Late yesterday afternoon team Basil had a rude awakening when a local cow decided to pay us a visit, uninvited. A herd of cows wandered past the gates of Camping Poieni, presumably on their way to be milked when one them thought the grass looked greener on the other side, our side. She wandered into the campsite and proceeded to nonchalantly look for the juiciest grass, which included that adjacent to Basil. Sarah got a shock as the cow ambled past her while she quietly read by the river and she then paid Melek and Mabel a visit. Mabel was dumbfounded and didn’t do anything, not even a bark, but Melek walked up to her to say hello!

Melek vs Cow

We ate a reasonable and very inexpensive meal at the adjacent guesthouse and I forced myself to try mein host’s home produced plumb brandy. Not bad and very alcoholic.

Our campsite is located in the village of Sapanta, which is famous for its so called Merry Cemetery! It was a two mile walk each way, but we decided we must pay it a visit. It was hot again today, 26 degrees or so, and Melek struggled with the walk, despite us taking plenty of water for him to drink. As we neared the cemetery the bizarre spectacle of the church came into view. It’s dazzling ornate spire towered over the village like some Disney fairytale castle.

Cinderella’s Palace or Sapanta Church?

As we finally arrived at the church and cemetery we realised we had had a slice of good fortune. Today is Pentecost and so there was a huge turnout of local people and nearly all the women were wearing their traditional costume. Unfortunately there were few men so attired, in fact there were hardly any men in the congregation at all.

Traditional Dress

Traditional Dress

We waited as the congregation assembled outside the church gates and then, led by the priest, they filed into the church. This gave us our opportunity to explore the cemetery.

Merry Cemetery

The cemetery is filled with colourful gravemarkers each containing a humorous rhyme about the deceased and a painting which represents something of the deceased’s life. We didn’t see it, but there is apparently a grave of a man who liked one too many drinks and it pictures him with a bottle! The gravemarkers started appearing in the mid 1930s the work of one local man and by the 1960’s there were over 800. Stan Ioan Patras who started the work now lies in the cemetery with his own humorous epitaph. His reads, translated:

“Since I was a little boy

I was known as Stan Ion Patras

Listen to me, fellows

There are no lies in what I am going to say

All along my life

I meant no harm to anyone

But did good as much as I could

To anyone who asked

Oh, my poor World

Because it was hard

living in it“

I don’t know whether it is a merry cemetery, but it certainly makes sure that it is not a gloomy one and I guess to Romanians who can read the rhymes, it might well be merry.

Grave Marker for Pianist

Grave Marker for Weaver?

Tomorrow there may be no blog, because we are probably, depending on road conditions, going to attempt a 6 or 7 hour drive to skip through eastern Hungary, which my useless Lonely Planet for Eastern Europe says there is nothing of interest, to Slovakia where we intend to stay three or more days.

Elaborate Carved Gate to Village House

Yet another Stork