Today our host transported us from Shiroka Luka to Trigard . A trip of about an hour through some stunning scenery,dreadful roads and some risky driving. It was a trip in silence as he did not speak any English and we did not have any Bulgarian to bridge the gap but he chatted on his phone,drank his coffee and drove like a local until we arrived at our hotel in Trigard some ten kilometers from the village.
Driving in Bulgaria seems safe enough but road surfaces are terrible so drivers swerve out to avoid potholes and then face oncoming traffic . Fortunately the traffic is not heavy so evasive action seems to work for them,a bit unnerving in the back seat.
We were escorted to our rooms and made very welcome by our host who spoke some English but who did not seem to know much about us apart from our accomodation and food so we called up Simeon who sorted it out .A rather striking character soon appeared,clad in cowboy regalia and sporting rather weather beaten features he did not speak any English but he was to take us to the cave which we had passed before the village . Simon gave us instructions to go with him and a tour would be arranged . Not sure how I felt about this as underground is not my choice but decided to such it up and at least try.
The cave is Impressive,the passageway in has been hand made but once in the chamber can house two cathedrals and is know for a large endangered bat population which have their roosting spots high above . Not many left at this time of the year but we did see some.
The history of the cave is linked to the legend of Orpheus,here he was said to have looked back as rescued his love which resulted in her plunging to her death never to be seen again . There is a drawing of him on the cave walls.
The guide gave us all this in a potted history plus more recent details of how despite various methods people had not been able to find the water exit,this is a major mystery.
We survived the experience and then had to climb 600 steeps to the exit . That was a quick heart check up.
Our guide increased by another one who transfered us up the road for a walk to a village further on called Yagonda.
This entailed a very sharp climb up the side of the road above the cave itself . My lungs were gasping by the time I got to the top and Brad was about to have a tantrum as I called from above there was more to come even though there was another road passing by . No we were at the top but it was a great place for our lunch break and recovery phase 2.
The rest was very pleasant walk in the forest following red markers which gave us a false sense of safety as they changed direction and we no longer seemed to be in the right place . We backtracked but could not decide on where we were although I felt we were in the right direction . It was a huge relief to come across the village some hours later I can assure you.
We came down into a pretty rustic little village with a mosque and people making hay with pitch forks and transporting the hay on old wooden trailers,horse driven with all the family atop . This is a pomak village, Bulgarian Muslims who were discriminated badly under Communism but now are rebuilding their mosques and way of life so women wear scarves covering their heads but not Chardors or burka . They seem very poor to us but always seem cheerful when we greet them.
Our ride arrived and we had a pretty rough trip back across some terrain reminiscent of going to Mace town!
It was nice to get back to our hotel and chill out before dinner . We are very comfortable here and a lovely rural aspect,the sheep and cows are bought back from the pastures late in the day,cow bells and all.
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