The following day I woke up around 7 am. Breakfast was ready. I quickly had a shower and munched away my cereal. Mel was also up early and said they were planning to hike Morskie Oko too (along with Will from Canada). Will was up early too. I told him I’ve been to Canada and we ended up talking about where I was in his country. Josh, one of my roomies, was apparently a Kiwi too, from Auckland. He had a long beard that he decided to grow at the start of his travel. He was a very happy and funny bloke. It seemed the Kiwis always had that kind of personality wherever I go. Good to know.
We were instructed to walk down towards town (second rotunda from the main road) so to catch the bus to Morskie Oko. On the way, we dropped by a mini-mart and picked up muesli bars and water for Mel. I hailed a bus that passed by and we were happy the driver pulled over to give us a ride. Mel and Will didn’t have cash on them, so I was the financer for the whole day. The bus ride to the start of the hike was a 45-minute bus ride. Mel and Will chatted along the way while I started setting up the SPOT. Which got them asking about the device. I explained it to them and Will commented that it wouldn’t be of use though if I already fell down or died. He had a point, but it’s better to be safe than never, most especially if I was doing stuff by myself.
By 9:45 am, we were already lined up at the start of the hike. I paid for the 3 of us, and Will got a discount,
declaring that he was still a student. We started walking on a paved road. There was an option to catch a horse cart ride for 15 Zloty’s. Will initially considered that, but I opted to walk. It was going to be a 2-hour walk (part of it hike), my mind was prepped up for that. So we all decided to walk together. Stories were shared. They would usually talk about Edinburgh coz both have lived/stayed there and they couldn’t stop raving about the place. I listened through trying to remember a few tips and points I can take with me in case I decide to visit the place myself.
There were a few short paths, cutting through the trees instead of following the paved walk. Along the way, we passed by a flowing stream where kids stopped for a drink. I filled up my bottle and Will did the same too. The water was pristine clean and so refreshing. Ever since my Routeburn hike, I’ve always been excited when I encounter a spring up in the mountains with flowing fresh water .
After 2 hours, we found ourselves at the first lake. A big wooden building that was a restaurant/bar loomed over the lake. It was packed with people, majority locals. I recall only us speaking English. Everyone seemed to be speaking Polish. We stopped at the edge and checked out the view. It was quite challenging to take a clear shot due to the massive crowd that was building up.
Will decided to buy a beer with the goal of drinking it once we got to the summit. Unfortunately, the bar guy opened the bottle without asking, which left Will with no option but to drink it then. Good thing he had an empty water bottle, so we told him to transfer it to plastic. It looked odd, beer in a water container gave the effect that he was drinking apple juice.
We stared at the reflections on the lake. Trickles of white lines that seemed like snow, trailed through the mountain before us. I assumed it was a certain type of white rock. After some time we followed the path beside the lake and found more people just waddling beside the water. Majority of them stayed there but we found it strange that nobody was swimming. The water was cold but it was way warmer compared to the one we swam at in the Routeburn track.
There were 2 options to get to the second lake. One was to the left which was a 50-minute walk. The one to the right was an hour’s walk. We decided to go for the left one, which was in close proximity to the summit walk (3 hours and more). The trail was more of the hike we were thinking of. It was all stones and terrain which slowly got more intense as we got up to the second lake. It’s always been my weakness to climb stairs, with my thighs burning after continuous effort. I’ve always had issues with my thighs. And at that point since I’ve stopped hiking for more than a month, my fitness level was low. Mel was huffing and puffing too. Will was way ahead of us, without a tint of effort, holding on to his beer. I had to stop three times, if I remember right. But it was all good. I’ve learned never ever try to catch up with the pace of someone who’s faster. Take your pace, breath your rhythm and just don’t over force it. I looked up and could see the rain clouds coming in fast. I already thought we didn’t stand a chance once the thunderstorm came pouring in.
By the time we got to the summit, Will was well rested already. The big cross stared down at us and the second lake was less crowded, just the way we liked it. There was a girl who had her painting materials right beside the edge where the waterfall flowed. She was selling her canvasses, but also working on yet another inspiring canvass of the landscape that stood before us.
We decided to find a spot right beside the lake, slowly taking out our sandwiches, remnants of that morning’s breakfast from the hostel. Good thing Amanda was cool about it. I’ve encountered some other hostels that explicitly had sig n boards saying people were not allowed to pack up food from the free breakfast table. Fair enough.
As soon as we sat down on the rocks, we stared in awe at the droplets of rain across the lake.After a few
seconds, the thunderstorm decided to pour down on us. We hardly finished our sandwiches, decided to gulp it and take out our ponchos/jackets. From a distance we could see people walking back from the summit. I was glad we didn’t force it to go up, or else, I’m sure we were bound to slip at some point. I did regret not taking photos the very moment we got to the second lake. But I guess Will’s photos would be enough of a remembrance.
We quickly found ourselves walking back, drenched in rain and not sure how far we should go back. The wooden façade of the building at the first lake was a little bit hazy from a distance. Massive cloud formations slowly crept in and visibility of the summit quickly decreased to zero. I slipped twice on the way, which was very embarrassing. Mel’s shoes which weren’t proper hiking boots, was the winner, i.e. never slipped not even once. Will was also wearing hiking boots, and he had his one slip too. I wonder if it was something with how we were walking.
When the rain decided to stop for a while, we also found ourselves stopping at the edge of the first lake. I’d say we stopped for an hour there, just staring at the beauty in front of us but also listening to the roaring thunder. A wild deer suddenly crept out of the bush, and we watched as it walked away elegantly, unafraid of human bystanders. We chose our spots and talked a lot about our plans in our future travels within the Europe leg. Will was torn between going home earlier than planned, or staying and exploring the Balkans. Mel was thinking if she should stay in Krakow and work for 2 weeks in a hostel, mainly organizing the pub crawls. And as for me, I wasn’t really sure where I was headed after Zakopane. After some time, Mel decided she’d check out Krakow. Will still couldn’t decide and as for me, I wasn’t sure. I just wanted to enjoy the moments in Zakopane.
Before wrapping up we agreed to take multiple jump shots until we got it right. Mel was really good at it, while Will and I took some time to get it right. It was quite difficult catching the perfect time since I just had the camera on timer. After I’d say 10 tries, we decided to take the last 2 jump shots before heading off. The skies were still cloudy when we got to the first lake. We stopped there for more than an hour and decided to have a beer and toast to the adventures of the day. I really liked how we were just laughing and talking, chilling around the beauty around us as the thunderstorm still dropped its rage on us. Admirably though, we still observed locals arriving despite the weather. Mosquitoes swarmed around, Mel was viciously taking each any flying thing that came her way. Will was the soft hearted, just playing with his palms and catching them, then slowly letting it go. I learned that Will had a fixation on turtles and Mel on octopus’. I wasn’t sure what animal I had in mind, so I just listened to their exchange of sarcastic jokes, which we all laughed at.
Eventually, we decided to head back to the bus station, walking on the paved way again. For some reason, the walk seemed to take longer than before, but I guess it was because we were already exhausted and getting drenched in rain wasn’t the most comfortable feeling to be in. Along the way, I let the two go ahead of me as I took my time walking and looking around. I just listened to their conversations about the different pubs they’ve been to in Edinburgh.
After 2 hours, we found ourselves at the entrance of Morskie Oko. Tired and hungry, Mel was thinking of hitch hiking but I said I’d rather us catching the next shuttle back to the hostel. The aroma of barbeque was in the air while we waited. After 15 minutes we were on our way back to the town center. I sent a text message to Mr.G and watched the sunset over the Tatra mountains as the shuttle went through the winding road.
It was dark by the time we got back to the hostel. People were asking how our day went, so we told them about our adventures. Because of hunger, we immediately headed to a supposedly grocery store, but we ended up almost close to town coz we were craving for meat. Mel and Will were decided to watch the sunrise, after finishing a bottle of rum…I wasn’t sure if I really liked the idea, but I tagged along.
And so, we went back to the hostel, happy with our burger ingredients combined with the local beer and rum & coke. By the time we got back, almost everyone was finished eating dinner except for the 2 Dutch blokes. Mel started the barbeque while I started cutting the veggies. Josh sat beside me and we talked a lot about his travels to the Philippines & other parts of Asia. Under the cloudy night skies, everyone was out talking and sharing stories… it was a great feeling. There was another girl who was from Australia, but I forgot her name. A guy from England just arrived that day to work in the hostel. And another guy from the US (Christian) was at the end of the table, talking to the Dutch boys. Everyone was socializing, it was good.
Around 10 pm, everyone decided to go back inside, wash the dishes and commune in the lounge. That’s when we started jamming with the guitar. Everyone was laughing when Christian started joining in with his human trumpet sound. It was hilarious and amazing at the same time coz it really sounded like a trumpet. The Dutch boy jammed a few songs and we all sang along. Mel had her ukulele and harmonica and that added up to the fun of the night.
By 4 am, Mel, Will and I were the last ones standing although I still wasn’t sure if I was serious about catching the sunrise. I shared with them my original songs and we all exchanged songs and artists that we really liked. For a short amount of time I really appreciated that moment.
Around 5:30 am we called it quits coz the skies were just plain gray just reaffirming the weather forecast of thunderstorms. I quickly had a shower and said good”morning”.
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