilly pad.

Eventually he did.

Dragging himself out of the water.

Luckily frogs stay still when you photograph them.

See what I mean.

Very still.

And there were thousand of the little amphibians.

Soon it was time to head back, we passed back across the lake where they were now fishing.

Other tourists were starting to emerge, these ones didn’t make the effort to get up so early, so wouldn’t have the lake and rivers to themselves as we did.

What an amazing place, so tranquil, so beautiful.

 

To see our route and this amazing delta we have to revert to google earth;

But time to head onwards, back across the flat plains of the river delta.

More fields of crops. We are now heading towards Bucharesti.

We leave the rivers behind us.

Eventually the roads get a little bit better, flatter, less potholes and two lanes, so others can pass Dora, so rude!

Eventually we pull into the outskirts of Bucharesti. It has been a long day, the advantages of getting up so early, up with the birds you might say. The delta already seems a long way away, now we are back within the bustle of the city. We head for the only campsite in Bucharesti, but park in the quiet street alongside. It is up against a park, no-one will disturb us here, and we will disturb no one.

GDR