The day started well with fried eggs, which were of course covered in grated cheese! Eager to get going, we made our way to the butterfly house for day two of construction. Along the way, we stopped at a spring which we had not yet visited. This one was an improvement to the one before, although it still bubbled up petrol-tasting water which I couldn't quench my thirst on!

Once we arrived at the butterfly house, we were shown the plans for the interior so that we knew exactly what we had to achieve. Tonnes of soil still had to be shifted using spades and a wheelbarrow, in order to level out the floor and to create the pathways. Michael and I cracked on with that for the morning, while Kate and Simon painted the wooden beams outside. It was another sweltering day, which felt even hotter as the day went on as the house was quickly being sealed up as construction reached the end. A welcome break came in the form of a distraction when a Swallowtail butterfly fluttered around the crop field outside. Kate and I spent about ten minutes chasing it around to get a decent picture! While we were doing this under the baking sun, it began to rain bizarrely, but it was the kind of rain which felt like a warm shower.

Lunch came around quickly. We were all delighted to see that we had a banquet set up for us. In the centre of the table was a large pot of stewed sausage and potato. Not exactly ideal for Michael's vegetarianism so he lapped up the mouth-watering smells and feasted on the homemade bread and cheese instead. We also had plenty of pickled cucumbers, mozzarella and a plaited white, mild cheese. This was all washed down with a bit of beer (and schnapps!) before getting back to work.

Time was ticking on so we all got stuck into it. Concrete blocks were delivered during the afternoon so we all helped to transfer them to the inside of the house. These were going to be used to border the pathways. I had an amusing little moment with one of the Hungarian builders when he insisted that 'Hungarian women do not do heavy duty work like this'. I happily replied that I am not a Hungarian woman and so I will be continue to help carry the concrete blocks! His attitude didn't bother me too much as I could see that this exchange occurred due to cultural differences. I had read about the male-dominated Romanian society in the Lonely Planet guide so it was interesting to see it for myself.

Later we had another delivery, this time a cart of limestone rocks, brought to us by a horse. Not something you see in England often! These rocks were for the rockery inside the butterfly house so once again we all put hands on deck to transfer the load inside. A couple more hours of levelling out the soil and we had completed the job. It looked pretty good!

Laszlo dropped us off at the apartment. He told us that he would be back in ten minutes to introduce us to his colleague, Paul. A short while later, Kate and I heard male voices outside on the balcony. We bounded out, eager to meet Paul. Two men were standing with Simon and Michael, dressed in suits and looking smart. I did think this was an odd appearance for someone working in conservation, but nevertheless we both smiled and introduced ourselves. Later, Kate and I found out from the boys that these two men were in fact our Hungarian neighbours who were in town looking to pick up women. Which is probably exactly what they thought they had done when we both ran out, smiling and pleased to make ourselves acquainted! Oh dear me....

Laszlo and his colleague Paul arrived ten minutes after that debacle. Paul also works for AGORA and will be joining us for the raptor surveys.

We all stayed in until it was time to walk to Select for dinner. A huge thunderstorm was unfolding directly above us, giving us impressive displays of forked lightning and deep rumbles of thunder!

Dinner consisted of a plate of butterbeans in a sauce, served with meatballs. This was followed by an evening of chess in the local bar to even out the score between us (Michael and I won!).