We all know that highlander jokes are best told by bacowie at koliba, with the views of the High Tatra Mountains. Stanisław Rychtarczyk and his juhas Jędrek Otręba are not only highlanders of flesh and blood with several decades of experience in work with sheep, but also cheerful and open-minded people who like talking to cepry. You will find them in Rusinowa Polana.Last century, in Podhale and in the Karpaty Mountains, Zackels were bred traditionally. This breed of sheep had sharp wool but gave a lot of milk. Over the years, they have been crossed with other breeds and now an attempt was made to restore original Zackels. Bacowie even receive grants but juhas Jędrek Otręba who remembers the old days says that still these are not the same animals. And he knows what he says, because in Rusinowa Polana he guards the herd of 50 Zackels belonging to Stanisław Rychtarczyk.Both highlanders do not leave their koliba from May to October. They are not deprived of any company because large numbers of tourists bring them sufficient entertainment. Baca, laughing, willingly talks about “mushroom” pickers as well as about latecomers who come here asking for a torch which they did not take with them for their journey along the route. – Only a blessed candle will help you – he told once to an elderly married couple. The farmers from Rusinowa Polana are the highlanders who wear their hearts in their sleeves. Mr Stanisław has been working as baca for more than 40 years and he still remembers sheep grazing in Morskie Oko. Thanks to grazing his uncle’s herd, he earned money for his first bike. In turn, juhas Jędrek as a young man spent a few years in Italy and now he shouts at sheep in the language of Dante. All the animals have their own names and their guardians are able to recognise and call them without any mistake. In the hut of Stanisław Rychtarczyk, tourists may get mainly redykołki, i.e. small sheep milk cheeses which are served hot here. Traditionally, they are made of leftovers, which were not used in producing oscypki, but here they enjoy much greater popularity among tourists and often you cannot find here classic, large oscypek.