Carpathian Mountain Trip with Real School: Day 4

Thursday morning started out rainy, foggy and so very cold. 

 We spent the morning in the cafeteria making crafts that I brought with me from home with the other two kids who were along on the trip and their Mom, Katya.

Most of my crafts were superhero based but I did get to help the other kids too - the little girl, Alissa needed a princess crown made and I was the one with scissors and tape so I happily helped out. 

Some of the others played games at the table in the very top turret: 

August with the stuffed boar in the cafeteria: 

We were supposed to be out hiking and therefore no lunch was prepared for us in the cafeteria however because of all the rain, we weren't out hiking. So a fire was built and lunch supplies were bought.

Potatoes stuffed with salo (pig fat), sasissky (sausages) and bread.

The potatoes are wrapped and put into the coals to cook.

It stopped raining while we were making lunch so afterwards we headed out to see the waterfall and we met this happy, fat pig along the way. 

I loved the haystacks! I thought these were a thing of legend, only in story books but nope - they exist for real in western Ukraine!

The waterfall was "800 meters" from our base but we walked for probably about three kilometers. It was totally worth it though! It was actually a big waterfall!! 

August did NOT think so and cried the entire time we were there because "this isn't a real waterfall." 

I tried to ask him what a "real" waterfall was but he had no answer for me. Maybe he was thinking about a water slide???

Steve had to prove  his Canadian-ness by swimming in the waterfall with our friend Tolik and two other girls who had far less fun than Steve and Tolik. 

 On the way back to our base we found the actual 800 meter path so it was a quick trip home!

Supper was true Ukrainian style this evening!! First of all there was a Ukrainian music group playing classic Ukrainian songs with an accordion and other interesting instruments. Supper was a salad of pickled things:

And the main course came in this beautiful little dish that I will admit, I was slightly afraid to open! I couldn't help but think of the chilled monkey brains from Indiana Jones.....

 Everywhere we go we get fish, and it's always weird, so imagine my surprise and relief when inside were delicious fried potato pancakes with mushroom cream sauce and chicken! Delicious!

In the evening we headed over to the "chan". A chan is a wood-fired hot tub that will scald the flesh off your body.....depending on who is in charge of the fire, of course. The place itself was just beautiful - big opening to the sky....

 .....here's the wood fire under the metal cauldron....I mean, tub:

 There was also this cold pool and down the stairs was an even larger and even colder pool with a lit-up fountain.

It was so lovely but unfortunately, there were so many people that we had to go in stages and the people who went first didn't leave when they were supposed to leave, the noisiest people were in charge of the water temperature, some people decided that they needed to throw a whole bag of tea????? leaves into the tub......I think it would have been a very lovely experience and something that I would really enjoy IF I was with a very small group of friends! I did ask if there were any chans in Zaporozhye and unfortunately there isn't, but I always have the banya!