The Carpathians - Ukraine - page 253

Kosiv 20uah, 1¼ hours, nine daily (plus many marshrutky )
Rakhiv 45uah, 3½ to four hours, six daily
Yaremche 18uah, 70 minutes, 10 daily
TRAIN
Local trains go to and from Rakhiv (four hours, one daily), Ivano-Frankivsk (1½ to two
hours, four daily) and Chernivtsi (two hours, four daily).
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Kosmach
03478 / POP 6000
Few would brave the potholes to this sprawling Carpathian village, 35km to the southw-
est of Kolomyya, were it not for the privately run Oleksa Dovbush Museum (
03478-576 17; vul Dovbusha 17; open on request) . Run by the inimitable Mykhailo
Didyshyn, this must be one of the oddest sights you'll find among the peaks of Europe's
east.
Didyshyn claims the garden hut housing his small museum is the one in which the 'the
Ukrainian Robin Hood' was killed and he even shows you Dovbush's very own hat, belt,
axe and bag. The rest of the one-room museum is mostly taken up with the strange fig-
ures Didyshyn has carved from tree roots, as well as assorted Carpathian junk with a tall
story behind every piece. Outside stands Didyshyn's 1988 Dovbush monument, but the
museum's most fascinating exhibit is the grandly mustachioed owner himself, an artist
and photographer persecuted by the KGB for his Dovbush obsession. Take an interpreter
along to hear some of the most colourful tales between Prague and Kyiv. Allow several
hours for a visit if Didyshyn is in the mood to talk!
Third-world roads are keeping some tour guides away from Kosmach these days,
which is a shame. Combined with Sheshory, it makes an interesting day out from Ko-
lomyya, the best place to pick up a guide/interpreter, but be prepared for a rough ride.
Public buses do head this way from Kolomyya but a little local help will save you lots of
hassle.
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Kosiv
03478 / POP 9000