"ARE THE BEARS AWAKE YET?"

 

A visit at this park in a March day was not something I would plan on doing because of the hibernation of the bears. But here I am, back from that visit, which actually passed what I thought I could expect. I was expecting to not see many bears but I actually had the luck to see six of them named  Steve, Nala, Rina, Mal, Vinni and Emma. While going there a foreigner offered to give me and my colleagues a ride but we had already called someone so we kindly declined.

The environment was very impressive and green even though it is March, there were trees around the entry of the park, a big parking lot, and trash cans all around, to keep the environment clean. I was impressed by the trees and the playing ground that was for kids right in front of the restaurant, where people could sit and at the same time be able to watch their kids playing.

We followed some tables with signs and they led us to the tickets and the shop. The ticket price was 2,50 euros for person, and the staff told us the path and how much we had to walk, which was a 1 kilometre path. There were so many games along the way, that were appropriate for kids and grown ups . I was impressed on how most of those games were entertaining and at the same time educational. They taught us a lot of information about the bears, how they were living before, how they got rescued, when they were born, their favourite fruit, and anything that had to do with their health, and the danger that they could cause in case they got outside the electrical wire.

While visiting I noticed that one of the bears was actually blind, it's name is Steve, it was rescued by the team of the BSP, from people that were keeping that bear in a small cage to entertain visitors. Now it has a lot of space to play and walk around, and uses it's smelling skills to find hidden food around the games that are put in it's area.

I was proud of myself, because I got to show my colleagues the paintings that I made as a volunteer in 2017 and 2019 for the Bear Sanctuary.

I was feeling very alive to walk that path but it was also very exhausting, because there were a lot of ups during the walk. It was not my first time visiting the park but I remembered every experience I had before, one of them being a time when I got scared by a bear coming my way running. I can guarantee that visiting the BSP will only bring you joy, happiness, excitement and it will always be adventurous due to the entertaining games that not only are part of the path, but will also find you back to the starting point, where you can take group or individual photos in a photo booth.

 I cannot wait for summer to come, so I can go there and see all 20 of the bears. If you visit anytime soon, I recommend you research for the rules and advices, that are there for your safety and the bear’s.

Shkurte Gashi