Central Balkan Mountains Day 201 October 29th 2018
A monumental start to the day! Apologies for that. Could not resist – it was another massive, dominating, Communist monument visible for miles and looming larger as we got closer. A winding drive through Beklemeto Pass from Troyan lead up to the monument – The Arch of Freedom at Beklemeto Pass – again built as a celebration by Communist Russia and dedicated to the liberation of Bulgaria and the struggle at a nearby pass.
Good News as we drove towards the mountain range – Lubo had so much fun he is joining us again for our time in Kalofer. Bad News – we realized, too far along the road, we had left the bottle of homemade wine from Lubo’s family in the kitchen at Lovech.
Our struggle was where were we walking today? Our guide assured us it was “mainly horizontal”. Do we believe her? Still – up, down, or horizontal it is always spectacular with Nadia – as was this walk. Central Balkans National Park is one of only three National Parks in Bulgaria. Visible in the distance as we walked – Botev peak – the highest in Bulgaria. No – we did not even contemplate it, Nadia however has – most often as a New Years hike!! Weather on the peak and in the range is notorious for sudden change and severe conditions.
The well formed trail along the ridge gave the feeling of being above Bulgaria with views out across both North and Southern Bulgaria including remnants of Roman roads. Layers of ranges spread around us in all shades of blue curving out into the distance.
Our hike was to the shelter at Eagles Rest – usually a place to replenish and our plan was to have lunch there. This day it was deserted however the view was incredible and more than made up for food.
As we walked back the weather deteriorated, not seriously but enough to give a taste of what it could be like. Underlining why monuments to experienced alpinists were evident along the ridge. The wind (head wind of course) was strong and the temperature dropped quickly.
Back in the car we realized we now had opportunity to visit one of Nadia’s favourite restaurants. Holding on to our hunger a bit longer we headed for the other side of the pass and the K towns – Karnare, Karlovo and Kalofer. Nearing Kalofer we pulled in at Biala Reka “White River”. The large deck over the river looked lovely but windy so we opted to sit in by the tropical fish tanks. The menus were picture books and in English which gave Nadia a rest. I opted for unadulterated BBQ trout – firm, white fleshed, delicious. Nadia a fish fillet and Chris a grilled Chicken dish served with BBQ vegetables.
Time to find our new home. Stopping first in Kalofer for dinner supplies. A chatty, friendly, man on the vegetable stall in the square chatted to us through Nadia and very quickly offered Chris a house to purchase in the village!
And on to Guest House Dara-Ionkovi our home for the next two nights. Owned and run by a group of young people. We were very surprised to find the young woman managing had been to Australia.
A simple quiet place with cabins and a communal kitchen. As the only guests we had the wooden kitchen cabin to ourselves. A wood fire to warm us up and a full kitchen for meals.
Lubo arrived late after a tricky situation – another Google Maps oops – he was directed along a road that turned out to be a private road and had been stopped and fined by police.
Finally we were all together with a feast for dinner cooked by Nadia, wine from Lubo’s family, and a fridge full of beer. What could go wrong!! Nothing just another late fun night that ended with selections of our favourites on Spotify – discovering Nadia was a heavy metal fan.
