We sadly left our wonderful river spot. It was the perfect place to sit and relax for a few days. We even thought about staying another day, but thought we had better move on.

We headed to the Bieszczady Mountains, which border with Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia. We’d also heard they can be very touristy. We didn’t really know where to go, so we navigated to the town of Solina. As we were driving in there were many parking places, with people sat outside waiting to collect money. Then we saw the gondola. Then we saw a street with 1000’s of people, like ants crawling all over the place. Abort. Abort.

So I asked the internet where to go instead. He told us which popular spots to avoid and where to go. So we kept driving. But it was hot. Really hot. Driving in a car with no A/C and the sun blazing through the window was not fun. All I wanted was a shady place to sit and have lunch. Easier said than done.

We tried three different spots before we found one that was just acceptable. The car wasn’t in the shade, but there were picnic tables and chairs under the trees, and a nice river running through. That was enough.

We stopped for lunch, then took a walk alongside the river. It was shady and cooler than being in the car. We hiked up a hill with a view over a quarry, then had to backtrack. By that stage, we were ready for our afternoon nap. We woke around 4:30pm and decided to camp there for the night.

It turned out to be a lovely spot, right beside a small river, with swimming holes if it got too hot. Then it rained and cooled everything down. There was also a huge shelter with a wood stove in the middle and a pile of free firewood. We didn’t use it, but it was good to know it was there.

We’re both feeling a bit weary at the moment. Might be time to slow things down a little.