During our trips, life not only that it teaches us how impossible is to predict how nature is going to surprise you next, but also that there are less pleasant things you can enjoy while being on a journey which you learn to step over like it didn't even happen.

I know that this might sound a little bit unusual when it comes to how I start my travel posts, but that's because along with the moments when I complain about the bad category of people who are ruining nature's beauty by either cutting trees illegally, polluting the waters or throwing trash, literally, everywhere, there are very few beats when something makes me so annoyed that I still remember it when I get home.
Sadly, almost one year passed since I and my family had this experience and I keep having the memories very fresh in my brain like it just happened a few moments ago.
And even though, through my activity of sharing less known parts of Romania that do deserve a lot more exposure in front of the tourists, there are also these (rare) situations when I do have to say a little bit more about the things happening behind the beautiful photos shared in a post, which this time will sum up the facilities and situations we had to go through, just because there weren't other options we could consider.

So yes, most of the pictures you will see in this post not only will show the Siriu Lake and Dam that I'll write about, but also the view we had for a few days in a row which was basically the single good part of the time spent in that camping that turned out nights into horror ones, but let's better start with the beginning.

While we were still roaming the Buzau county digging deeper to see what other natural treasures it shelters because so far we were already entirely conquered by all we have seen (and which I presented in my previous posts), we decided to change the camping base to one that was bringing us closer to everything we had planned to explore in the following days and since we were never fans of the hotels or guest houses, we thought about keeping it again simple and look for a camping area or a place with chalets because they usually still resemble pretty well that wild experience in the woods that you won't feel behind the window of a hotel.
We kept zooming in and out on the map with the main purpose of getting more options to pick from, but even though there are quite a few hotels and guest houses in the region we were approaching, there was just one camping that we could consider so we decided to give it a go and see how everything looks like when we reach it.

As soon as we reached our destination, we were welcomed by the common forest road full of bumps that our car already got used with due to the last few years which all looked the same, but also by lots of big dogs that were barking and growling pretty aggressive.

I will mention from the beginning that all my family members love dogs and we've never been afraid of this kind of animals until that moment when suddenly our safety got under the question mark. Anyway, we decided to keep talking with the dogs so they don't consider us a danger anymore and look for someone we could talk with to see if we can camp in that area or not.

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Over there we met a lady who told us that we can camp but that she won't recommend us to set up our tent especially if we are planning to spend a few days there because it was a period with torrential rain that wouldn't make it such a pleasant thing to sleep in a tent during the night and she recommended us to rent two challets - one for my parents and one for me and my sister.

Honestly, I don't know how chalets look like in other countries but we've seen quite a few camping and none of the chalets we spent a night in didn't come with, at least, a bed.

The chalets from this camping represented basically just a place where rain won't reach you but with nothing else because you would still end up sleeping on the floor or, in a sleeping bag and with a jacket on.

Again, because of the lack of options we could pick from and because we were reaching this place with a few hours before the night was coming over, we decided to make another compromise and take it as it is even though the money we had to pay for sleeping here was a lot more over what we were paying in other camping with lots of facilities.

Anyway, we decided to keep our smiles on, get ready the dinner and make the plan for the things we wanted to visit in the following days.

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Due to the chalet which wasn't isolated well and there were enough spaces around the door that basically let all the temperature from the inside be the same with the one from the outside, the morning started pretty early.

Both I and my sister were very tired from the previous days that were full of challenging hikes so we did manage to sleep a few hours, but my mother said that she kept hearing noise during the night which kept her awake.

The lady we were talking with, said something that over the night there are lots of wolves and bears going down to the camping which wasn't surrounded by any kind of fence and that's also the reason why they have more than 10 big dogs which are not so friendly with the tourists because they have fights with the wild animals pretty often. So we were pretty sure that what our mother was hearing was either the dog or a wild animal from which we were "safe" in our tiny chalet.

So we decided to start the day as planned, visiting the surroundings until the rain was starting and we will return to the camping where to eat and rest.

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It's both funny and sad how the same dogs that during the day they were all around you not barking and growling anymore but which a few hours later they were jumping on you to get you down, try to catch your arms with their teeth and treat you like a real danger as soon as there wasn't light outside.

Now you might ask: Ok, cool, but what were you doing outside during the night?

Well, all the "facilities" that this shameful camping was offering to its tourists was located up on the hill so every time you wanted to go to the bathroom or to the kitchen to wash the plates, you had to make your way between 14 dogs while praying not to get a bite.

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Anyway, because I don't want to make this part of the story too long, I will say that the next night we spent in the camping didn't come with any hour of sleep because the noise that my mother heard in the first night was made by the mice which basically had their houses under this chalets. And no, I'm not talking about simple noise because due to the cold nights, they were always getting inside of the challets and walk in the room while eating the food we had inside, gnawing my father's clothes, our backpacks and even the refrigerated box we always have with us during this kind of trips.

I've never been afraid of mice and I actually even hold one in my hand a few years ago finding them really cute, but when you have at least 5 walking on the walls and even crossing over your face or legs while you lay in your bed on the floor, along with all the supplies, clothes and equipment destroyed, this thing is not fun anymore, it's a terror which you are actually paying money for.

So as soon as the daylight came out, we decided to get everything together and leave this place but not before my parents asked for the money back. We were quite determined to even sue that place and seek compensation for all our goods destroyed, but because we are never trying to harm anybody and because we still got to admire some beautiful landscapes with the lake, we decided to just leave and keep this memory somewhere locked in our hearts.

Anyway, even though this post turned out more into a horror experience we had while trying to promote more the gems of Romania, we all have to admit that nothing can be perfect and I am pretty sure that every single place out there has both good and bad parts, but since we did get to live by the Siriu Lake for a few days, I would like to also say a few words about it.
While the lake is pretty impressive with both its size and landscapes that it creates both during the good and bad weather, the name of Siriu is given after the village is part which came with lots of sacrifices during the period when it was built because all the locals who were living there had to move to a different place to allow the beginning of a construction that would represent the 2nd biggest ground dam from Romania, the 5th from Europe and the 12th from the whole world.
Unfortunately, not only that these tops get a lot of tourists interested in seeing how everything looks like in real life, but also give ideas to the people like the owners of the camping which are trying to get rich fast without giving a damn of the tourist's well being, safety or memories created.

Anyway, raising the dam which is over 120 meters in height took close to 20 years following an innovative project of having everything made from soil, sand, stones and clay core, without including any cement that is the main ingredient in the realization of many dams.

When the clay core gets in contact with the water, this one increases its volume becoming waterproof. This is how, science along with a smart idea of creating a dam led to the creation of the Siriu Lake which s over 11,5 km long with a total volume of 155 million cubic meters of water.

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Asking to over 300 families to relocate and leave behind their houses didn't represent the single compromise this project required, but also to change the route of one of the main national roads (DN10) that was rearranged surrounding the lake, as well as moving an entire cemetery higher on the hill to avoid it being flooded by the water.

Anyway, a good thing that we can say about this lake leaving on side all the wonderful words about how beautiful is it, it's the thing that the water is potable and there are lots of species of fish living within the lake, but Siriu also means "home" for lots of water sports, fishing, or simply taking a boat ride to set free the stress.

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However, even if this place is one of those locations which aren't coming with too many details or stories about its existence, I still consider it worth being visited just for the sake of talking about one of the most scenic and beautiful dams from Romania that makes the connection between two important mountain peaks which will contribute for sure on your energy and whole mood, especially if you are careful where you spend the night, lol.

So don't forget to always take the good part in everything and enjoy the moment no matter how horror it seems sometimes. In the end, memories are what make us feel alive. 😃

Both the Siriu Lake and Dam are located around 200km away from the capital of Romania (Bucharest) and 80km away from Buzau city so if you start your route from the capital you will have to follow the national road DN2 for around 100km until you reach Buzau county. From that point you can get on the national road DN10 on the way to Brasov until you reach Nehoiu which is 10km away from Siriu.

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT TRIP! 🗾

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