I heard of a lot of people going biking in the Comana Natural Park, there was even a mtb marathon there, and that made me curious. So I met Cosmin last Saturday, threw the bikes in his car and left for Comana (30-something km away) via the lovely hood of Ferentari.

The forest of Comana is adjacent to a big swamp (people compare it to the Danube Delta) formed by the Neajlov river. Ergo there were hoards of mosquitoes and other blood-thirsty insects. Summer may not be the best time to visit, due to this and all the people having barbecues.

You may think: barbecues in a natural reserve, protected area, unique ecosystem? It’s nothing compared to the massive logging going on there, disturbing mostly by its unexpected scale. I’m sure people “accidentally” chop a few trees in most natural reserves (eh, Romanians…), but here things were done at an industrial level. Being a Saturday, there were no trucks there, just… truck marks, chopped trees, empty areas and a local carriage, picking up leftovers. The authorities don’t seem capable of controlling this, they don’t even have somebody collecting the 3 RON/person, 15 RON/car fee for entering the park. Meanwhile, forests are disappearing fast.