“Goats. They are weird. Yeah, they are crazy.” – Claudiu

We drove up to Zarnesti to Piatra Craiului and the beautiful gorge that is in the park. It was absolutely freezing, so we put on an extra pair of gloves – so officially, I had on: two pairs of socks, two pairs of pants, two sweaters, a parka, hat, scarf, and two pairs of gloves. And guess what? It was still freaking freezing. This is probably the coldest air I’ve ever felt, somewhere around -2 F.

The snow on the ground was crunchy and the air was crisp, and by God, we were going to see the Zarnesti gorge!

We didn’t mean to walk too far, but as we were going along, we met a couple coming the other way who told us that there were black goats (capra neagra) on the mountain ahead. Black goats?! Apparently, these wild goats are something of a rarity, so we walked full steam ahead, ready for a treat. Well, we walked around one bend and then another, and no goats. We decided to walk just a few more minutes, and then give up if those furry little jerks didn’t show.

And then…goats.

Can you see them in the photo? I spotted those assholes from the ground. There are six of them up there. A veritable goat-themed Where’s Waldo? of sorts. Look closer.

We watched them hang out for a bit. I had never seen a wild goat before. All of my previous goats have been of the farm persuasion. But these ~wild~ goats were everything they’d been hyped up to be – cliff dwelling, impervious to cold, and very chill. But soon, the novelty had worn off enough that I was very aware that I was cold. Very cold. And so we turned around and hoofed it back to the car (pun intended). It took a long time for my feet to warm back up, some kind of goat-induced hypothermia, I suppose. But it was worth it – the Zarnesti gorge was absolutely breathtaking. 

I was actually surprised to see how many people were up there. Lots of hikers, both serious and casual, and some families. Again, this is a country of people who know exactly how beautiful their land is – and they enjoy it whenever possible.

…and of course, I can’t have a post about Zarnesti without including a photo of this beauty, Piatra Craiului: