Hiking in Cahul and Ungheni

The story of a remarkable journey of the influencers Ludmila Adamciuc and Sergiu Beznițchi

The influencers Ludmila Adamciuc and Sergiu Beznițchi went on a trip to Cahul and Ungheni. Even if for some locals it may seem that these well-known regions can no longer surprise with something new, Ludmila and Sergiu proved otherwise. They discovered many new curiosities and experiences: from gastronomy and crafts to new dream locations. All of these became the scenes of a film with the voice over by each of them with their impressions and emotions.

Both imagined they were addressing a loved one, inviting them to visit the location and guiding them along the way.

While visiting the carpet factory from Ungheni, Ludmila was impressed by the achievements of this enterprise, which for more than 40 years has been producing carpets that reached all continents. More than 350 tonnes of yarn are used every month to produce the carpets and the length of the 42 years of yarn used is equal to two distances between the earth and the moon.

In Cahul, Sergiu went to the only sea-river port in our country — Giurgiulești International Free Port. Oil terminal, grain transshipment terminal, vegetable oil terminal, general cargo and container terminal, mixed-gauge rail terminal — all located on the Danube River at 133.8 km from the Black Sea. Thanks to this sea-river port, the Republic of Moldova has access to the Danube Delta, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

The films about Cahul and Ungheni, each about 20 minutes long, were produced with the financial support of the European Union through the “EU4Moldova: Focal Regions” Programme, implemented by UNDP and UNICEF.

What impressions they came back with from Ungheni and Cahul you can find out from the interview with Ludmila Adamciuc and Sergiu Beznițchi.

In the summer of 2022, each of you spent three days discovering the Ungheni and Cahul regions. How was the adventure?

Ludmila: It was very interesting and eventful. My husband is from Ungheni, but in my 28 years I never got to visit there.

These three days were full of discoveries and positive emotions. I was happy to discover the hospitality of the Ungheni people, who so beautifully portray this quality of our people.

It is not in our nature to keep people at the gate: we love to invite them to the table and serve them with the best we have, so that they feel at home wherever they come from. If I would come back to Ungheni, I would go fishing with friends in the Prut River. We didn’t get to do it this time, but what beautiful fish we saw at the bend of the Prut!

Sergiu: The trip to Cahul was an invigorating experience. Little sleep, lots of work, new people, interesting places. I’d love to be able to make such busy schedules myself. It’s a kind of fast-charge, with enough energy to last you a very long time. The couscous of Mrs. Maria Minciună (Auntie Masha) from Slobozia Mare and the Manta Lake brought back all my beautiful memories of the Danube Delta.

For me, the southern part of the country remains and always will be a big, generous, hospitable heart.

In the film, you often mention and address a friend. Is it a real person or a fictional character?

Ludmila: Throughout the film I was talking to my friend Beatrice, the little girl with an extra chromosome, my daughter. I would love to come back with her to Ungheni, to Cookies, and to have dessert together (she loves to eat) for breakfast. We would stop by Liliana Starciuc’s atelier for a dress and then we would definitely go see the horses, which I admit, I was a bit afraid of at first. Towards evening we would go to the park “Little Cluj” where she would surely find many friends.

Sergiu: I was addressing a real person. It is my friend, Sorin Roibu, who has been living in Philadelphia, USA for many years. I’d have Sorin go to Cahul to paddle among the reeds and water lilies at sunset😊.

Tell us about your gastronomic revelations and discoveries in Ungheni and Cahul.

Ludmila: I can’t overlook the cottage cheese pies with herbs we prepared at the Mircești Winery in the village of Mircești. They were delicious and reminded me of the taste of childhood. I recalled my great-grandmother who every Saturday would light the fire in the oven and pull the bowl out from under the blanket with a fluffy, yellow, well-risen dough. My job back then was simple: rolling lumps of dough from side to side. I would stretch it as thinly as I could to fold it back again and so on and so on, until my great-grandmother would finish the process. But to get back to your question — indeed, the pies at Mircești Winery were a delight.

Sergiu: As I mentioned in the film, I really liked the couscous prepared by Mrs. Maria Minciună or Auntie Masha, as she is known in Slobozia Mare. She is a talented cook who has turned her passion for gastronomy into a business. In addition to couscous, Mrs. Maria also makes extraordinary vegetable preserves, jams, sauces and liqueurs.

How would you describe in a few words the regions of Ungheni and Cahul?

Ludmila: Man, heart, impression, oak, strawberry.

Sergiu: People, hora-in-two-parts, heart, tradition, love.