The mountains in SW Bulgaria

What a difference a long weekend and a new counterpart can make.

Because of a holiday last week, we had a 4-day weekend. So I headed to the mountains in SW Bulgaria, near the bordering countries of Macedonia and Greece. In fact, after the first day of our 8-hr hike to the summit of Mt. Ruen, we were stopped by the border control police on our way back down the mountain, and had to hive them our names and EIN numbers.

Now, let me tell you..Bulgarians, are very different when they go hiking from when they take a stroll through town. I mean they move..and fast up those mountains. Most of the time I was in the middle to back of the pack, walking a good pace, chatting with other members and taking pictures. I tell you, they only took one real break at the summit the entire 8 hours..and they eat and drink so little when they hike, and afterwards they don’t appear nearly as tired as I did. And..after every hike, we pack up and head to a new city to see for an hour or two..then head to the next hija (hut) for the night and leave at 5:30 the next morning for a 10-hr hike..of course, this is always after a fun-filled evening of eating, drinking (home-made rakia and/or wine), and dancing. So, all in all they did one 8-hr hike (Mt. Ruen and Mt Shapka), and two 10-hr hikes (Mt. Radomir and Mt. Slavyanka); visited the cities Kyustendil, Petrich, Melnik, and 2 others I can’t remember; and visited 2 monasteris (Zemen and Rupite – a temple to Baba Vanga, a clairvoyant). I say they went on these hikes, because (I never thought this before, but I guess I’m a wimp), after the first 8-hr hike, I didn’t do the next two 10-hr hikes.

Bulgarians are honestly the friendliest people I have met, and the ones on this hiking trip only enforced these thoughts. I spoke pretty much Bulgarian the entire 4-day weekend..and they patiently listened and taught me much about the Bulgarian language, culture, and people.

So..since I was so tired after the first hike, I woke up a little later and went with a second group I had chatted with the day before..it was only a 5-hr hike, with lots of jokes, lots of talking and very relaxed. So..I swore I was going to hike the final day..but woke up at 4:30 a.m. to lightening and pouring rain. I turned to my counterpart across the room and said I wasn’t going. Turns out, all the rain stopped before they left and it was a beautiful day..but that’s ok, because again, we gathered a smaller group and finished another 5-hr hike.

I’ve posted a new link for pictures at the bottom of the web page..because the old location had reached capacity; you should check out the pics.

Oh, and did I mention my new counterpart (yes..new counterpart!!) was there as well. She has only been my counterpart for a week and already we have made more progress together in the first week than I did in the previous 9 months with the other ?**. It feels nice to have an actual counter-part to work with!