Day 5 - Borșa Pass to Iași
- manicmondeo
- Jun 4
- 2 min read
Ploughing through the flooded roads of Satu Mare, Rosemary longed for the mountains. She wouldn’t have long to wait.
On the road north, the scenery became remarkably alpine. It would be a beautiful drive with no borders, apart from a visit to one. Sighetu Marmației overlooks the Tisa River, the same we crossed in Tokaj. It also overlooks Ukraine. It was a shame to be so close and not go in, especially for Ian, but we opted to play it safe - the news of the Russian drone in Galați still heavy in our minds.
The day’s journey would be interesting enough. Twisting and turning on empty roads, Craig was in his element at the wheel, with long villages and an absolute ton of storks in their nests provided something to look at.
Then came the Borșa Pass. Hairpins, wandering dogs and the persistent thought of bears made it a great drive. Stopping at the top, we wandered around, viewed the monastery and a discarded printer.
Ski lifts and remnants of snow were seen on the descent before we entered Ciocănești. Here, all houses were decorated in floral style with wooden chapels (or pizza ovens). Romania had absolutely charmed us.
Our destination was Iași, Romania’s third city and home to a large student population. After a narrow miss with a tram and multiple no entry signs, Ian pulled up outside our lodgings. With multiple bars including a tiki one, it looked like Bangkok. However, our apartments were in proper communist-style blocks. A great reminder where we were.
Reaching Iași was a bonus and something we weren’t sure we’d achieve. The city was great. Lively and pretty. A few drinks and food, and we retired, within striking distance of the Moldova border.
Songs of the day
Craig: Yes Sir, I Can Boogie by Baccara
Jim: Asereje by Las Ketchup
Ian: Citizen of Planet Paprika by Shantel
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