Getting off the train in Bulgaria, the storm clouds loomed
above and I was forced into a Lada (mass produced commie vehicle) with a hillbilly
looking guy who said he would drive me and two of my companions to the hotel.
His car was forty years old and as basic as they come, and as I sat in the
front the guy was creeping me out with his awkward enthusiasm to practice a bit
of English, making me think he was wrong in the head. I thought I was going to
be told to squeal like a pig before too long. But no, he dropped at our
accommodation, helped unload our packs and waved us off with his toothless
grin. Thanks fella.
Our first stop was a small town called Veliko Tarnovo, and
it didn’t take too long to see the scythes and horse drawn carts. It’s a nice town,
perched on a small canyon forged by the river.
When I got in a taxi and asked to go to a nearby village for
a look, the driver was smiling and shaking his head. I couldn’t understand it,
it was only a few kms away, why wouldn’t he take us there? So I repeated myself,
said the name of the village slower and offered him a little more money than we
were told would be enough to get us there. Again he shook his head with a wide
grin. And then I remembered; here, shaking your head from side to side is positive,
meaning yes, or I agree, whereas nodding your head is the negative. I got
caught like that on a few occasions.
The capital, Sofia, has a great name and a nice church and that’s
about it. Like Romania, the action is out in the countryside and up in the
mountains.
Next we took a public bus up into the mountains and visited
a monastery. It was impressive but I was more taken aback by the mountain
landscape, the pine forests, and the streams raging with snow melt. This would
have been a great place to stay longer and do a few hikes.
Next we stopped in a small village called Gorno Draglishte,
and this was one of the bsolutye highlights of the trip. Myself and another guy
walked up to a chapel on a nearby hill and had the amazing panoramic views of
the surrounding mountains. It was a great afternoon and as we kept walking
along the ridge of the hill, the evening set in and the colours of the clouds
were changing every few minutes. Joe and I wandered around these empty hills for
hours just breathing it all in. 
The house we stayed was somebody’s home and they put on a
feast for us. The next day the village had an annual show and we got to see
dancing, singing and everybody in town come out to watch. After seeing so many
bullshit ‘local performance’ tourist trap fakes over the years, it was nice to
see something that they were doing just for themselves, and we just happened to
be there on a the right day. We got lucky.
Later that day we drove up into the hills to a bear
sanctuary. This organisation confiscates or purchases bears off gypsies who train
them to dance, fight each other, or fight with humans. The bears we saw had
suffered from years of abuse and malnutrition and most were kept from
hibernating. Some looked so gnarly I wondered how they could still be alive,
and one or two were obviously mentally ill – and you’d think that would be hard
to spot in an animal, but im telling you
these bears were messed up. Some had half their jaws missing, or had big
gaps in their face where big rings had been. Some looked healthy though, and
for the second time that day we were given a performance; a very rare one we
were told.
I rated him 9/10 for stamina, 2/10 for technique.
Our next stop in the mountains was Bansko, which applied to
host the upcoming winter Olympics. It’s a ski resort town and not very
exciting, but its close proximity to the highest and grandest mountains make it
a must stop coming through Bulgaria. A few of us did a hike up into the hills
to get to an alpine lake. It was one of the most epic landscapes I’ve ever been
in. 
Final town in Bulgaria was Plovidv. Not a whole heap to see
here…Our hotel didn’t allow smoking or guns so I had to leave my cigarettes and
my gun with the receptionist.
From Plovdiv we caught an overnight bus down and into Turkey
(with immigration and customs processing from 1 – 3 a.m.). I was so happy to be
in Istanbul, because I had booked for 17 days and I thought I could kick back
and relax for a couple of weeks. Oh how wrong I was…
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