Highlights of today were the natural bridges in Vratna canyon and the privilege of attending part of an Christian Orthodox service at Vratna Monastery.
Dry, warm and cosy in my sleeping bag I listened to the rain pattering on my tent while I munched on some biscuits and prepared to get up. To avoid everything getting wet I packed my rucksack inside the tent (an awkward manoeuvre in the confined space) before taking down the tent and packing it last. The rain made the steep path into Vratna canyon slippery, requiring great care, yet the view of the two natural bridges made the effort worthwhile. Monumental, grey limestone arches framed the river below. The lack of leaves on the trees made them move visible than they would be later in the year. Several yellow spotted, black "fire salamanders" were on the path, barely moving as I stepped over them, maybe cold and sluggish in the rain. There was a high viewpoint you needed to climb up to, but I gave up on it after climbing a little way, tired after some long days, I feared I would fall on the slick path climbing up, or more likely coming down.
On my return from the bridges the monastery was open and I went into the church. A black robed nun was reading at a lectern. She spoke English and made me welcome. A sister later arrived and asked if I was hungry or needed lodging in the nearby Vratna village. She said I could stay for the 2 hour long service at 8:00 am and I confirmed it would be OK just to attend part of it as I had a long way to walk today. While waiting for the service I admired the paintings which, typical of Orthodox churches, covered all the walls and ceiling. There were pictures of Jesus in various scenes from the bible - baptism, last supper etc. and of course the Virgin Mary, plus lots of saints all with gold halos, all looking solemn, even when welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Today was the Orthodox Good Friday and the service was led by a bishop. A priest and three nuns participated and I was the audience. I did not understand the service (in Serbian) yet gained some serenity from the 20 minutes of listening to the liturgy.
After retracing my steps of the previous night to Vratna village I took a track over the hill to the village of Jabukovac, where a signed indicated there was a more direct path from the viewpoint in Vratna canyon that I could have followed. A café (kafana) with those silvery windows that you cannot see through looked closed but an "all terrain vehicle" outside and a desire for coffee made me try the doors. It proved to be in business and I enjoyed a Turkish style coffee, small, strong and black, served with a piece of Turkish delight (more flavoursome than the British version) and a small glass of sparkling water. The other customers then quizzed me on what I was doing in a mixture of languages (none of which was English).
After a walk south down the tarmac road, I had prepared two alternative routes to the next village, Plavna, one going into another canyon and a longer one taking a route around it on tracks I was more certain actually existed. After yesterday's failure to find a suitable path I wisely chose the longer, safer alternative, mainly through farmland. After Plavna, at a road junction just beyond the cemetery, I saw signs for the canyon but not in the place I expected. It looked exiting, there was meant to be a natural tunnel there, maybe a trip for another occasion.
As the farmhouses thinned out on the road to Šarkamen I found a place among trees to camp, hoping there was no-one around to upset. I camped a little earlier than normal as I wanted to give my tent time to dry out after the soaking it had this morning. It was still wet as I went to sleep.
31.6 kilometres walked today. A gpx file of my route can be downloaded from wikiloc.com or wandermap.net. The route can also be downloaded from my.viewranger.com as johnpon0029.
Dry, warm and cosy in my sleeping bag I listened to the rain pattering on my tent while I munched on some biscuits and prepared to get up. To avoid everything getting wet I packed my rucksack inside the tent (an awkward manoeuvre in the confined space) before taking down the tent and packing it last. The rain made the steep path into Vratna canyon slippery, requiring great care, yet the view of the two natural bridges made the effort worthwhile. Monumental, grey limestone arches framed the river below. The lack of leaves on the trees made them move visible than they would be later in the year. Several yellow spotted, black "fire salamanders" were on the path, barely moving as I stepped over them, maybe cold and sluggish in the rain. There was a high viewpoint you needed to climb up to, but I gave up on it after climbing a little way, tired after some long days, I feared I would fall on the slick path climbing up, or more likely coming down.
On my return from the bridges the monastery was open and I went into the church. A black robed nun was reading at a lectern. She spoke English and made me welcome. A sister later arrived and asked if I was hungry or needed lodging in the nearby Vratna village. She said I could stay for the 2 hour long service at 8:00 am and I confirmed it would be OK just to attend part of it as I had a long way to walk today. While waiting for the service I admired the paintings which, typical of Orthodox churches, covered all the walls and ceiling. There were pictures of Jesus in various scenes from the bible - baptism, last supper etc. and of course the Virgin Mary, plus lots of saints all with gold halos, all looking solemn, even when welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Today was the Orthodox Good Friday and the service was led by a bishop. A priest and three nuns participated and I was the audience. I did not understand the service (in Serbian) yet gained some serenity from the 20 minutes of listening to the liturgy.
After retracing my steps of the previous night to Vratna village I took a track over the hill to the village of Jabukovac, where a signed indicated there was a more direct path from the viewpoint in Vratna canyon that I could have followed. A café (kafana) with those silvery windows that you cannot see through looked closed but an "all terrain vehicle" outside and a desire for coffee made me try the doors. It proved to be in business and I enjoyed a Turkish style coffee, small, strong and black, served with a piece of Turkish delight (more flavoursome than the British version) and a small glass of sparkling water. The other customers then quizzed me on what I was doing in a mixture of languages (none of which was English).
After a walk south down the tarmac road, I had prepared two alternative routes to the next village, Plavna, one going into another canyon and a longer one taking a route around it on tracks I was more certain actually existed. After yesterday's failure to find a suitable path I wisely chose the longer, safer alternative, mainly through farmland. After Plavna, at a road junction just beyond the cemetery, I saw signs for the canyon but not in the place I expected. It looked exiting, there was meant to be a natural tunnel there, maybe a trip for another occasion.
As the farmhouses thinned out on the road to Šarkamen I found a place among trees to camp, hoping there was no-one around to upset. I camped a little earlier than normal as I wanted to give my tent time to dry out after the soaking it had this morning. It was still wet as I went to sleep.
31.6 kilometres walked today. A gpx file of my route can be downloaded from wikiloc.com or wandermap.net. The route can also be downloaded from my.viewranger.com as johnpon0029.
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| One of the natural bridges beyond Vratna Monastery |
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| Vratna Monastery |
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| Fences were typically made of local materials in this part of Serbia |
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