Back to Bulgaria

Ken takes a break, at our hotel in Shiroka   Is that what happens to all those goat hides?

At the top of the mountian, we took a minute to enjoy the view.

The view of the village of Gela and the surrounding farmland.

We visited "The Wonderful Bridges" , two very large natural bridges.

Something you get used to while on the road is waiting for the herds of sheep to pass by. 

The Town of Shiraka Laka, nestles into the side of the mountians.

Leaving Turkey, we were glad to be back in Bulgaria.  We had fond memories of our visit there 5 years ago and decided to return to the same area for a little visit.

On our way thru the mountians, just before Shiroka Laka we took a side tour to see the Wonderful Bridges, two large natural bridges up  a very twisty, narrow road.  We thought we would be the only ones up there and were very surprised at how many other people had made the trip up as well.  Last time we were at Shiroka Laka, 5 years ago, we stayed at a pension up on the hill.  This stay we opted for something a little more luxurious and stayed at the Kalina family hotel for two nights, the second night we were the only people in the place, turning out the lights and locking the door after ourselves when we went in for the evening.  At dinner both nights,  the waiters were very helpful and I think we tried every traditional dish on the menu, including a local wine and beer.  We did the same hike as we did 5 years ago but this time the trail was grown and we had a bit of a hard time finding the trailhead but once again we were not disapointed in the scenery up in the mountains once we got there.  After leaving Shiroka Laka we rode on for an hour or two and stopped at the Devils Throat, a cavern home to 180,000 bats, 50 metres in depth, and carved out for thousands of years by an underground river.  In experiments coloured water and objects take two hours to pass thru  meaning there is close to 20 kms of unseen underground passages within a very small area.

It was an awesome ride thru Bulgaria on the way to Macadonia, we might have to do it another time...again.