The mysteries of Colti

Many forces and mysteries lie in the churned-up earth of Colți. As soon as you enter the valley that shelters the villages, the cliffs begin to emerge, creating an unexpectedly wild landscape. Bright white, criss-crossed by dark bands, they look like the half-witted guardians of a world you can only guess at. It’s an ancient world told by stray stones, often bearing bizarre markings, sometimes scars of mysterious natural phenomena, sometimes ancient inscriptions lost in times of legend.
You don’t have to be an expert in earth sciences to see at a glance traces of a struggle between the hardness of the stones and the forces that bend them, crushing them against each other until a black liquid is revealed – springs of fuel oil.
In the Siberian valley, the story of oil is visible in every piece of rock. Here you’ll find dark stones that break off into sheets. Geologists call them disodiums or disodium shales and know that millions of years ago they were the remains of micro-organisms trapped in the rock. These are the true source of oil. Black or reddish, angular and glassy rocks can be found everywhere, in valleys and rock faces. They are called menillites. They are hard rocks made of microscopic glassy shells of prehistoric micro-organisms. Rare among life forms on Earth. Then there are the light-coloured, hard sandy-looking rocks called sandstones. These are natural reservoirs where oil migrated and collected after formation.
Also here, where the Carpathians bow their humble peaks, is amber country. The ancient Greeks called it electron and believed it was clear proof that even the gods had feelings. What could shine more beautifully and delicately than the tears of the gods? They used it in magical rituals, like many other tribes lost in the mists of time. It has always been a mysterious stone, and the locals knew to seek it out and beware of its curse. In the old days, they even had galleries and sites where, like hunters, they stalked the precious gleam of the broken rock. Today’s museum at Colți houses a small collection that bears witness to times gone by. But places, places whisper the story of the cursed hunters.
Following the valley, you reach Piatra Corbului. Here stories of wealth and decay, of treasure hunters and tragic fates unfold. On the plains next to the great rocks of Pietra Corbului, at Motoca, you can still see traces of the passage of the man who made Romanian amber famous – the Romanian amber. Here, as in many other places in the Colților valley, an explorer searched for and gathered treasures. People tried to warn him, but there was no stopping him. In vain they told him that the stone, resin spilled from the eyes of the gods, once held in the palm of the hand, takes possession and urges you to search without rest, that it burns you and does not let you enjoy the treasure you have gathered. But it was too late for the explorer. In love with his treasure, he couldn’t bear to part with the stone, even though everything around him was falling apart. Only after his mysterious death did the treasure spread to the four corners of the earth. Queens and tyrants came to boast about the Romanian gems, but without knowing their story. The locals, however, have passed it down from generation to generation as a warning to those who find the stone of the gods.
Beyond the amber plains lurks an even greater mystery. Perhaps Buzau’s greatest treasure. The places where the rock has become a shelter, a place of worship and prayer for hermits and mysterious people whose names and stories have been lost in the mists of time. Churches, chapels, steps and many signs decorate the rock as if the woods themselves were a book that master hands with chisels and hammers tried to write and paint in the middle of the mountains. The forests of hewn stones are like a labyrinth. A place where even time has lost its way. For the stone does not tell us where the beginning is, what is the chronology of places and seems to silence the end. All the stone tells us is to be still, for here you find the power to be still. You only have to listen to nature and the voices of the people. The locals will continue the story. Only they know the mysteries of these mysterious places. They are the heirs – gateways to other worlds with legendary heroes, ruthless barbarians, wise kings and godlike beauty. Listen to the stories and connect them to the places, for they complement them. They give answers and can inspire as they have other travellers before.
There are many people enchanted by these stories that spring from the mysterious stone hidden in the Curve of the Carpathians. Some have searched them for treasures, others have sought answers for the history of our nation, but all have tried to leave knowing more than they came. The places chased no one away and silently revealed answers, inspired theories and urged return. For the multitude of mysteries cannot be contained in a single visit. There are some easy paths, and some not easily found on the first trip.

Source: www.tinutulbuzaului.ro