Travels with Spaniels: Hanging out with bears in Transylvania

In 1998 a Romanian woman, Cristina Lapis, saw 3 brown bears miserably crammed into a small cage outside a restaurant in central Romania. She was determined to rescue them, and later others in the same plight. After several years of campaigning and fundraising, she was eventually able to open the Libearty Bear Sanctuary near Brasov. They have now rescued 116 bears from captivity, from performing bears tortured to make them stand upright all day, to those saved from being put down when EU animal welfare rules rightly forced many small zoos and menageries to close. More recently the ranks have been swelled by wild bears which have started encroaching on areas inhabited by humans, those involved in traffic accidents, and those orphaned by traffic or hunting.

After seeing one bear in the wild, it was clearly a no-brainer for us to visit the sanctuary. There are still more than a hundred bears there, all with their own sad stories. Some of them still pace the fence separating their 70 hectares of woodland from human visitors, unable to recover from the mental trauma they have suffered. Others are seen only on cctv, (Live feed here:
https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.uk/romanian-bear-sanctuary-live-feed)

as they hide in the woods, climbing trees, bathing in their ponds and making dens. We spent an hour and a half touring the sanctuary, listening to our guide tell the stories of the bears, and watching those which came close enough to the fence.

The cubs play in the sun

A pair of cubs, brought to the sanctuary with their mother for their own safety after being repeatedly encouraged to approach humans, had just come out of quarantine. It was a joy to watch them scamper and play together, with mum keeping a watchful eye. Elsewhere we saw Monica, repeatedly removed from the main enclosure after scrapping with any bear she saw, but eventually successfully housed with an old male, blinded by his handler so that he would not react to flash bulbs when being photographed with tourists. Monica looked after him as he fumbled around his enclosure, coming to terms with his new-found freedom.

Monica is still not sure about visitors

Nick and I have always said that our most memorable experiences have involved animals, whether it was one of several incredible whale watching adventures, a safari in Kenya, or walking with wolves in British Columbia. Visiting the bears is right up there. And even better, we decided to spend the rest of Sunday, and the night, in the car park outside the sanctuary gates, with its fabulous views across the Carpathians. Knowing we were sleeping a few hundred metres from the bears was very special. It also gave us the chance to download the Wales-South Africa Rugby World Cup semi-final, and watch it as we relaxed in the cool of the van on yet another warm afternoon.

25º C in Brasov on Sunday

This morning we took the spaniels for a walk over the hills around the reserve, and then prepared for what was intended to be a day of shopping, laundry, and maybe a little sight-seeing in Brasov. The shopping was easily accomplished in a Lidl on the outskirts, but a foray into the centre failed to find any suitable parking near the laundrette, despite driving past several areas identified by the Park4Night app. We retreated to an area of rough ground near woodland on the outskirts for lunch, and debated our options. We decided to have one more attempt at finding somewhere to park, and if unsuccessful, to press on to Sinaia, and try another laundry option in a couple of days.

So tonight you find us in Sinaia, having given up Brasov as simply impractical in a motorhome. (Luckily we hadn't stripped the bed!) It's a shame, but it isn't the first time we have driven on when unable to find somewhere to tuck 6 metres of Fiat Ducato carrying a big plastic box. What's more surprising is that we have managed to visit so many cities on this trip, from Copenhagen to Krakow, Tallinn to Helsinki. Brasov will get there. On its outskirts are huge shopping cities which are still grass fields on recent Google maps satellite views. It is growing at an incredible rate, and at some stage the parking issue will no doubt be addressed, probably with a park and ride or a commuter train service.

Yes, of course we adopted one

It won't spoil our overall impression of Transylvania, as we finally head south after almost a week in the Carpathians. We have had a wonderful time, driving through one of the world's great mountain ranges as the autumn colours have been at their most splendid, under clear blue skies, with the white limestone glowing in the sun. People have been warm and friendly, the roads have been far better than expected, and the spaniels have been given a warm reception wherever they have gone. We met a British family in the queue for the bear sanctuary, here on holiday for a week, and agreed that we had all been very lucky to be here before tourism really takes off (and it will). We were here at a time when you can still drive through unspoilt villages, see horses and carts on the road, make your way though the mountains without queueing behind a line of motorhomes, and park for the night beside the road in a national park without being moved on. Romania wants to grow its tourism, but its infrastructure isn't quite there yet, fast as it is trying to build new roads. Give it twenty years and Transylvania especially will be one of the most popular destinations in Europe.