Clear mountain cold with blue sky ice edging the river.
The still and crunchy cold of childhood,
wet woollen gloves and the need for a hot bath.
I have a need to head to the mountains to find some snow.
Words
Tag: mountains
Mount Musala, Bulgaria.
One of my targets for this trip to Borovets was to climb Mount Musala, the highest peak in the country. I did as much research as I could from the UK over the internet, and it seemed achievable even for an amateur like myself. I’ve been on trips in winter before so I am not completely unskilled, I just don’t get to use those skills often enough. The forecast for the week was better early, so I headed out on Tuesday, which proved to be the best day of the week, windy but bright and with high broken cloud. In the end, it proved a challenge but with a bit of perseverance I made it to the top. I got the Gondola to the Yastrebets station and walked from there, a round trip of 6 hours, the return slower by the heat causing the snow to become soft and making the going slow as I sank deeply every few steps. All worth it in the end, with the experience and the pictures being for me great things.
Hard work but well worth the trip. I’d like to go back in summer and do a longer trek through and around the Rila range. A friendly place, with fantastic views.
Black Rock – Черната скала. Bulgaria.
After a night’s rest, and a look around Borovets to get my bearings I headed out on a family trail to Black Rock. The walk served a couple of purposes for me, a leg stretch and some needed fresh air after the travelling. It also showed me the quality of the map I had of the area (or the idiosyncrasies of the map) it was a little loose on detail and spot accuracy. It did give names and rough directions so it helped, and along with the summer graphic map from the tourist office meant I didn’t get entirely lost. On the whole it is worth the trip and the views from the rock are good. It’s a forest walk, zigzagging around the foothills and valleys of the Rila Mountains.
A Trip to Borovets
A week ago I was in Borovets, Bulgaria. A cheap package tour that meant I could go to the mountains and do some walking up there, with the bonus of climbing the highest mountain in Bulgaria. But that is for later, I arrived late Saturday night after a good trip and was up Sunday to look around. I wanted a quick wander, to get a feel for where things were. So first day in Borovets, here are some getting the feel of pictures.
As a note, this hotel blocked any views out of the near mountains from my hotel. Very brutal building, that dominated the bottom of the slopes. The side roads and little lanes wee more interesting.
Walking to the edges of this small town, you see some real life, broken buildings and other styles of living. Like the horse riding Butch and his band of rough coated horses. Selling trips of all lengths to people of all sizes.
I’m always surprised by the buildings in Europe that will be left to collapse back into the ground, even when they are situated in such places as this.
Earlier I walked the 4 miles to the famous “Black Rock” a viewpoint hanging high over a valley with views to Romania. Next time though, for now just keep enjoying the weather. It’s been interesting since I got back with some great swathes of freeze and thaw running across the UK, be safe, but brave the elements. You will feel better for it, we all need to feel the outside world around us from time to time.
Sky High Pictures
Looking up to know there is space all around us, always changing colours, shapely clouds, and endless blue. Sometimes anyway in Britain.
A collection of images from everywhere and at all times of the day and night. Keep watching the skies.
A walk through the world between places 