Thursday 4th September 2008 – Przeworsk, Poland

We plotted a route that would take us down into the very corner of Poland and then on a picturesque road up a valley to a large lake. The journey south east to Ustrzki Gorne and north to Czarna Gorna was gorgeous – spectacular scenery and riddled with well-used hiking trails. We knew that the area was very popular with hikers and we saw many of them. Car parks had been created close to the best routes and there also appeared to be a good bus service. The scenery is not as dramatic as the High Tatras but the walking would have been very enjoyable without being as strenuous. Certainly an option for a future visit.
Things went somewhat awry when we arrived at Czarna Gorna – the road that we wanted to take was closed. The suggested diversion cut out all of the route that was marked as picturesque on our map, so we headed north instead. By the time that we arrived at our next campsite at Przeworsk we had travelled through four national parks, Bieszczady, Doliny Sanu, Gor Slonnych and Pogorza Przemyskiego. All were pretty but the best were Bieszczady and Doliny Sanu, which were both in that first section, in fact we didn't even notice the join between them.
We were surprised to find that the campsite in Przeworsk (Pastewnik Camping) was actually a skansen (a collection of reconstructed historic buildings). We had visited a number of skansens on our travels but had not stayed in one. Old wooden buildings were scattered over the site and it was even possible to stay in them for as little as £20 for a two-bedded room. It made a very pleasant outlook for our pitch.
We took a short walk into the town to investigate it and then returned to Henrietta to sit outside in the shade. It was a hot day (27°C) with a strong, very warm, southerly wind but as the sun went down the wind died completely. It was too warm to be inside and we ate dinner outside as it got darker and darker – the last mouthfuls were located by touch and smell rather than by sight!
Photos: This Polish wooden church was of a completely different style to those on the Slovakian side of the border; This church (and monastery) in Przeworsk, close to the campsite, had some of the original Mediaeval wall around it – it has also been visited by John Paul II – we were still following in his footsteps; Apparently these Przeworsk elephants are famous but we never established why – they are in a rather sorry state and may attract the attention of the RSPCA.