Danube Delta- between waterlilies and lights

Danube Delta- between waterlilies and lights

It’s been one month since I was in the Danube Delta. A subtle smile betrays my consciousness while I write, because it knows that only now it can really come to understand the beautiful experience which these eyes sent to it, an experience which I will tell in the following lines.

A charming experience which played out in an incredibly slow rhythm, I only had two days for this project. We would’ve needed one week to wander the entirety of the Danube Delta, to pay more attention to all the details and to enjoy it to the fullest. This explains why it was so tiring, my mind is still trying to align all the pieces which make up the puzzle of this unique experience about the natural reservation, which this beautiful country can be proud of.

Located in the most exotic place in Romania, the Delta is home to more than 7000 species of animals and plants (2333 plants and 4667 animals), fishes being the most numerous. Moreover, the birds are incredibly diverse and beautiful, being 341 species, of which it’s worth mentioning pelicans, egrets, cormorants, herons, ducks, white storks, preying birds and much more.

Aside from all the nature and the magnificent landscapes which you can admire once you’ve arrived in the Delta, in “Sfantul Gheorghe”, a region with a population of about 500 people and a surface of 40sqkm, you can find the “Green Village” resort. After 6 hours of driving, we arrived at Murighiol, the place where you can find the private parking for the resort. At 13:30 we embarked on a boat with other tourists and in 55 minutes we arrived at our destination.

The people from Green Village gave us a warm welcoming, and we would like to thank them not only for having us but also because they had the inspiration and the courage to invest considerable amounts of money in this beautiful resort, which meets all the expectations we have from the Delta. I strongly believe that such a place was needed in order to provide an unforgettable, complex experience, offered by this resort which seems to be taken stright out of a fable about nature and peace. Having a stable and knowleadgeable personnel still poses a challenge not only for them, but also for other romanian companies. I’m talking about customer service, which both we and they find to be lacking. I’m in no way able to criticize, but I feel like I can say my opinion about it and it should be improved.

Green Village opened in 2004 for the “Anonimul” film festival, reason for which, every year during the month of august, the festival takes place in this resort from the Danube Delta. Even if it went through a series of trials and changes, it now has a certain fame, even between foreign tourists. Currently, 27% of the tourists which stayed at this resort were foreigners, some of them even coming from the USA.

Furthermore, this resort is kids-friendly (free for kids between 0 and 5 years of age; free for the first kid between 5-12 years and 50% discount for meals and free accommodation for the second), this delights me and probably does for families travelling with kids. For instance, last year 1020 kids were present during the month of august, while this year, same month, 1080 were present. And it’s not hard to see why; the resort is equipped with 3 cinema halls (one of them having up to 120 seats), billiard, table tennis, kids club, a pool, etc.

For us, tired parents, I advise those helping to perpetuate our species to go on a ride with the kayak through the waterlilies, to maybe participate to a yoga or pilates session, to watch a film in fresh air, have a go at the dry sauna, or maybe a massage session, gym, archery, or other possible activities.

And if it so happens that you’re feeling nostalgic about not being able to visit the Delta this summer, then I bear good news. This year you have the chance to come here during Christmas and/or New Year’s. Since we’re talking about such holidays, surely you’ve thought about some delicacies, which reminds me of the Delta’s speciality called “storceag”, a borsch made of fish, usually sturgeon, but salmon and shark (or sea dog/small sized sharks from the Black Sea, we’re not talking about the aggressive ones here) are other possibilities as well. This dish is a white soup made with cheese whey, which gives it a peculiar taste.

After a good “storceag” you will surely want to explored the surroudings, it also being the best way to spend your time while you’re in the Danube Delta. Some possible optional trips could be:

1: Safari – the most complex trip, which gives you the change to arrive the Chilia arm, it covers all the nothern parts and on the way back the Sulina channels, Letea forest. It lasts 8 hours and it mixes nature and desert

2: “Gura Portitei” (a station in the south, which has a beach as well) – a resort on an island

3: Letea Forest

4: Sulina

5: The Northern Lakes

6: Caraorman Forest (the only tropical forest in Romania): wild horses, the kneeling oak (a oak which has been alive for hundreds of years, some of its branches reached the ground because of the wind), you can also find a table made of concrete with chairs exactly like the table of Silence, and a ghost in the middle of the forest

7: Sand Dunes

8: Epava tusla – a tug which failed some 50 years ago and it now is a tourist attraction

9: Sahalin Island – the newest of romanian lands which spans for about 40km, a natural reservation protrected by UNESCO

10: a trip to where the Delta meets the sea

11: a romantic trip during sunset

After all these possible trips, I want to conclude by saying that there are 24 possible tourist routes: 15 by boat and 9 hiking options, balneary tourism, traditional food, an unforgettable, complex experience, all of this 15 minutes away from the beach. Of course, there are a large number of events as well: a kayak contest (“Delta caiac fest”, at the beginning of october), folk school, arts ateliers, Delta fest, October fest, but other private events as well. The resort has 89 rooms (250 people) and a cottage with 10 rooms, you can choose this destination even for a teambuilding session or, why not, for a personal even, in order to have a unique experience.

Best wishes,