{"id":5100,"date":"2015-06-27T14:09:16","date_gmt":"2015-06-27T14:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/word.christopherwagner.org\/?p=5100"},"modified":"2015-07-01T10:32:43","modified_gmt":"2015-07-01T10:32:43","slug":"southern-bulgaria-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/word.christopherwagner.org\/?p=5100","title":{"rendered":"Southern Bulgaria 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

We were so lucky during the second half our trip through Bulgaria. We didn\u2019t really know what we were getting ourselves into and didn\u2019t know what to expect. We were in the mountains in southern Bulgaria and were able to visit some really cool caves, meet some awesome people, stay in some neat places, and go on some great hikes in gorgeous scenery.<\/p>\n

We had no idea Bulgaria was so beautiful. We were here at the right time to see all the mountain flowers in bloom and we had good weather throughout. Tourism isn\u2019t quite in swing yet so we had a chance to talk to our hosts and learn about their lives in Bulgaria. Much like everywhere else they were concerned about the same big three.<\/p>\n

Bulgaria is made for outdoors activities. They have different mountain types throughout the country, from rolling mountains like the Appalachians to rugged mountains like the Pacific NW. The tallest mountain is around 9,000ft so pretty much everywhere is traversable by foot and the trailheads are easily accessed by car. Great views can be had pretty quickly, we would only hike for 30min to 1hr before trails would open up and give great views making the reward:effort ratio off the chart. Even the most popular trails are not crowded because of the time of year so we had a lot of time by hiking by ourselves enjoying nature in peace.<\/p>\n

There are chalets, huts, and lodges people can stay at while hiking through the mountains. They range from basic (walls & door) to electricity, cafeteria, heat, hot water, internet, etc. We only stayed in one chalet and it was a great time. If\/when we come back, I would definitely spend more time hiking and spend more nights in the mountains.<\/p>\n

The hosts we had in the mountain areas were really cool. In one guesthouse we were pretty much the only guests. The guesthouse was in the middle of nowhere and had no internet so we were hanging out in the dining area killing time before dinner. We were sitting chatting with our host while the TV played traditional Bulgarian music. Soon Jacquelyn found herself learning traditional Bulgarian dance from the host! One of the nights we stayed near Rila Lakes I went out to photograph the night sky around 11PM. The chalet man, an awesome guy named Martin, came out to see what I was doing. We ended up chatting until 2AM while drinking his homemade rakia, a brandy like drink. That was the night I learned I cannot drink like a Bulgarian.<\/p>\n

I would have loved to stay in Bulgaria longer, go on more hikes, and explore more of the mountains.\u00a0 Bulgaria has all the attributes we like and is definitely near the top of our favorite countries we\u2019ve visited. Who would have thought? :).<\/p>\n

Enjoy the photos!<\/p>\n

Chris W.<\/p>\n

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