I visited 4 out of these 8 churches by car on a day trip from Baia Mare. The first one I headed for was in Rogoz. Memories of a trip searching for small wooden churches in Slovakia came to my mind – finding them in towns full of churches is not all that easy. Rogoz also has several churches. The “old wooden one” is at the back of the village, while the newer ones have prime locations. In fact, there are two old wooden churches next to each other here. The church was locked so I only had a look at its distinct exterior decorations sculptured out of the wood.

I then drove on to Surdesti. The church here is on a hill at the end of a tiny road. The rain had started pouring again, but I had come at the right time: there was a service going on (it was Sunday morning). The singing could be heard from afar. Dozens of people had to stay and pray outside. I sheltered beneath the gate, together with a begging boy and some latecomers. After the service ended, surely about 200 people came past us. I then could enter the church. The interior amazed me: it was like a warm home! Woolen blankets covered the benches and the floors. The interior walls are completely covered in vague, naïve paintings.

Afterward, I went back to Baia Mare waiting for the rain to end. I took along the young beggar from Surdesti church, who was hitchhiking by the side of the road. He wanted to get out at the next church in town, after having verified that the service was still going on. So he could get something from 2 congregations in one morning!

Later that afternoon I went to visit two churches to the northeast of Baia Mare, Desesti and Budesti. It takes crossing a mountain pass with about 20km full of hairpin bends to get to this secluded region. The church in Desesti is uphill, entered via a large graveyard. Sculptured decoration covers the outside walls, mainly geometrical motifs. Chickens are the prime residents on-site so it seemed.

The road from Desesti to Budesti is the prettiest that I have taken in Maramures. It's small and winding and passes through farmlands with the characteristic Romanian pear-shaped haystacks.

The church in Budesti is quite hidden in town also, the signboard had fallen down and I had to ask one of the old ladies in the street who were watching me anyway. A couple of men were digging a grave in the front yard of the church. The church here has bigger windows (a late addition?), so I could peek inside to see the paintings here.

Visiting these churches I think is as worthwhile for a look at rural life as it is for "just" the wooden architecture.