Black Sea Beauty

The last thing I could imagine gong to Romania was that I would have enjoyed so much its seaside. First of all, because I've never heard anything about it: I knew there were beautiful mountain landscapes, and that somehow the country bordered with Black Sea, but to make an example I didn't know that in that area there is the Delta of Danube river. Plus, I always prefer mountain rather than sea, so for me exploring Romanian seaside was one of the most surprising experience I had travelling around the country.

South-East Romanian border with Black Sea is 245 km long, this giving an important link to the Mediterrean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Starting from the South, very close to Bulgaria, the first place I want to talk about is Vama Veche, an interesting hippie village on the sea, impossible to be tired of. During the communist era, Vama Veche avoided the development that occurred in other Romanian Black Sea Resorts. It became a hangout for intellectuals; for reasons that are not exactly clear, the generally repressive regime of Nicolae Ceausescu chose to tolerate this cultural oasis, as long as people had their identity papers with them. Accommodations consisted of tents or rooms rented from peasants or fishermen. While camping is theoretically not permitted, to this day, many visitors or semi-permanent residents still stay in tents on the beach. There is an unwritten rule that anyone visiting Vama Veche should always camp on the beach and boycott the recent built hotels and businesses in order to restore the place back to the old look and hippie vibe.

First time I went there was because of a 3 days music festival on the beach, but the time I really felt the spirit of the place was my second one, actually after the end of my EVS: I found out that for the residents there's a party going on every day. Vama Veche is a real hippie village, where to find music, special seafood and drinks, good vibes and the funniest and craziest people. To get there, just start showing your thumb on the streets and anyone going there will take you!

50 km North is Constanza, the oldest continuously inhabited city in Romania (founded around 600 BC) and one of its largest metropolitan areas. I knew the existence of this city from my Latin studies: In AD 8, the Roman poet Ovidio (43 BC-17) was banished here by Augustus and here he spent the remaining eight years of his life. But also the Greeks, the Byzantines and the Turks left their footprints on the history of this city. In the 7th century, the Greeks founded here Tomis city: on their travel by sea, the Greek sailors were attracted by the shelter offered by the bay and the peninsula formed on the Black Sea shore, as well as of the very good trade. The Tomis was founded within an ample process of Greek colonization on the shore of Pontus Euxin, gaining the attributes of a city starting with IVth century B.C.

The importance of Tomis increased considerably during Constantine’s the Great time – whose name derives the current name of the city. Meanwhile temples and huge edifices were built, public squares and termae (baths), as well as streets and new neighborhoods. Submitted to migratory peoples’ cavalcades, the city became a ruin countless times.
Several centuries later, on the Tomis ruins, a small place of fishermen blossoms, from which, gradually, Constanta developed. The remains of the old civilization can be encountered everywhere in the city of today. It is possible to discuss about a real development only after the victory of Romania in the Independence War (1878) when the province returns to the mother country. A second stage in the process of spectacular evolution of Constanta city is represented by the interwar period, the next prominent moment in its evolution being the Revolution from December, 1989.

In Constanza you'll find a beach 13 kilometres long, Mamaia, with a lot of clubs and discos for youngsters' fun, and a lot of nice historical places. The city is now flourishing thanks to tourism, industry and commerce. It exports oil, cereals, and a lot of fish from Danube Delta's fishermen.

The Danube River flows 1,788 miles from its springs in Germany's Black Forest to the Black Sea. Just before reaching the sea it forms the second largest and best preserved of Europe's deltas: 2,200 square miles of rivers, canals, marshes, tree-fringed lakes and reed islands. From Tulcea is possible to reach different locations in the Delta. It is formed around the three main channels of the Danube, named after their respective ports: Chilia (in the north), Sulina (in the middle), and Sfantu Gheorghe (in the south). In any of them is possible to put the tent in some local people's gardens. The best thing to do is a boat trip around to see the various species of animals and plants. It doesn't cost a lot and it's the only way to appreciate the beauty this place has to offer. Around 300 species of birds make Danube's Delta their home, including cormorants, white tailed eagles and glossy ibises. The bird watching season lasts from early spring to late summer. Birds are not the only inhabitants of the Delta. Altogether, 3,450 animal species can be seen here, as well as 1,700 plant species.

Danube Delta is the best conserved delta in Europe and is included, since 1992, in the list of UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage, being the only delta with biosphere reserve status in the world. Environment's protection is a very big issue: in September 2013, the World Bank was contracted to provide advisory services to the Government of Romania for the preparation of a strategy for the Danube Delta and its surrounding communes. The main objective of the ongoing services is to assist in planned and environmentally sensitive development of the Danube Delta Region, an ecologically rich but also economically challenged region.

Two strategic objectives were derived from this long term project, that see its “end” in 2030:

Strategic Objective no. 1: Conserve the unique environmental assets through scientifically guided environmental management, and by empowering the local communities to be proactive guardians of his unique global heritage.

Strategic Objective no. 2: Develop a green and inclusive local economy based on sustainable consumption and protection, resource efficient, capitalizing on the area's comparative advantages, supported by improved public services.

If all of this will work the right way, Danube Delta will always be an amazing natural place to visit!

 

I warmly recommend anyone to discover this unknown beauty. Plus, I now know that the kindest people on Earth hide themselves in some little house in the Romanian seaside! What are you waiting for?

 

 

https://vampirehostel.com/vamavechedescription/

www.wikipedia.com

https://www.litoralulromanesc.ro

http://www.mdrap.ro/userfiles/delta_dunarii/rezultate_proiecte/4_Raport_Strategie_en