Thursday, September 20
Today’s destination was the Bialowieza Forest, a Polish National Park and Nature Reserve that straddles the border between this country and Belarus, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While most of the reserve lies in Belarus, the park is a popular Polish tourism center.
Vicki, who truly should have a renaissance career in travel planning, had arranged for an English-speaking guide and horse-drawn cart and driver to shepherd us through the forest. We met them at noon, as planned, after Tom navigated the many construction zone delays en route, as well as our ultimately successful, but hard-won pinpointing of the Bison Reserve, which we planned to visit later today, if time allowed. We arrived (just) in time to meet Basia, our guide, after we'd grabbed quick sandwich makings in a small market and then climbed aboard our cart and munched our way through the first part of our tour of the primeval forest.
Basia’s academic study of and interest (joy!) in forestry greatly enhanced our visit to the forest, whose origins as a protected space originated with the Polish kings and continued through the eras of occupation by the Russian Tsars, independent Poland, occupation by Russia, and today’s free, EU-member, Poland. As our horse clopped out of town and into the forest, Basia explained that the area had been demarcated by the Polish kings as a hunting preserve and lodge, a designation continued under the Tsars. Consequently, the forest remained a primeval space, as it is today. Access to the forest is strictly controlled: visitors must have an official guide, and no vehicles, other than horse-drawn carts and bicycles, may be used by tourists.
Once we entered the forest and were able to walk its paths, we realized how truly fortunate we were to have Basia with us. She has a deep love of her subject and an obvious joy in helping others appreciate the wonders of the forest. The varieties of species, the cycle of life, of the birth and regeneration that result from the death of an organism were displayed all around us, and without Basia, we’d have walked right by, oblivious to the interdependence staring us in the face. One of the first principles of the forest is that there is no human interference in the ways of nature that play out there. Dead trees remain where they fall, serving as nourishment and habitat for other species of flora and fauna; we were able to see – and hear – many examples of this in action. We had a wonderful lesson, taught by a stellar teacher, in the best possible classroom!
After leaving Basia, we made our way to the Bison Reserve, under whose auspices the European Bison was rescued from extinction. We wandered around, checking out a few bison, a hybrid or two, some lynx and a bugling elk who charged Tom as he called back and snapped photos from behind a double fence and a safe distance. Nice enough, but it paled in comparison to our experience in the forest. Perhaps if we’d had a zoologist along to guide us?!?
After happy hours in our respective digs, we all went back to the central square for dinner in its centerpiece restaurant, Esperanto, named and themed in honor of one of Bialystok’s claims to cultural fame. We had a variety of regional dishes, each one a winner, and we thoroughly enjoyed sitting out on this mild evening, reviewing the day and planning tomorrow.
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