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Among the places I'd been to before and wanted to see again was a village called Złatna. It lies near Ujsół and is only five kilometers from the more famous Rajcza. I had a strong connection with Złatna as a child, when my family and I would go there for vacations or winter breaks. There are many interesting places there, and I longed to see some of them again. I longed to see them after a dozen or so years, since that's how long it's been since my last visit to these areas.
So I organized a short trip to these places. I was accompanied by the people with whom I'd spent New Year's Eve last year and with whom I'd been to the Bieszczady Mountains. I was accompanied by Aśka – my girlfriend and friend, and my most frequent travel companion. I was also accompanied by Ania – my friend Paweł's girlfriend, who is irreplaceable as a co-driver when our car is on the road and beyond. By ours, I mean Paweł's car, which we've been driving frequently lately. As you've probably guessed, our next travel companion was Paweł, more commonly known as Banan. This is how we set off on our next journey…
We started where we had last time, at Aśka's house. I arrived fifteen minutes before seven. We were still packing the last of our belongings. As seven approached, I glanced out the window to see if Banan and Ania had arrived to pick us up. I spotted Banan's white Ford Escort. So I decided to call Paweł and tell him we were coming down soon. However, he beat me to it – he called first.
A moment later, we were in the car and speeding towards Złatna. Along the way, we passed towns like Bielsko, Żywiec, Rajcza, and Ujsoły. Joyful reggae music and more accompanied us. We drove for just over two hours. An interesting incident during the trip was an encounter with a driver who honked at Banan, and when he turned around, he saw an A4-sized piece of paper with the words: "Check your taillights." We wondered if the driver in question had a lot of these cards for various occasions. Banan even commented that the driver's wife probably got her instructions on a card.
When we passed a sign saying "Złatna," we decided to find a convenient parking spot. We stopped briefly by a river near the trail to Krawców Wierch, which we planned to climb. There, I ate a salad prepared by Aśka. A nervous truck driver also passed us on the road there. However, we couldn't find a good parking spot nearby. We decided to return to the beginning of Złatna and ask the hosts I'd stayed with a dozen years ago if they'd let us leave our car overnight.
I reminded them who I was, and to my surprise, they recognized me and remembered the people who had been there with me and my parents. "Ewald—I remember—is the one who used to go for a beer with that little boy," the farmer's son laughed. The farmer's wife, meanwhile, showed us where we could park. We gathered the necessary things from the car and slowly set off towards the bridge, where we would begin the blue trail leading to Krawców Wierch. We walked along a road lined with trees. Several of them had man-made wooden birdhouses. I remember one birdhouse in particular, made from the same tree it was on, which served as excellent camouflage. We also passed a café that had stood here fifteen years ago. We also passed a historic chapel, shrouded in legend and serving as a church in Złatna. This is where people meet for mass. Cardinal Karol Wojtyła even visited it once. Legend has it that lightning once struck one of the three (now 120-year-old) linden trees surrounding a wooden statue of Jesus. The tree was slightly charred, but the statue remained unscathed. Furthermore, when workers were returning home from work, they saw some lights in that spot. They considered it a miracle and built a chapel. Aśka concluded that the workers had simply seen fireflies.
A few minutes later, we crossed the bridge where our trail began. As we walked, I remembered these places as they had looked a dozen or so years ago. I didn't see much difference. These places were still teeming with life and seemed to be far from civilization. We even saw a grass snake, which we took a photo of. The same river flowed continuously along the road, rich in many small but beautiful waterfalls and dams. On the other side, there was a spring where we refreshed ourselves. The shade of the trees was also refreshing, helping us endure the heat. To the right, we saw trees felled by lumberjacks, lying one on top of the other. We took a break there. I then asked Banan if he knew where the name "Krawców Wierch" came from? I was checking if he'd read my brochure. He replied that there was once a very wealthy lord in this area who owned all this land. One day, on the road, he met a peasant who had a beautifully sewn sheepskin coat. He was so impressed that he ordered the peasant to sew another one for himself. The master even threatened the peasant that if he didn't sew it properly, he would have his head cut off. The peasant replied that not only would he not lose his head, but he would also receive the land. After a while, the master was so pleased with the sheepskin coat that he told the peasant to choose a mountain he would like, and in return, he would embroider clothes for the master. After much searching, the peasant chose a mountain near the border. In the winter, he embroidered sheepskins and in the summer, he tended sheep. Hence the name "Krawców Wierch." Banan passed the test with flying colors!
Just after the break, we passed some quarries on the right, which had changed since I last saw them, lushly overgrowing with vegetation. I immediately remembered climbing them a dozen years ago with my beloved Lowland Shepherd, Beatles, who passed away on June 5th of this year. Lost in memories, I saw him happily running around all those places, following me everywhere. It was in Zlatna that I swam, and Bitles followed me everywhere. When I was on the other side of the river, I called to him. He came. After swimming across the river for a few lengths, Bitles had a brilliant idea. When I reached the other side again, I called to him, and he noticed that there was a bridge a few meters away… That was the end of his river swims. From that moment on, he always chose to cross the bridge. Oh, how one can sometimes get lost in memories. It was longing that led me back to these places... Banan, reading this, must be thinking: what about spiritual development?
As the road began to branch off from the river, our trail became increasingly steep. So we decided to take a break at the wooden benches. There, we had a small snack, and Banan went to fetch water from the river, knowing there might be none along the way. After the break, we continued uphill through the forest, along forest paths. When we felt tired, we took short breaks and a longer one by a stream, which soothed us with its sound. There, Banan also took tons of photos of nature, of us and Anisi, who posed like a model. He took some photos while practicing yoga. At one point, he even considered standing on a tree trunk, but on his head... Such is our sports enthusiast, and not only that. After the break, we continued on. I remember passing a place full of bees, because you could hear their buzzing all around. Aśka then whispered to me that we should walk more carefully.
A few minutes later, we emerged from the forest and saw Krawcula Meadow, where the wooden Shepherd's hut, where we had booked accommodations, was erected. The journey to our destination took us three and a half hours. It's worth noting, however, that we took numerous breaks, some of them longer. This time, we didn't have to rush, giving us more time to admire the views. We entered the hut and greeted the tourists present. We immediately arranged accommodations and unpacked. I also greeted the owner, Szymon, whom I'd heard many positive things about as a good host. We were assigned a room on the first floor, where one wall doubled as a sloping roof. We even had a balcony. Anisia and Banan started pitching their tent right next to the hut. Then we went downstairs for something to eat. I bought myself some apple pie, which was still warm. I loved it. Afterward, we went to see how our companions were doing. Their tent was already set up. Meanwhile, Aśka had taken a shower, and I was planning to head to the Glinka Pass. I went there alone, as no one else seemed eager for such a long walk. I exchanged a few words with the young shepherd's hut owner, Szymon, and set off. The path led through the forest. I set a pretty brisk pace. After twenty minutes of hiking, in the silence of the forest, I could hear my own heartbeat. I took a short break, placed my camera on a border post, and took a picture. Earlier, I also had the pleasure of encountering a grass snake, just like the one we'd seen earlier. After another ten minutes, I was at the pass (I then sent Asiołek a text message, which I received a lightning-fast reply to) and at the border crossing. I wanted to get my GOT book stamped there. So I asked the customs officer if it was possible. She, in turn, asked a customs officer about it. However, he wasn't so kind and decided it wasn't possible. The nearest shop was four kilometers away, so I didn't bother looking for one. After five minutes at the Pass, I set off back. It was harder, as it was now much more uphill. Nevertheless, the return trip took me half an hour, just like the descent. After returning to the shepherd's hut, I drank some water to quench my thirst and went back for an apple cake. Later, we went to Ania and Paweł's to walk together in the meadow. We reached the highest point of Krawce Wierch, which is 1,064 meters above sea level. Only Banan made it to the very top. We didn't feel like fighting our way through the thicket of grass anymore. We decided to leave it for tomorrow. We returned to the hut to rest a bit. I went to the shower. There were two guys in the bathroom. I asked if there was a line for the shower. The answer was, "I don't understand." I realized they were Slovaks. So I opened the shower room and asked, "Are you free?" It turned out there was.So I quickly hung up my things there. It turned out I'd forgotten my towel. I hurried to the room, unintentionally scaring the half-naked Aśka into thinking it was a stranger entering.
In the evening, while it was still light, Aśka and I went for a walk towards the hut. We saw a blazing fire along the way. We knew Banan and Anisia had prepared firewood, so we thought someone was using their tree. I texted Banan to let him know someone had stolen their wood. Five minutes later, we saw Banan and Anisia walking towards us. They explained that they had previously agreed to a shared bonfire. So we approached the bonfire. At first, the dog belonging to the young couple from Gliwice wouldn't let us in. However, whether he wanted to or not, after persuading the owners, he graciously allowed us to sit by the fire. And while Banan was breaking sticks, the dog approached him and helped him with his teeth. We exchanged a few words with the dog's owners by the bonfire, while Aśka went to the shepherd's hut to get something. When she returned, it turned out there was no electricity inside, and one girl was moving around with a lit candle. This made her a little nervous. Anisia then went to get some mustard from the tent, because everyone except me and Aśka were eating sausages. I was telling her how I'd read online about a man in his fifties being struck by lightning, and the comments were full of responses like, "Where were his parents?" and then, "Where's your doctor?" At 10 p.m., the young couple headed to the shepherd's hut. We stayed by the fire, which was quite warm. You could see stars in the sky, though not many because of the clouds. We even saw lightning flashing nearby. When Banan asked where the lightning was, he received an immediate answer from Zeus, as he struck with a rather powerful bolt of lightning at that very moment. Anisia told us that five tent pegs were missing from their tent and that they hoped the wind wouldn't blow it away while they were sleeping in it. Banan, of course, assured me that nothing of the sort would happen and that everything was perfectly planned. Upon hearing this, Aśka replied that when Banan says something is extraordinarily well done, it means it's completely done. As it got later, we could hear barking and meowing from deep in the forest. The girls were eager to go to sleep. The only thing left to do was put out the fire. However, we had no water, and when I suggested we should pour some water over it, Banan jokingly replied, "Do you know how much water costs here?" I replied, "Less than the forest." So the girls tried to put out the fire in an unconventional way, smothering it. At one point, Aśka said to everyone, "Squint and look at the little fires." The sight was incredible. It was pitch black, and the only light was coming from those little fires. And when we squinted, it was a magical sight, filled with warm colors. Banan passionately took photos. Then he peed on the fire to put it out a bit. When someone pointed out that the fire wasn't extinguished yet, that the benches could still catch fire, he replied: "So what? I was going to burn them anyway."So, it was very enjoyable until the end. When the heat subsided, we went to bed, illuminating our path with our cell phones. We went to the mountain hut, they to their tent. I should add that next to their tent, two guys were camped in two single-person tents. They had been gathering there after 3 a.m., as it turned out later, to avoid hiking in the heat. Aśka and I somehow found our way to the mountain hut, to the bathroom, where we met our companions, and to our room, where we still shared beds. We fell asleep pretty quickly.
I woke up between eight and nine in the morning. Aśka was still asleep. I decided to go for a walk. I also paid for the accommodation and played with a little kitten. I visited Banan and Anisia, who were also lazing around. Banan seemed to be reading his book "The Miracles of Self-Healing." I also went to the highest peak of Krawce Wierchu, where there was even a small roof. Of course, I had my camera with me. After the walk, I returned to Aśka's and we went for breakfast together. I ordered scrambled eggs, a portion of bread, and the traditional slice of apple cake. Aśka ordered tomato soup, which she wasn't too happy with. She even let me try it. I didn't complain, even though it wasn't great. Then we started packing. Around noon, we vacated the room and left our things next to our friends' tent, which they were already starting to put up. I remember Banan and I teasing the girls about whether the apple cake at the mountain hut was fresh. After a while of picnicking, we went to the shepherd's hut for lunch. Initially, Aśka and I weren't planning on buying anything, but when we saw the blueberry pancakes from Anisi and Banana, we immediately felt like eating them. So we ordered a half portion. It was quite a large portion.
After lunch, I went to tell Szymon that we had already vacated the room. To which he replied, to his friend, "Did you hear? They ALREADY vacated the room." When I tried to take a picture of him, he hid behind the door, leaving only his bare feet exposed. Of course, it was a joke, and I ended up taking a normal picture of him too. He also told me, looking up at the sky, that a storm was coming in a few hours and that he was curious to see when it would catch us. He also asked when we would visit the shepherd's hut again. I replied, "Maybe in 15 years." He replied, "In 15 years, he won't be here anymore." We said goodbye and wished each other luck.
Later, we went to take a closer look at the hut Szymon had built two years ago. We left our backpacks at the Bacówka (Hillbilly Shepherd's hut). We opened the hut door and peeked inside. It was pleasantly cool inside. After enjoying the place, we went to the highest point of the peak to take photos in all directions. Then we slowly made our way back. We passed the hut, collected our backpacks, and started back down the same path. On the path, Aska noticed she had some gunk on her leg, probably from some plant. I wiped the gunk off her leg with my hand and then on her dress. She got offended, pouted, and left. After a while, when I tried to say something to her, she seemed reluctant to talk to me. So I set off down alone, leaving everyone behind. What's more, I took a wrong turn and lost the trail. However, I didn't feel like going back up and was hoping to find my way back down. I descended the mountain by instinct. It didn't disappoint me, as I reached the wood-laying spot, close to the river's beginning, where we were taking a break going in the opposite direction. I sat on a bench and waited. After a moment, I heard their voices. They joined me. I drank some water from the stream. After a few minutes of rest, I suggested we go. I allowed Banan and Anisi to walk a little further away from us. I looked at the stones on the road. When I saw another one, I decided it was the one. I bent down, picked it up, and after a moment, asked Aśka, "Do you want that stone?" It was an ordinary stone, and you don't even have to go to the mountains to find one. Aśka was a bit surprised, to which I replied that I wanted to engage in conversation, and the stone was just an excuse. She smiled sweetly, and everything returned to normal. She handed the stone back to me, and we joined hands. "I didn't throw the stone away, I put it in my pocket… I would have done exactly the same if I were you," Aśka replied. After a moment, we joined Anisi and Banan. He was wondering if he could grab the axe he'd found stuck in a tree trunk. I said no, that it would be different if he found his phone. After a while, Anisia was right in front, we were in the middle, and Banan was far behind… He took photos of everything he liked. And there were plenty of them, for nature blessed us with beauty. We spotted fish in the river, and later I even saw a tiny bird fly into the cascade of the waterfall. "Maybe it has a house there," Aśka and I joked. We also spotted a run-over grass snake along the way. It was probably the same one we'd seen on the way up. On the way down, we gazed at the fairytale landscapes of the local village, the flowing river, the wooden cottages and bridges. It all blended into a beautiful whole. It took us only an hour and a half to get down to the bridge where we started the previous day. There, we saw some boys jumping into the deeper part of the river. They even jumped headfirst,without realizing how they might end up…
The weather was starting to deteriorate, and Asiołek was urging me on. Anisia slowed down, waiting for Banan. We passed the Chapel, a café, a shop, and approached the house where our car was parked. "What good is it if we go there if Banan is the only one with the car keys?" I asked Aśka, who was in a hurry. She replied that she thought Banan probably hadn't closed the trunk. "So why didn't you tell him?" I asked. "Because I only just realized he'd forgotten to lock the door," she replied. She wasn't wrong, and after a moment, she opened the car. We decided to trick Banan into thinking Aśka had the ability to open car locks. So Aśka got in the car, and I went to thank the hosts for hosting our car. I also asked for a photo with them in front of their house. Those were very pleasant moments; I felt the magic of memories again. I admit that despite the dozen or so years since I last saw them, the hosts hadn't changed much. Neither had the entire town of Zlatna. They didn't even want money for overnight parking. And when they realized the car was unlocked, they said that nothing disappears here, so there's no need to worry, it's still peaceful. Finally, I asked for directions to the Smelly Brook. After hearing their answers, I said goodbye and got into the car in a pleasant atmosphere. Anisia and Banan had already arrived. I told Banan that towards the Brook you should turn right. I told him this about three times. Then he started the engine, hit the gas, and... turned left. It was a funny situation. The whole Banan thing is funny:
We couldn't turn around on three counts, yet after a moment we were heading in the right direction. We passed the magnificent wooden buildings of the new retirement home and passed a sign that said "Steelworks." That's when I knew we'd gone too far. I asked the locals for directions, and then we continued on our way. It was raining harder and harder, and thunder could be heard from time to time. Szymon's prediction from a few hours earlier, that a storm would arrive, came true. Within minutes, we reached the road that led to the spring. However, there was a no-entry sign. So we decided to walk there. My Aśka no longer felt like walking in the forest during the rain and storm. So she stayed in the car. The path to the spring wasn't quite as short as we'd hoped. It led uphill, alongside the river, through the mountain forest. Banan noticed that the riverbeds in Złatna were reinforced with stones by humans, and that it must have taken a lot of work.
After a dozen or so minutes of trampling, we reached the source of a stinking stream. A wooden chapel had been built where the spring once stood, so that the spring itself was in the center. Outside, at the top, stood a statue of the Virgin Mary, and that was probably the only way we knew it was a chapel. The spring had a distinctive gray color, and bubbles were constantly erupting from it. But the most distinctive smell was the spring's odor. Its scent resembled that of rotten eggs. Hence its name: the Stinking Stream. The spring itself is also said to have healing properties, especially for stomach ailments. So I drank from it by the handful, unconcerned by the smell. Banana and Anisia drank too. They even filled a bottle with water. The storm was raging at the time, so I turned off my phone. Then we started back. Banan concluded that the spring could be reached by car, as no one would enforce the no-entry rule against us. I persuaded them not to tell Aśka that we were going to the spring after getting in the car. Banan started the car and drove down the road into the forest. Aśka, astonished, began to ask, "Where are we going? What's going on?" It haunted her. It was amusing to see her surprised expression. Finally, Anisia told her, "You simply can't miss this!" Aśka smiled, and we were delighted to surprise her. When we arrived, we placed stones under the car's tires to prevent it from rolling over. Then we went to the spring. This time, Banan filled a five-liter bottle with spring water. Despite my attempts, Aśka wouldn't take a single sip of it. I, in turn, took another sip. I could smell the eggs in my throat; they practically made me burp. I felt like I'd eaten ten of them. What a wonderful feeling! It would definitely do me good. Meanwhile, lightning struck somewhere nearby, as we heard the bang almost at the same time we saw the flash. We slowly said goodbye to the spring, took some photos, and got into Hugo—that's what Anisia and Banana had named their car. Then we headed downhill and were on the road in no time. We stopped briefly at this new, exclusive retirement home to take a few photos. We joked that it would be great to see each other again in a few decades… After ten minutes, we continued on our way.
I knew it was time to say goodbye to Złatna. I was still looking out the car window, gazing at the passing views. From the car, I blessed this land and wondered when I'd be back. Oh, Złatna, you haven't changed much! I hope the goodness that lives in the people around me remains as constant as you! We left Złatna, passed through Ujsoły, Rajcza (it awakened memories for Banan and me from elementary school, about how Banan once left his backpack on the train), and headed for Żywiec. We got stuck in traffic, but we made up for it some time later, drinking Sheikh from a roadside McDonald's. The rhythms of Habakuk, but not only that, wafted from the car speakers. Anisia, as she had on the way to the Bieszczady Mountains, proposed a vote on what we would listen to next. I don't know how it happened, but Indian music won again, so Oliver Shanti accompanied us on the way back. Along the way, we stopped at another housing estate in Katowice, where Banan went to return his tent to a friend. Soon we were in Chorzów, at Aśka's house. I said a fond farewell to her and got into Hugo's car. Anisia and Banan drove me home, just like last time. I gathered my things from the car, got a 1.5-liter bottle of spring water, said goodbye, thanking them for everything, opened the gate, and a moment later found myself on the steps leading to my house. Thus ended another journey of mine, ours.
I love traveling... Life is a journey... Does that mean I love life?
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