Friday 27th June 2008

A wonderful night's sleep was had with the temperature below 20°C. In the morning the sky was blue and being in mountains (1200m) there are wild flowers all over the field. The high rugged mountain peaks rise very steeply on the other side of the river and we decided that we wanted to investigate the further recesses of the park. Our maps all showed the road ending at the monastery but it was a very good quality road and it continued past the campsite, so we followed it. It went for a few more miles through a valley with spectacular mountains on either side until it ended at Kirilova Polyana. There are many marked walks in the area and it would be a good base for a rambling holiday.
We turned around and retraced our route past the campsite to the Rila Monastery. Rila is the largest and most important monastery in Bulgaria and much visited by Bulgarians. There were a number of coaches in the car park but it didn't feel crowded. The monastery was very impressive and the frescoes on and in the church were beautiful, it was a giant version of the Rohzen monastery that we saw yesterday. If you are passing this way, Rila Monastery must be on your list of sites to visit.
We needed to move on to Sofia, so we drove back to the main road and that took us all the way to the capital. We needed to go round the ring road to find the Plodiv road where the campsite was located and hoped that this was outside the city. It wasn't and is was very busy and it took a long time. As there were no signs to the campsite and we missed the turning the first time, spotting it only after were passing it. We then did another circuit and got to the campsite. It is very basic but we have our own toilet / shower block as we have a key to one of the bungalows but I wouldn't want to stay in it. The building is extremely scruffy with the bathroom window held open with a stick but it has a proper toilet (as opposed to a 'foot' loo) and hot water. We were surprised to find that there were quite a few people staying in the bungalows, many with smart cars. It was only later that we realised that the women were young and attractive, often wearing short skirts, and they didn't seem to stay for very long. This would also explain why there were a number of attractive women waiting for the bus on the main road. We suspect that some of the bungalows are rented by the hour (or less) rather than by the day. Still, we have our own accommodation and the doors will be securely locked tonight!
Whilst scanning the airwaves on the van radio looking for some traditional Bulgarian music, I came across an English station. I remembered that I had read that some Former Eastern Block cities had BBC World Service on FM rather than on the more common Short Wave. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening listening to a variety of programmes including, much to Jane's delight, live coverage from Wimbledon.
Photos: Most of the village of Kirilova Polyana with the mountains behind; The church at Rila Monastery; A Rila monk tends his flowers; Restoring the Rila frescoes; The Bulgarians obviously consider Morris Dancing not only pagan but also the work of the Devil!