This was written a week ago during my stay in Moldova…

Last weekend we had an interesting opportunity to go on a little adventure. Our host, Andre, wanted to take us to the Rehabilitation Center he runs (which a previous World Race team helped fund and get running) and needed our help cutting down some corn.
 
Sounded sweet enough. That is until I was told we were walking there and it would take upwards of 5 hours.  Can’t say I was exactly the most enthusiastic one in the bunch. We set out Friday afternoon with our daypacks and sense of adventure. The journey was more fun than expected. We stopped to drink from random wells, had some chats with some cow friends and more.

Upon arriving at the Rehab center, which only took 3 hours instead of the aforementioned 5, I just wanted to sit. Instead, we threw our stuff down and took another little hike to Ukraine. Wait what, did she just say Ukraine? Yep, we walked there. No big deal. We did our best to blend in when the military passed by us too. Let me just tell you I’ve got the ‘Moldovan native’ look down.

An hour later we arrived at our destination, a beautiful river in Ukraine. Much of our team jumped in the cold water, I chose to sit and enjoy the view.

After swimming, Andre wanted to take us the more ‘interesting’ way home. For future reference, when a foreign man who wears flip flops to walk 5 hours tells you he wants to take you home an interesting way it’s probably not the safest or easiest way home.

 

We shimmied through a cave next to an animal skeleton and a cannon ball in the wall. Climbed up falling rocks and of course walked on the train track home. The usual.

The next morning we got up early and set out for the real reason we were there…to conquer the cornfields, and boy did we. I think I enjoyed hacking away with a machete more than I should have. Let’s just say in the harmless cornfield cutting competition my partner Hollis and I, or as we dubbed ourselves the Lady Corn Warriors, totally dominated. Not that anybody was keeping score… 

                
                Lady Corn Warriors dominate the corn fields!                              Me with a machete is probably a dangerous combination.