Starting September in Stavros.

SAME THING WITH THE PHOTOS HERE...

 

1st September

Another long drive ahead of us today. The road south was good though; passing the amazing Pirin mountains and following a beautiful white water river. We used up the last of our Levs in the supermarket and headed to the border. The crossing was easy and suddenly we were in sunny Greece! I'd read about a wild camp in a car park on the beach in a town called Stavros - directly east from Thessaloniki where mum and dad are coming in a few days. We put it into the sat nav, which works again in Greece, and followed it there. Like before it took us the 'direct' route there which was lovely and scenic and hilly but also worrying as we had almost no petrol and it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. We saw cotton growing on the sides of the road though, which we've never seen before, and finally we came over a hill and could see the coast. Stavros is quite small with a few tourist bars and quite a busy beach. We drove past all this, following the coast along, passing 'no camping' signs to a big sandy car park right at beach level with cars parked and several other campers. We parked at the end and had lunch in the glorious Greek sunshine. After lunch we had a stroll along to see the beach and see if there were any loos. A bit further up were a few caravans properly set up with awnings out and all there stuff everywhere and there was even a toilet block. Basically it was a free campsite. We decided to move up a bit nearer to the toilets and found a great shady spot under the trees with Bulgarian holiday makers camping either side of us. Spent the afternoon swimming in the sea and chilling out. We went to a beach bar in the evening and the barman gave us two free beers. We didn't know why but we accepted them and they didn't have drugs in! We had dinner back at camp and sat up playing cards.

2nd September

During the night we were joined by a fat greedy mosquito that we couldn't catch a kill so we just had to accept being eaten alive whilst we were sleeping. We woke up for the tenth time when it buzzed in our ears and I saw that the sun was rising. Having had enough of the mozzie anyway I got the van and sat on the beach. Pete came out too and sat in his hammock and we watched a beautifully colourful sunrise over the Aegean. Sadly it was all we saw of the sun for the rest of the day. We've come all the way to Greece and it was a completely over cast day! Cold even! We put on jeans and jumpers and, as we were up so early, we walked into Stavros town to see it waking up. There were people out having coffee and a few shop keepers opening and we had a wander round. It seems like a nice town; we're out of season now, it was Monday and it was raining so it was very quiet. We did a bit of shopping and then got a coffee on what seemed like the main street. For breakfast we went to a bakery and got some pastries and sat in a park of plain trees. On the way back we picked a bunch of grapes from the side of the road - cool! We read for a while and had lunch sat in the van, hiding from the rain. We got restless and walked the other way along the beach in the drizzle. Hid out back at camp again and after the rain stopped we decided to have a swim in the sea even though it was a bit grey and Pete snorkelled and collected whelks to use as bait for fishing. At about four o'clock the sun finally powered through and a few tourists came out of their hotels and the beach was lively again. We took our chairs down to the waters edge and Pete did some fishing. As the sun was setting I went back to the van to make some dinner and bought it out to where we were sitting and we ate dinner next to the sea. Pete didn't catch any fish but it was fun anyway. We had a beer whilst watching the sparkling water and then retreated back to the van when the mozzies got too much to handle.

 

 

3rd September

Woke up to sunshine and had a lazy morning on the beach. At about eleven we walked into Stavros in search for a fish market so we could have a nice lunch. The town was much livlier today as the sun was out but we couldn't find a fish market anywhere. We finally gave up and went to the butchers and got a chicken. Then he actually told us the fish monger was just around the corner, but oh well. Before heading back we went for a coffee in a little old man cafe in a back street. The coffee was Greek style and the lady just boiled the water and coffee together over a little camping stove! The coffee wasn't great and it had all the grains the bottom but we liked the cafe and we stayed and played cards. As we were playing the lady bought us over a plate with two pastries - one cheese and one sweet - and said we could have it. It was delicious. And as we got up to leave she asked 'are you still hungry?' The Greeks are so friendly and hospitable! We strolled back along the coast to our camp and had a lovely lunch on the beach with a bottle of wine - as you do! Spent the afternoon in and out of the sea and giving the van a good clean out ready to see mum and dad tomorrow. Didn't do much for the rest of the day. In the night we woke up because the wind was rocking the van and blowing anything that wasn't tied down away - including our table!

 

 

The Black Sea and Beyond!

DUE TO OUR CAMERA BREAKING WE HAD TO USE PETES PHONE FOR TAKING PHOTOS UNTIL MY PARENTS CAME TO VISIT WITH OUR NEW CAMERA. IT IS SO SLOW TO EMAIL THE PHOTOS ACROSS TO THE COMPUTER SO THERE ARE ONLY A FEW OF WHAT WE'VE GOT. THERE WILL BE MORE WHEN WE CAN!

19th August

Had a morning of packing and uploading music and films to the laptop and saying goodbye to Matty and Ryan and Neil as they went of to school (Neil to work!). We had our last breakfast with Sarah and after a sad goodbye we set off on the road towards the Black Sea coast. The first couple of hours were okay, one lane roads with the usual crazy drivers and Pete got stung by a wasp whilst driving which was not good - thankfully there was a lay by right where we needed one. The last hour or so was great - there was our first motorway since Croatia and it was new and pretty much empty! We cruised in and out of Varna and headed south, trusting a couple of campsite signs on our Bulgaria map. We had forgotton to stop at a supermarket in Varna so got food for tonight from a small shop. We were very happy to see the campsite signs weren't lying and found a small place with wierd loos and a nice owner who told us that there were some other English people here! She obviously was surprised to have two loads of us. The site was about five minutes from the beach, called Romantika beach, and we walked down as soon as we arrived. Gorgeous beach! Wide stretch of white sand running all the way to the horizon one way, a red cliff the other and lined with trees at the back. The sea was blue and wavy and warm. There were tourists (all Bulgarian or Polish) but not too many to make it horrible. After a nice afternoon dip we got some beers from the tourist stalls and chilled out on the campsite for the evening.

 

 

20th August

We got up and got ready for a day of beach. We packed books, food, water and our big umbrella and headed down to the sea. We read, ate, drank, swam and had a lovely day relaxing. Completely different coast to Croatia - having the waves to play with and the sand to jump around on is fun! We got some food to cook for dinner from the tourist shops, as there wasn't a proper shop nearby, and had another evening in the campsite.   

21st August

We left the campsite today, mainly because we had no food and couldn't afford to keep buying food from small over priced shops, and headed south. There were a couple of campsite signs on the map and also a town that our Swiss friends back in Romania had told us they'd stayed in. When we found that the maps sites were huge, ugly four star complexes we headed to Aheloy to the recommendation. It was definitely worth it! We got a lovely spot amoungst the trees facing out to a dried up sunflower field on a campsite with direct access to the beach. Perfect. We set up, hammock and all, and after lunch went down to the beach. The sand here was black, as it's volcanic, and a bit grubbier than the last beach. It stretched south to a town much further down the coast and curved around to the north with some ugly new buildings on the edge. We have seen several huge complexes along the coast - alot of which seem to have been abandoned half way through building - but generally it has been surprisingly un-touristy. We were told it was really built up and August was the worst time to go! Another wierd thing about the two campsites we've been on is that they have little cabins, like in Romania, but here they are all really run down and eerie looking - we think they are ex-communist holiday places (but look more like army camps). Anyway the beach was also very windy which made huge waves that Pete very much enjoyed body surfing in and we played in the sea for a while. Back at camp we read our books and had dinner and ended another lovely day.

 

 

 

22nd August

Got up early for a little beach session and then came back to the site for lunch - less sand in the sandwiches there! We'd seen several people walking up the beach covered in black goo and we wondered what it was so after lunch we set off along the sand to the direction they'd all come from. The further we got the more black gooey people we saw and eventually we found, set back behind the beach, a big pit of black sulphur mud. It was set out in squares - like fields - so is obviously farmed (probably for face masks and stuff!) but there were quite a few people climbing in and rolling around in it just like a load of hippos. It was very funny. We got in and lay down. After you got over the initial gross-ness of it and it feeling like you'd get stuck in it forever we found it was actually really comfy and you felt weightless and floated around like you were on a big comfy mattress! A proper healthy mud bath like in a spa - but for free! Covered in mud we went back to the beach and dry off a bit. Pete got impatient and went straight into the sea but I rolled around in sand a bit, for exfoliation(!) and waited until it was all dry. It took a while to wash it off, especially out of my hair, but I had very silky soft skin afterwards. Great day. Another relaxing evening in the campsite.

 

 

 

 

 

23rd August

Pete had woken up in the night with really bad head and face pain and was feeling very poorly today. We did absolutely nothing - not even go to the beach. He stayed in bed and I stayed in the hammock and read my book and looked afetr him. Pete watched some of the DVDs we got from Sarah and Neil and had a sleep and we had an early night.

24th August

Pete was still feeling crap so he rang his doctor mum to get advice. She thought he needed antibiotics so off we drove in search of a chemist. Aheloy, the town we were in, didn't have a big enough chemist so we headed to Nessebar about ten kilometers north. Pete parked and I ran in and actually managed to get what he needed with no problem at all! I was surprised! Back at camp we had another day letting Pete recover.

25th August

We decided we'd move on today as Pete had felt a bit better yesterday afternoon what with all the pain killers he'd taken. We headed south towards Sozopol which supposedly had campsites in the bays on either side. The drive was pretty easy and after Bourgas we came off the main road on to a back road to find a campsite. We found it was a small dirt track with thousands of cars parked on it and a bay that might have been nice if we could see it through all the umbrellas. Three of the campsites were set directly on the sand, which sounds great when I write it but there was no shade and hoards of tourists everywhere. This is what people had been talking about. We went as quickly as we could along the road and through Sozopol and out the other side. This was no where near as bad and Pete was feeling crap again so we stopped at the first campsite we saw. Thankfully it was actually really nice, with trees hedges to give you our own area and, again, direct access to the beach. There were a few umbrellas here too - it's definitely the most touristy beach we've stayed on so far - but nowhere near as bad as the other side. Late afternoon we went for a dip in the lovely warm sea and we had another day and evening doing nothing.

 

 

26th August

Same again! Pete was feeling a bit better and we went to the beach after lunch for the afternoon. We made a great sand castle and Pete buried me and we got an ice-cream - all the things you should do at the beach. Great day.

 

 

27th August

Spent the morning and early afternoon at the beach again. In the afternoon we decided to visit Sozopol; a nearby town which is the oldest settlement in Bulgaria - colonised by the Greeks in the seventh century BC. We went to get the bus from outside the campsite and a little train thing came (like the ones you get around theme parks) and rode us over the hill to the town. We arrived in the new town and followed the coast around, pass all the restaurants and resorts, until we got to the beach - at least we think there was sand under all the umbrellas. Behind all this was the old town with some Greek ruins and very pretty wooden houses (which were old, but not BC old!) Strolled around here for a while looking at the souvenir shops and an art gallery and then got an ice-cream and sat people watching. Not ready to head home we got a drink from a shop and sat on a bench over looking the beach and used the free wifi. (We have got helpxes coming up in Austria and Poland which is exciting!) Quite a touristy town but we had a very nice afternoon there and when we'd got the 'train' back to the campsite it was time for dinner and bed.

 

 

28th August

One more day before we headed inland so we spent it on the beach. We packed up ready to go before we went to bed so we could leave first thing.

29th August

We had heard from a few people that there are no campsites in central Bulgaria and we believed them. Luckily there is a new motorway that crosses from Burgas right across to Sofia. We got up early and set off straight away on our long journey. The first half of the motorway was brand new, and even the second half wasn't that old so it was pretty easy going. The worst thing about it, as usual, were the Bulgarian drivers. We got undertaken in the hard shoulder TWICE because the cars over taking us apparently werent going fast enough. They were definitely going fast enough - they're just all bloody mad. Anyway we survived and we even got a KFC for lunch in one of the petrol stations! We came off the motorway just north of the Rila Mountains National Park and headed to the town of Sapareva Banya where we found a nice campsite. All up a 400 kilometre, seven and a half hour drive. After dinner we got a cold beer from the bar and sat up drinking wine to celebrate the end of Petes antibiotics!

30th August

Today we were heading to the Rila seven lakes. We got on our walking shoes and lots of layers and set off on the 10 kilometre drive to the village in the mountains where the ski lift starts. (It's a ski resort in season.) We stopped at the shop and got a picnic together and then drove the long windy drive through the pine forests to find the car park. The ski lift was a bit more Lev than we expected so we got a one way ticket up the mountain. I was a bit nervous as it was very high and built by Bulgarians and as we set off I had a bit of a freak out and cried and wanted to get off. (I'm scared of heights.) Obviously I couldn't, so I tried to relax whilst Pete was having a great time enjoying the beautiful view from the tops of the trees. It wasn't so bad in the end - the view was really very nice - but I was secretly glad we couldn't afford the way back! We managed to get off the cable car at the top and found a beautiful grassy plateau that opened up above the forest. We couldn't see any lakes and we didn't understand the map but we could see people standing at the top of a mountain so we headed that way. It was a steep walk up the edge but worth it for the views at the top where we spotted the first two lakes. We thought we were high then but we could see the path carrying on over a grassy tor and we carried on up further and found the third lake where we stopped and had a sausage snack. We watched the clouds rolling up over the peaks and they started closing in. It gave an eerie feeling and I was glad there were quite a few other walkers out or it would have been a bit worrying. Through the clouds though the view was absolutely stunning; we've never seen anything like it before. We thought we were as high as you could walk now as we had an amazing view all around and we had come a very long way up. But we looked up and saw people standing on a much higher mountain. Then we looked up further and saw more people on an even higher mountain and we thought 'that's where we've got to go'! We walked up and up. It was very steep and rocky and we were thinking we were doing really well until we saw little kids and old ladies in dresses come strolling down like they were coming back from the shops! It was well worth the trek though. The clouds had cleared and you could see all seven of the turquoize lakes below. You could also see the mountains that we'd first driven up, which had been so high and now looked like tiny hills! It really was nature at it's most spectacular. We sat and had the most scenic picnic of the trip so far. We scrambled back down and were thankful to get out the wind as it was freezing up the top and we decided to go a different way back which passed the lakes we'd looked down on on the way up. It was an amazing walk and we even foraged a pudding of bilberries (small, tastier blueberries) and wild raspberries - yum. We got to the top of the cable car and had a rest and watched jealously all the people going down and we set off walking down the mountain side, through the forest to the car park. The walk down was good and by the end we were knackered - nearly six hours walking - and we drove home and had dinner a fell asleep early. What an amazing adventure today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foraging lunch. ^

31st August

Had tea and packed up slowly in the morning. Set off about ten towards Rila Monastery - the biggest and most visited in Bulgaria. On the map it didn't look very far but the mountain road was much windier than I expected and it took a while to get there. We drove right up to it and found a pay and display car park and then drove back down the road a bit and joined all the Bulgarians in the free on street parking. We had lunch sitting inside the van and then we walked up to the monastery and had a look around. It was quite impressive being set amoungst the hills and very beautifully decorated. We watched people praying and giving money to a coffin at the front and looked at the colourful paintings inside. We decided that we would try and free camp tonight and we made our way slowly back down the mountain road following a river. We tried a few laybys and found a few dead end tracks and then we found a small over grown track that opened out into a grassy patch with a little path to the river. It was perfect. We parked up and Pete had a dunk in the freezing, but very pretty, river and we hung out in the sunshine. Pete collected some wood together and in the evening we took all our cooking stuff down to the river side and sat on rocks around a fire. We cooked pasta over the fire and even had pudding - wild blackberry sweet bread drizzled with honey. We washed up in the river and had an early night, ready to head to Greece in the morning!

Bulgaria: Helpx No. 2

4th August

We woke up and had a relaxed morning at the campsite. We planned to meet Neil and Sarah - our new hosts - after lunch. We had no food left in the van so we thought we'd leave a bit before lunch and get some food in town before finding them. This plan didn't work out very well as after we'd left the campsite and it's free internet we realised we didn't exactly know the address or how to get there. So after circling the one way systems through Veliko Tarnovo for a while we finally found a parking space where we hoped we wouldn't get towed away and got a coffee in a cafe to use their free wifi. We found the village of Ledenik on the map, memorized the way there and after a few u-turns found the village centre. It should have taken about half an hour but it took almost two! Oh well. We were just buying a snack to eat in the shop when a big Land Rover pulled up and Sarah got out and said hello. We followed her down the track to the house and met Neil and their two adorable little boys, Matty and Ryan. Neil and Sarah are originally from Birmingham but have lived in Bulgaria nearly seven years. They are lovely and we instantly felt at home and we played with the kids and had dinner out in the garden in the sunshine. We also have a really nice room with an ensuite bathroom, which makes a welcome change from the van. They had plans with friends in the evening so were left in the hous, where we sat back and watched loads of English TV! We actually did manage to drag ourselves off the sofa to go and find the village river they had told us about, which was really wide and shallow over rocks so there were a few people who had driven over it to wash their cars. Went back home and when Neil and Sarah came back we chatted a bit and then had an early night, ready for some gardening in the morning. 

5th - 9th August
 

They have a good sized garden with a lawn and flower and veg beds around the edge, which had become really over grown. We spent the first week clearing all the weeds and chopping back/down some of the trees and just generally making the garden look better. It was really fun and we made a huge difference and it looks great. Getting used to working in nearly forty degree heat was tough but luckily they have a huge paddeling pool which was perfect for dunking in every hour or so! We were generally left to our own devices but Neil and Sarah work from home so we had lunch together in the garden every day, which was lovely.

They boys are absolutely adorable, they are six and three, and we have played with them alot in the pool or doing colouring. Pete got out his guitar, ukelele and harmonica which they absolutely loved and we had a few jam sessions together.

We had one afternoon off and we drove to Kapinovo Waterfall which they had told us about. We found it easily but were a bit confused when all we could see was a big outdoor swimming pool. We eventually realised we had to go through the pool, luckily without paying, and found an amazing river with a big waterfall and very deep pool. Pete joined all the Bulgarian lads and climbed up the waterfall to jump off and we chilled there for a few hours. We then got a beer up at the pool which was about 50p for a half litre and we decided we might have to move here with those prices! We ate our picnic for dinner and then drove home and stopped for another beer in Ledenik (the village we're living in) and watched the gypsy kids filling their water barrels and riding off on their horse and cart.

Another night we had a barbeque in the garden with some friends of Neil and Sarahs and we ended up getting the guitar out and having a sing a long for a few hours very loudly!

We also both got to drive the Land Rover around the village, which was very cool.

 

 

Pete cooked meatballs for everyone. ^

 

Some pictures of the garden. (Note: the small patio.)

 

 

Night drinking and singing. ^

 

Pete jumping in. ^

 

Afternoon out at the waterfall. ^

 

 

Jamming. ^

 

Around the house with the cats. ^

 

10th August

We had the weekend off so we had a little bit of a lie in and then got lift with Neil into Veliko Tarnovo. We had a wander through the town, which is the old Medieval capital of Bulgaria and is really very pretty. It runs around a river and has an old fort on top of the hill and is surrounded by greenery and mountains. We walked to the top of the hill and got a coffee in a bar with an amazing view. We found the fruit market and had a look around there and then got a beer whilst we waited for our bus to get home. We didn't know if it was because we were in a city but it definitely felt like the hottest day so far and we needed to lie down under the fan as soon as we got home! In the evening Neil and Sarah got a babysitter and we drove back into Veliko Tarnovo to go out for dinner. We went to a lovely restaurant on a terrace, called Staslivetsha, which served amazing Bulgarian food and we got chicken liver and an array of other meats served on hot plates which was delicious. Great day.

 

 

 

There is loads of really cool street art around Veliko Tarnovo. ^

 

Out for dinner. ^

11th August

Today we had a family day out. We packed a picnic and headed of early to a monastery, which I don't know the name of, but it was set on the side of a mountain with huge boulders that had fallen down around it. It was covered in paintings, like the one in Romania, and was very pretty. Next we drove to Nicopolis ad Istrum, which is a site of Roman ruins. We arrived and asked the man if we could have a ticket. He looked a bit confused that we wanted to pay and when Sarah said 'if we don't have to pay we won't' he said okay and let us in for free! The site was amazing. It was a town and it had roads and a theatre and loads of columns and carvings everywhere and you could walk all over it. We couldn't believe that the boys were allowed to climb over the two thousand year old door ways, but it was really cool. On the way out we saw that they were still excavating a large area and there were a few bits of pottery that they had just found lying on a wall. We were having a look at these when the guy working there, who'd let us in for free, came over and said that Matty and Ryan could have a piece each to take home! Well good. So they were very happy to have some real treasure and we set off in the car again to Hotnitser Waterfall, another very beautiful waterfall. It was the weekend so it was quite busy with Bulgarians blaring out crap music, but really nice all the same and we ate our picnic by the water. Usually people swim but it was getting a bit over cast and chilly and hearing the story about the guy drowing there some years ago put us off a bit. What you could do though was follow a trail up the rock to the top of the waterfall. It was quite steep steps which led through a crevice in the rock to the top, where there were some big holes in the floor heading straight down, which was quite scary. Me, Pete and Neil went up and followed the bridges over the water and along the river. The heights and the dodgy looking structure of the bridges put me off a bit but Pete and Neil went a bit further to find that the path faded out and they got scared themselves. Back down at the bottom we all headed home and had a very relaxing afternoon as we were all quite tired after the days activities and it was back to work tomorrow!

 

 

The monastery. ^

 

 

Nicopolis ad Istrum. ^

 

 

Hotnitser waterfall. ^

 

12th - 14th August

 

We had a new project starting Monday which was to build a concrete patio joining the small terrace coming out from the back doors. It was to be seven and a half metres wide, two and half metres long by seventy centimetres tall - so not a small task. Obviously Pete and I didn't know how to do this and even Neil and Sarah hadn't done anything like this before, but through talking to friends and the wonders of the internet we could find out what to do. Thankfully they were both there to help this week and we all did three days of very hard work in incredibly hot sun to make it. We had to build a wooden frame, create a drystone wall type thing, smash up several hundred tiles with a sledge hammer, shift six tonnes of hardcore and lots of other bits and bobs before the concrete man arrived and lifted a crane over the whole house to spray the concrete in. It was bloody hard work but really fun and really good because now we know how to build a concrete structure!

 

 

Bikini building! ^

 

Dunking.^

 

Ready for the concrete. ^

 

Done! ^

 

15th - 16th August

 

The concrete dried quite quickly so we had breakfast on our new terrace the next day and could take off the wooden frame in the afternoon. It was a complete success except from a hole in the front where the concrete hadn't quite got in! But we filled that up with extra concrete and it looks great. Thursday and Friday were a bit more relaxed as we had all worked so hard to build the patio. Sarah is a Bowen therapist and to soothe our aches and pains we all had a Bowen treatment from her which was great!

 

Pete made the boys wooden shields and swords which they won't put down and all weekend haven't stopped asking us to fight with them.

 

Pete shaved off his beard completely - first time he's been clean shaven in seven years - and he hates it.    

 

 

Having a BBQ (note the table and chairs on the new patio!)

 

Trying out a new look. ^

 

Shields and swords! ^

 

17th August

 

This weekend there was the Motorbike Rock Festival in Veliko Tarnovo. Neil and Sarah had been a few times in previous years and at midday we all headed into the town to watch the biker parade. The internet told us about three different times it would start so we weren't sure and no one in any shops knew anything about it. After about an hour it hadn't come and we gave up and went home which was a bit disappointing. We had a chilled out afternoon and for dinner we had a proper Indian curry ordered from a company run by some other expats. It was great - curry is something we haven't had since home! After dinner we got glammed up, left the boys with the babysitter and went back into town to the rock gig, also part of the festival. The gig was on an island in the middle of the city around the art gallery and was a great setting for a gig! There were loads of old bikers in leather and the first band was a Serbian Iron Maiden cover band. We drank beer and rocked out to Iron Maiden and the next band which covered a selection of heavy metal. It was really fun. Much later, after a fire show, were the heading liners - Uriah Heep. They weren't a cover, they were the real deal and they were really quite old. We were having a great time moshing and on Uriah Heeps last song they invited ladies on the stage to come and dance with them. Me and Sarah ran to the front and got up on stage and danced along with the band to a song that I have no idea what it is! It was really funny and on our way down we even got a hug off the lead singer. After all the excitement we headed home, but first we had to wait to cross the bridge because apparently it was a bit 'dodgy' and they couldn't have more than about twenty people cross at once. Which was comforting. We made it home in one piece anyway and went to bed after eating left over curry.

 

 

Daytime in VT. ^

 

 

On stage! ^

 

18th August

 

Today we went out in the car again with the boys to an old Communist building called Buzledzha - a kind of parliament building set on top of a mountain. It was abandoned in the eighties and is all boarded up but Sarah had heard some friends had climbed in through a hole in the wall so we thought we'd give it a go. We drove the couple of hour drive there and climbed the top of the mountain to get to it. Even from far away it looked incredible, like something out of James Bond or a UFO landing. It was a huge circular building with a massive tower with a huge red star at the top. Up close it was even more impressive and after we'd eaten a picnic looking over the amazing view we went to climb in. The hole was a bit dodgy looking - it was quite high up and you had to climb over a two metre drop - so the boys couldn't go in. Sarah and Neil went in first and then me and Pete went in. Oh my god it was so cool. It was completely derelict but there was a huge circular room, we guess for meetings and stuff, but the walls were covered in mosaic communist pictures in incredible colours. As usual I can't explain it properly at all but there are some quite good photos below. You could also walk around the edge and look out the windows over the mountains. It was one of the best things we've seen so far and Pete even got a mosaic tile from Karl Marx' beard! We made our way down the hill and on the way back home we also stopped at Shipka monument on the opposite mountain which had some good climbing rocks and great views around. We all dozed on the car journey home and for dinner Pete cooked us a lovely roast dinner. Another thing we have missed from home! We were all knackered after a long day so we watched some more TV, read the boys bedtime stories and went to bed. We are sad to be leaving here, we couldn't have imagined a more perfect helpx in such a great place. We have made two great friends, who we hope to see again and we will miss little Matty and Ryan lots and lots.

 

 

Walk up to and outside of Buzledzha. ^

 

 

Inside Buzledzha. Wow! ^

 

 

Buzledzha from afar! ^

 

Shipka. ^