Aaaah....travel. Just an overheard whisper of the word always brings an unexpected thrill to my very being. Every year (well, every May, to be precise) I quietly tuck away my life here in New Zealand....clothes stored, sentimental items entrusted to the care of my dearest friend, car deregistered, job put on hold, flights booked...ready for the off to my next overseas adventure with my Czech partner Pavel (who still lives in Czech...but that's another story!!) . Our shared passion is hiking, or, to be more precise, long distance hiking...and we are always looking for challenging treks we can do independently. Now, the year is 2016, the planned itinerary is several hikes in the Carpathian Mountain Range of Romania. I have already purchased the (by now) compulsory copy of the Lonely Planet Guide to help prepare for what's at hand. Sometimes I wonder at the logic of this purchase....as mostly I focus on the "dangers and annoyances" section and fret over the potential risks and threats that may await me. if there's one thing I DO know about travel, it's that it is predictably UNpredictable. Things you expect to dread or fear turn into highlights....whereas seemingly innocuous can scare the BEJESUS out of you!!! Such was the case on this trip. Was I excited about the upcoming trek? Absolutely? Was I equally terrified? Absolutely!! My excitement came naturally, as it always does when going into unknown territory.....the thrill of the challenge, the joy of being in the mountains, the deliciousness of knowing you are carrying everything you need on your back, the absolute beauty of the countryside, the usual things that cause that inner thrill. I have to admit, I'm not easily "terrified"......but thanks to a thorough peruse of the aforementioned travel guide, my senses were definitely on high alert! Sweaty palms? Tick! Eyes darting rapidly from side to side searching for sudden movements in the forest? Tick!! Heart beating ever so slightly faster than is natural? Tick!! Anxious nightly toilet dashes? Double tick!! The reason for my nervousness? Bears!! Apparently all around me. There are roughly 5000 brown bears in the Carpathian Mountain Range (the largest in Europe outside Russia), and can weigh anything from 300-700kg!!! Not only that, they can also run up to 30m/p/hr....so strike out running for dear life to escape. Did I REALLY need to know these facts before embarking on this trip? In any case.....feel the fear and do it anyway, so the saying goes....and feel it I most definitely did. In fact, there was a constant feeling of being watched, of something lurking nearby (or was it my overactive imagination?). As it turned out, the ONLY encounter we had of this magnificent animal was a totally unexpected surprise high on the ridgeline, and on this occasion I don't know who was more surprised, the bear or Pavel! In any case, he (the bear!) took off at breakneck spead (luckily in the opposite direction!) and disappeared over the ridge in the blink of an eye. Fancy such a huge, powerful beast being afraid of US???!! Exciting? Tick! Exhilarating even? Tick! The absolute highlight of our hike? Absolutely!! Far from terrifying...in the end. What I DIDN'T expect to find, and what I hadn't at all planned on, and what I found to be the number one most terrifying aspect of Romanian Mountains were......the sheepdogs. Trained to protect the flocks of sheep from night time attacks of bears and wolves, these defenders were, indeed, terrifying. While some shepherds were responsible and would immediately call off their dogs, I got the distinct feeling many others almost saw it as an amusing game to watch....as several dogs would quickly encircle us, barking furiously, teeth gnashing dangerously close. My heart would begin palpitating at the mere sight of white spots in the distance, knowing that inevitably we would be accosted relentlessly until well out of range of the flock. We DID however learn to be prepared with a few rocks in our pockets...just the sight of them seemed to do the trick. Fortunately we completed the hike unscathed (physically) and with a story to tell. In fact, Pavel has suggested a return trip this year. The jury is most definitely out!