Two Nights in Balta Brăilei
By Ovidiu Cătănescu, with memories contributed by his brother Adi
An adventure with our best friends
Growing up in Brăila, my brother Adi and I were fortunate to have wonderful friends and a mother who was, without question, the best friend we ever had.
Among our closest childhood friends were Dănuț and Marian Ioan. Adi and Marian were classmates, and the four of us spent countless hours together, dreaming up adventures and finding ways to enjoy the freedom of childhood.
One day, we came up with what we considered a magnificent idea: we would spend an entire week in Balta Brăilei.
For those unfamiliar with the area, Balta Brăilei is part of the extraordinary landscape of the Danube, with its waterways, islands, reeds and rich wildlife. For a group of adventurous boys, it was the perfect destination.
We imagined ourselves spending our days exploring, fishing and enjoying life away from the watchful eyes of adults.
There was only one small problem.
We needed our mother's permission.
Negotiating with Mom
We approached our mother with our carefully prepared proposal.
We assured her that we would be responsible, that we would look after one another and that we would follow every piece of advice she gave us.
Naturally, we asked for a whole week.
Mom listened to our enthusiastic plans and eventually gave us her answer.
"Two nights. No more!"
She also made sure we understood that we had to take enough drinking water, food, medicine and everything else we might need during our little expedition.
There would be no improvising when it came to our safety.
We promised to follow her instructions.
Although we had originally hoped for a full week, two nights away from home sounded like a tremendous victory.
We had permission!
Our expedition grows
As the plans took shape, three more friends joined our little expedition: Bebe Pătrașcu, Marcel Crețu and my friend Marin, whom we called Marin Țiganul.
Our group had grown to seven boys: Adi, Dănuț, Marian, Bebe, Marcel, Marin and me.
We were ready for an adventure in Balta Brăilei.
Looking back, I can only imagine what our mother must have thought about letting a group of young boys spend two nights away from home, surrounded by water and wilderness.
But she trusted us enough to let us go, provided that we respected her conditions.
And that trust was something very special.
Departure before sunrise
Our adventure began at about three o'clock in the morning.
By approximately 4:30 a.m., we were crossing the Danube by boat, heading toward our destination. The early morning departure made the expedition even more exciting.
By six o'clock, we had already found a suitable place and started building our shelter.
We used whatever materials we could find, along with the ropes and wires we had brought with us. We were quite pleased with our construction. After all, we were going to spend two nights there, and we needed a proper headquarters!
With our shelter completed, we were ready to enjoy our little paradise.
Living like kings
During the day, life was wonderful.
We fished, swam, played and enjoyed every minute of our independence. We cooked the fish we caught and ate it with mămăligă, the traditional Romanian cornmeal dish.
What more could seven boys possibly want?
We had plenty of freedom, good company, fresh fish and a beautiful natural playground.
Our mother had insisted that we bring enough food and water, but catching and cooking our own fish made the experience even more satisfying.
We felt like experienced explorers, completely capable of taking care of ourselves.
At least until the mosquitoes arrived.
The invasion
As evening approached, the mosquitoes began appearing.
Not just a few mosquitoes.
Thousands of them!
They came in waves, attacking us from every direction. Suddenly, our wonderful shelter didn't seem quite so wonderful anymore.
We tried everything we could think of to protect ourselves. We closed every hole we could find and attempted to seal the openings in our shelter.
When that wasn't enough, we covered ourselves with whatever belongings we had available, including our backpacks.
Our magnificent expedition had turned into a battle for survival against the mosquitoes of Balta Brăilei!
There was no escaping them.
We had dreamed of spending an entire week in this paradise. Now we were beginning to understand why our mother might have been right to limit the adventure to two nights.
One more night
Despite the mosquitoes, we weren't ready to surrender immediately.
We endured another night, doing our best to protect ourselves from the relentless attacks.
By then, however, our enthusiasm for living in the wilderness had diminished considerably.
The fishing was wonderful. Swimming was wonderful. Cooking and eating together were wonderful.
Sleeping among thousands of hungry mosquitoes was an entirely different matter.
After our second night, we packed our belongings, dismantled our little camp and prepared to return home.
Our expedition had lasted exactly as long as our mother had permitted.
Two nights. No more!
Coming home to our best friend
When we finally returned home, we had an enormous amount to tell our mother.
There were stories about the early morning boat crossing, our improvised shelter, the fish we had caught, the meals we had prepared and, of course, the unforgettable mosquito invasion.
Mom was delighted to hear about our adventures.
More importantly, we had returned safely and had respected our agreement with her.
I believe that this experience strengthened the trust she had in us. She had given us an opportunity to prove that we could take responsibility for ourselves, and we had done exactly that.
Looking back, I realize how fortunate Adi and I were to have a mother who understood that children needed freedom, adventure and the opportunity to learn from their own experiences.
She didn't simply say yes to everything we wanted. She established rules, explained what we needed to do and expected us to keep our promises.
And then she trusted us.
We had left home dreaming of spending a whole week in Balta Brăilei.
We returned after two nights, exhausted by the mosquitoes but enormously proud of our expedition.
The mosquitoes may have won the battle, but we came home with something much more valuable: wonderful memories, stronger friendships and the confidence of knowing that our mother trusted us.
And that was worth far more than an entire week in paradise.
Dedicated to our mother, the best friend Adi and I ever had.
An Owl Spit childhood memory by Ovi Catanescu, with contributions from Adi. 🦉
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