On the 26th day of our tour we`ve climbed the Babakaj rocks, rowed next to castles, ruins and beautiful places.
We woke up in Pojejena, and started Wednesday driving, as we have left our kayak on the court yard of the custom house. During the night the water-level rose, perhaps due to the overnight rain, which made it easier to launch the boat from the concrete. With rapid strokes we left our hosts and the officers behind.
The Danube broadens into a lake after O Moldova, before squeezing into the Iron Gates. There is a huge island in the middle of the lake, the Moldova, and there are trees standing in the lake, sprang before the banking-up. After leaving the island, Galamboc castle showed on the right side and on the left was Pescari (Coronin) and the tower of Laszlo Castle. In between the two, close to the Romanian shore, the Babakaj rock rise to protect the entrance of the gate.
We could not miss this opportunity to climb this symbolic rock of the Danube, and we stopped by the O Moldova side. To help with the maintenance of the index-post on the rock, there are metal handrails on the side of the rock. It is such a unique experience to look around and view the Moldova island, the two castles and have a distant look of the 140 kilometre gate`s entrance, the Galamboc canyon, when sitting on the rock in the middle of the Danube.
A Galambóci-vár
Szentlászlóvár tornya a Babakáj-szikláról
After climbing the rock for a few times due to recording-filming, we got back into the kayak and paddled around it before making our way towards the canyon. The width of the river goes down to 300 metres here, but there isn`t much change in the speed due to the banking-up. The shore is surrounded by beautiful rocks here, only the quarry, which can be found about four kilometres below on the Serbian side, worsen the view. This stage of the Danube has been regulated in Franz Josef`s time, which is remembered here by a petro glyph.
It was interesting to see the difference between the two sides. On the Romanian side the roads lead by the river, sometimes through small villages. The land here is gall and inferior. On the Serbian side however, the shore rise boldly and is covered in woods. There are roads here too, but much higher, sometimes they lead through tunnels, viaducts. It`s more rare to see towns around this side, only a few sea-reach of creeks were ideal for construction.
After leaving the canyon, the Danube expends to one- one and half kilometres. Due to the heavy rain in the last few days, the colour of the river is brown, therefore not a good view. The sky is grey too, but we keep going. We pass another ruin. Unlike the others, Drencova castle stands proud in the river, heroically bearing the drifting of the Danube, who knows for how long.
Meanwhile the weather changed for the better, which made us feel better too. After Berzeasca, the Danube takes a sharp turn and narrows to about 5-600 metres again. Not far down, the huge, modern, white building broke the natural beauty of the Serbian side. Coliseum, swimming pool – we tried guessing. Only on our way back we found out, that it was the important Mesolithic archaeological station, the Lepenski Vir. The artefacts were only found when building the Iron Gate at the end of the last century (in its sixties).
A Trescovat-hegy
On the right side, in the distance, there was a massive rock, rising towards the sky. We were passing by the 755 metre tall Trescovat Mountain. A little further the valley expended, the distance between the two shores is more than two kilometres. The Danube here turns north. On the right is the Serbian town, Donji Milanovac and its houses, then the Porecka creek`s sea-reach, which expanded into a bay, is next. On the Romanian part there is another ruin, the Three Towers. Like the Drencova castle, this has been built in the 15th century too, to protect against the Turkish (Ottoman Empire). Only two towers stand now, the ruins of the third tower shows up when the water-level lowers.
Háromtorony, ami már csak kettő
It was past half six, so we started to watch the shore to find a camping spot, as we didn`t see the chance to make it to Dubova in daylight anymore. The shore was rocky and on a steep hill; the road led a few metres above and behind it was an acclivity and woods. Tunde went ahead, but she didn`t find suitable place for us either. However she found a guesthouse by the Danube, about 8 kilometres away.
The sun started to go down when we finally arrived at the pier of the Cabana Delfinul. This is the second time we sleep in a nice bed during our tour and first time, when not in a camping but a lodging house.
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