Wilderness in my heart
Have you ever experience nature by walking on your foot, by discovering your own country? By visiting places that you considered to be boring and explored? You should try to step outside, to see the world, to visit a places that are close to you, but not yet seen by your eyes. You should try to get away from your comfort.
That is what I have been trying to do my whole entire life. I have walked by Serbian mountains, crossed Serbian rivers and seen Serbian villages and towns. I learned that if you want to discover world, first you should discover your own country.
Serbia is place with huge heart, with green trees and clean rivers, it is a perfect place for walking, tracking and outdoor activities. One of the activities I most prefer is canoeing.
Canoeing on River Morava
The perfect place to discover nature and river from close perspective is by canoeing. At my free time I explore nature by paddling canoe. I prefer to do it with my friend and my girlfriend. She supports me in all my outdoor activities and that means lot to me. Few days ago I came back from one long trip. With my close friend Nikola I paddled canoe for 200 km and took us 4 days for this adventure.
It was lovely journey, but yet a bit hard, because we had to paddle more then 10 hours per day and this was such a hard physical demand. We stopped for camping at dusk and slept in woods, near the river. We fished every day and that was our basic food during the trip. River Morava is most beautiful at sunset and during the morning when the water is fresh and clean.
It was taught, but when we set close to fire at night we would forget about all our worries. this was great experience and I really learned a lot from it. I learned that you should be grateful for everything nature gives you. On following photos you can see beauty and the greatness of Serbian rivers.
I started to explore them when I was only 3 years old, when I first went to forest with my grandma, collecting mushrooms. She used to teach me a lot about life true exploring forest.
Meeting with wild animals
The thing that started to interest me in forest were wild animals. The knowledge that forest is actually full of life was more than astonishing. Wild horses, which are very rare in Europe, emerge from forests at the top of the Three Ponds in Suva Planina mountain, next to the water source on a drywall.
Wild horses, or sampas, as they call them here, are a great tourist attraction that lures curious people in this region. Unfortunately, they are now more and more difficult to be seen.
Older people remember that there were about 50 horses on the slopes of Suva planina. In constant retreat from the wolf pack, they feel unmistakably the presence of people or someone on the side who does not belong to the mountain.
This photo of rabbit was filmed in Šumadija region of Serbia. I was really surprised that I was able to take such a good photo and that rabbit was not scared. Few times I also met with fox, roe deer, badger and wild boar.
One of most interesting animals that live in Serbia is beaver. Beaver is a watery and terrestrial species and the largest rodent in northern hemisphere. He is an excellent swimmer and a diver. He is the only representative of his own generation.
The European beaver used to inhabit all the water areas from north to south of the European mainland, but at the beginning of the 20th century it survived only in four separate sites. Ten years ago, he started to return to our regions, the Upper Danube region.
Mountaineering
Mountaineering is at the same time a form of recreation and travel and discovering new areas. Mountaineers enjoy, relax in mountains and, in spite of the physical efforts, meet with new strength and satisfaction. In addition, hiking offers a great way to socialize and acquire new acquaintances.
In Serbia there is a large number of mountaineering companies that organize numerous actions throughout the year. I was my self part of one. Mountaineering is a sport for all four seasons in which fitness is acquired.
One of my favorite mountains for hiking is mountain Rudnik.
Mountain Rudnik, which dominates Central Serbia and Šumadija, is located 100 km south of Belgrade. Thanks to the extraordinary climatic conditions, the mountain was declared as air spa. Rudnik was the center of living mining activities long before the arrival of Slavs to the Balkans in the 6th century.
Before the Romans, these regions were inhabited by Illyrians and Celts. According to the rich traces of material culture, it can be concluded that on the Rudnik mountain there was a large Roman settlement.
Making friends
And finally one of the things I most love about the nature is going with someone there, meeting new people, making new friends. During my mountain walks I met great people and stayed in contact with them for such a long time. Someone would say that in the nature you have to be alone, but I think that in nature you have to be with people you love.
Everyone chooses a friend according to himself, his habits, his perceptions, his thoughts... True and sincere friendship does not know for jealousy, selfishness and other emotions that can bring discomfort and disruption. Friendly love is selfless, reciprocal and never ends, because a friend is there to understand you, when no one else is able to respect you and love you.
Do not forget that mountain is your friend to!
I really hope that you like my post!
It was pleasure to share it with you!