Sunday 3rd August 2008 – Lillafured, Hungary

Yesterday was one of the rare days without rain, although we had heard thunder in the distance. Today we had a thunderstorm as it was getting light and it was still looking a little threatening when we set off for a walk. The route took us behind the campsite and up the steep hill, a very sapping climb as it was warm and very humid under the trees. At the top we came out into the open at the rocky outcrop of Feher-ko and admired the view down to the valley below and the campsite. The walk then took us past a small cave in the limestone with circular water-created holes going into the cliff. The whole area is littered with caves and there are over 900 in the Bukk National Park.
From this point on, the walk became a fungi foray as we spotted more and more varieties. These included Devil's Boletus (a bulbous purple stem with orangey-red sponge pores – poisonous); what I think was Boletus Luridos, a similar mushroom with a straight purple and brown stem (poisonous until cooked but it then turns a deep blue!); an amazing spikey puffball (the 'Punk Puffball'???) and a bracket fungus that was growing on a fallen tree and looked just like pork crackling. We met a mushroom hunter collecting the fungi to sell at market or to restaurants and his basket was full of magnificent specimens.
All of the walks in this area had been on tracks but this route soon became a proper footpath. We soon discovered that tracks were kept clear whereas footpaths are not. Fallen trees littered the path, causing diversions and scrambles over large trunks. We also extended the walk by missing the fact that the route had been changed – we followed the old route signs and only realised when we found ourselves rejoining the original route. Still, we arrived safe and sound at Hamor, a village adjoining Lillafured, although the estimate of 1.5 to 2 hours was very optimistic as it took us about 3.5 hours. We had a very late (3 pm) light lunch at a café in Hamor and then walked back to the campsite. On the way Jane bought a very pretty pendant made from horn. This was not an impulse buy, it was our fourth visit to the stall, so she was quite certain that she wanted it!
Dinner was barbecued chicken and courgettes with roast potatoes cooked with little pieces of pork fat and smoked pork. These gave the potatoes a lovely flavour – the recipe will be repeated!
Photos: View from Feher-ko down into the valley – our campsite is hidden by trees to the right of the closer buildings; The Mushroom Hunter with the largest of his pickings – how much would this cost is a restaurant?; Two of the many 'Punk Puffball' fungi that I found in a small area; I have seen many huge Beefsteak bracket fungi in England, so I have decided that this one should be called the 'Pork Crackling' fungus.