MellemPix

The elusive Lake Balea. It was a very cold and wet day. Surrounded by never ending fog as thick as cotton hanging in the air, we made our way up the mountains via the Transfagarasan. It was an unusual experience, to feel the nausea inducing winding road beneath you and not being able to see more than 10 meters in front of you. I don’t usually get car-sick, but this time I did. As we meandered through the infamous highway, with the temperature dropping as quickly as the minutes ticked by (or so it felt), I was trying to imagine how the terrain around us was from the narration given by our tour guide.

After about 90 minutes, we arrived at the fog covered peak of Lake Balea, which overlooked the Transfagarasan highway. The entire lake was covered in fog and so was the Transgafarasan. I was duly disappointed that all I could see was… mist. Not to mention that it was about 3 degrees cold.

This photo was captured only after we backtracked here at the end of the day and were lucky enough when the fog dissipated some for us to have a wonderful view of the lake.

And the fog lifted enough for us to see the lake and some of the mountain range around it.

The ‘little’ cabin on the lake at the far left.

Walking towards the peak past the lake. The perfect place for a view of the Transfagarasan.

Climbing up the steep slope towards the lonely outpost at the very top, under Christ’s roof.