The salt flats of Turda
The last full day we spent by swimming in a Tarzan lake, taking a mud bath and visiting the Turda salt mine. The ground around Turda is very rich in salt and all the small ponds around are saline. Close to these small ponds are also muddy salt flats that the locals use to heal themselves by covering their bodies, fully or partially, with the black sludge. At the time I saw the people on the salt flat for the first time I thought that they were crazy to be standing there in the horrendous heat with the black mud all over their skin. Little did I know that half an hour later I would be there doing the same thing!
I don't know if it was Inna's or Inna's father's idea but they wanted to give it a try anyway. I wasn't going to let such an opportunity pass so quite soon we all looked more black than white :). I think without the heat it would have been a lot more comfortable but with the scorching sun looming over us it was close to unbearable. Thankfully the Tarzan lake wasn't too far and offered a chance to cool down! I unfortunately don't have any pictures of us covered in mud because I didn't want to cover my camera in salty sludge :).
One of the huge caverns in the mine
The salt mine of Turda proved to be a very popular tourist destination among the locals and we even had to queue inside the mine to be able to get to certain sections of the mine. One of these sections was a very deep and wide hole with a small lake at the bottom. The only two access points to the lake were a small elevator and a narrow staircase, both of which were jam-packed with people. I wonder what would happen in that hole in case of an accident. The mine was certainly worth seeing with its unbelievably big caverns even if the mass-tourism has ruined some of the historical value of the place.
Last but not least before driving back to Bucharest was Sighișoara, a city we visited with Pate, a friend of mine, over ten years ago. The city seemed to be quite a bit more touristic now than it was ten years ago. I also found it perhaps more interesting than ten years ago. I had told Inna many times that Sighișoara is a small city with not much to see, but somehow now it felt there actually was quite a lot to see :). Go figure!
All in all it was a very busy week during which we covered a lot of ground and sat in the car more than enough. This time we weren't in a hurry though and had time to actually DO things instead of just seeing sights and moving between them. It was sometimes a bit challenging to travel with people who aren't as used to traveling as we are and who perhaps prefer a bit different style of traveling but in the end I think the trip was easily worth making!
The lake with only one jammed exit
Sighișoara skyline :)
One of the many picturesque alleys in Sighișoara
Swimming in the saline water of the Tarzan lake certainly helped in the insane heat.
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