Day 195 23 October 2018
Caves were a bit of a feature on this tour and this cave was much anticipated. Magura cave with its famous and controversial prehistoric rock paintings.
Entering the cave it was clearly the most incredible we had visited – probably anywhere – the size, the forms – and the Guide!
It was required that we use a local guide for our time in the cave. Our guide did not speak English which needed Nadia to translate for us. A difficult task at any time, made more difficult by the enthusiasm of our local guide – barely stopping for breath let alone time for translation. An actor’s delivery at times with verve and projection. While the Bulgarian language was mostly unknown to us the words ‘sex’ ‘aphrodisiac’ and other familiar terms populated the stories. Nadia did not translate it all, but mentioned that sex and violence were familiar themes.
The size of the cave, the limestone formations and the stalacmites, tites and columns were beyond expectations. Huge curving cavernous spaces – so large concerts were held inside, armies over the years had used the spaces. The area discovered thus far is about 33,000sq metres! About 3.6km in length – we walked about 3kms of the cave system.
Giant stalacmite and tite formations – the largest ‘tite’ is over 20 metres high and 4 metres across at the base. The largest ‘mite’ has fallen and has the name Fallen Pine – 11 metres high and 6 metres diameter.
Swirling limestone forms looking like an artwork rather than natural form and within all of this the signs of human life from 1000’s of years ago till present day.
In addition to the range of military and historical events that had taken place in the caves it had been used as a sanitorium for people with bronchial conditions and movies had been made. One in decades past was about Macchu Pichu and our guide as a young boy had starred in this movie. Props remain in the cave and we were given a demonstration of how the war of rocks had been staged.
A slight anomaly – though no complaint from me was the false wall put inside the cave with a hidden door through which is the champagne cellar!
The exit was about 2km from the entrance with a little train to return you to the start. This option was not on our itinerary! It was a very pleasant walk with glimpses of Lake Rabisha. During the walk back Chris and our local guide began negotiations for a property he had for sale. A common offer throughout Bulgaria – I think they saw the love of real estate flashing in his eyes.
Today I have been promised Fish soup. This required driving to Vidin city – in the North West corner of Bulgaria. A city on the Danube river – a quieter spot than the more visited European river section. A short walk along the river – sparkling on a perfect blue sky day. Unlike the cities through other European cities Vidin is quiet, with little fanfare.
The restaurant was on a boat moored on the river side. The local fish soup was excellent – country style – slightly spicy, full of fish and a dark delicious stock.
After lunch a walk further along the Danube to the Baba Vida fortress. Bulgaria seems to have more women in their history and stories than most other countries we have visited and Baba Vida is no exception.
The story in brief is that Vida, the eldest daughter of a Bulgarian King saw her sisters unhappily married, she vowed this was not for her and built the castle for herself to live in.
The fortress /castle on the banks of the Danube river is the only original medieval fortress in Bulgaria. With two walls it also has the remains of a moat surrounding it.
Underground is the remains of the prison with graffiti markings in the stone walls made by the prisoners over the years.
Outside the castle wall was a large rose garden with a beautiful statue of a woman at the centre. No explanation but beautiful.
Back home and eating again!! Spend any time at all in Bulgaria and you will become familiar with their range of salads. Our go-to salads were Shopska and Shepherd. Our Shepherd Salad at Madonna was created by an artist with a tomatoe turned toadstool, and carved vegetables. A visual and tasty treat.
