Day 45 Kosmach UA 12Aug’26

Thanks to Putin’s war, no electricity this morning so no shower & no toast. Yesterday Oksana bought a toaster from Yabluniv because a couple of days earlier I’d asked if she had one! Breakfast & hot drinks became the duty of Oksana’s mum. Their traditional home setup was far more resilient & when required, functioned perfectly well without electricity.

Peter invited me into his workshop & we talked about his work.

The wood Peter uses for his doors is a dense, close grain, quality pine & the doors produced are of exceptional quality. Quite a craftsman!

Today our new schedule was implemented. First on the list was Oksana’s Aunt Paraska’s house (Peter’s sister). She’d had a long life, outlived her husband but died about 10 years ago. The house is exactly as she left it & has remained unoccupied ever since. It’s a glimpse of a bygone Hutsul way of life & treasure trove of Oksana’s dad’s family history. I suggested that she, Mariia & her dad, Peter, spend time here, capturing the family history which may otherwise be lost, something I wished I’d done with my family but didn’t. A privilege to have been invited here. I borrowed a few old photos to bring back to England. There I will carefully clean & scan them, then pass them back.

We’d spent too long at Aunt Paraska’s house & were now late for our next item on today’s schedule, the Kosmach Orthodox Church.

Vitaliil is church warden for the Kosmach Orthodox Church. With full access he had offered to give us a grand tour. We found him in his car patiently waiting at the top of our drive. Once in the village centre, despite our lateness, it was Ukraine, so we found time for coffees & ice creams before starting.

His tour exceeded all our expectations.

I became the only Englishman to have ever tolled the Kosmach Orthadox church bells! What a privilege!! Even the priest came by for a chat. As with many other locals, he asked if I wanted to live here. I gave my now standard answer – “it is to be my second home”.

Next, on to visit Oksana’s husband’s grandma, Halyshka. This was a high priority – the wider family normally visit every Sunday, after church but, this week, we will be hiking. She’s a very popular, engaging member of the family & Oksana’s niece, Lillia, joined us. Another, still living a Hutsul style life, her house is small, surround by a barn & other outbuildings, plus the essential well. For livestock, a cow, chickens and at least one dog. A traditional Hutsul lunch had been prepared in quantity & quality & we chatted as we ate about my ride & Ukrainian stuff. Translations being provided by Mariia & Oksana.

Our final stop of the day was the Butinar Museum, still in Kosmach but over a mile walk beyond the centre. We were very late now & found curator, Vasyly, patiently waiting over 1hr. We did our introductions & apologies which he generously accepted. The museum is dedicated to the history & crafts of the butynars, (traditional Carpathian loggers). After a video introduction with English subtitles, he gave a full, knowledgeable tour of the reconstructed buildings & contents. Eg a logger’s hut, an Austrian period house, a period Hutsul shop and much, much more. Oksana did the translation and I hope much will remain in my head until I have time to write it down.

Walking home from the village centre, on two occasions, motorbikes stopped to shake my hand & congratulate me on riding here from England. I’d been recognised from the Facebook post that had gone viral throughout the village – and was easy to spot by how I dressed.

Once back home, we ate the local traditional Hutsul food prepared by Oksana’s mum. Peter asked if I enjoyed it. I told him Maraslava’s cooking was always excellent & that I believe she had a role in heaven.

The last visit of the day was to join Oksana & her mum & dad & Mariia down to the field to milk their cow. A task they must undertake twice every day of the year. Our reward is a plentiful supply of fresh milk, home made butter, cheese, & cakes. The act of milking was the responsibility of Miroslava as we all watched which took about 20mins. Hard on the wrists, she said afterwards. Still not seen their pig but I’m told it really does exist.

What a day – it was full-on & another to look back on with great pleasure. Lots of videos still to review & lots of pictures & notes still to add.