Crashed in Bucharest for a few days …. kind of nice actually, to just walk around and not worry about the little kids although I must say, they got under my skin to a larger degree than I could ever have anticipated ….. with every other volunteer post I have participated in, the children had parents to go home to every night and that …. makes all the difference in the world! All the volunteers here end up being temporary mommies and daddies …. you would need to have a heart of stone, to not have that affect you in some way …. there are currently five other volunteers, young people in their twenties, heading to St. Nick’s as I type and hopefully, they will love the children as deeply as I came to do ….. it is the best one can hope for. I was but a ripple in their pond and monthly, new ripples appear …. is it enough to give them some kind of comfort in a world that has basically abandoned them for having been born “imperfect” …..

So, here I am, currently in Humor Monasterie in Bucovina, Moldavia somewhere in Romania!! On Monday morning, Alex Nagy, man of many hats … wilderness guide, mountaineer, full time employee for Search and Rescue, Romania, travel guide for a local travel agency, and for the next eight days, a part time guide and driver for a Canadian lady, wishing to explore the back roads of his country … that would be me! …… Alex is also a history buff extraordinnaire …. my mind is swimming with Romania’s historical lore and loving every moment of it, even if most of it blows out shortly after it blows in 🙂 ……. have landed in some kind of crazy travel heaven …. exploring medieval towns … villages, painted monasteries, fortified churches of every description, town squares dating hundreds of years! Apparently HRH Bonnie Prince Charlie, together with renowned Romanian poet, Mihai Eminescu have formed a trust to restore these old medieval villages to their former lustre …. it is a monumental task, but I was thrilled to sleep in this first village of Viscri, that Charlie signed on for and indeed, I may even have slept in the same guest house he toured! Walter, the owner, is of Saxon/German heritage, has had family living in the village of 400 people, for over 800 years!!! Historical heaven, as I said …. more later ….. enjoy some of my pictorial review of Viscri and area, including the little guest room in a house as old as any I have had the pleasure to visit. Walter, who speaks excellent English, laughed heartily when I told him I may develop gypsy fingers when it comes to all the old weavings, pottery, and various handworked goods in my room ….