Over the Mountains to Sofia, Before Turning West to Serbia
It has been a while since we checked in with Marie and Nil. In our last update, they were carefully making their way through the fog and ice in Bulgaria’s Rila National Park.
They finally emerged into blue skies when they summited Malyovitsa at 8,953ft. This was guest Tom’s first glimpse of the sun since joining the quest roughly a week earlier! The Seven Lakes of Rila were the next milestone, a famous tourist spot in southern Bulgaria. Most tourists arrive via a ski lift, but Marie, Nil and Tom trekked in over the ridgeline and were rewarded with breath-taking views.
From Rila, it was back to the flat for a few days before they reached the last hurdle before Bulgaria’s capital, Vitosha mountain. On Vitosha’s 7,513ft peak they found a small refuge manned by the shelter manager, Nikola. They slept soundly after the long climb and Nikola joined them to head into Sofia the next morning.
Tom headed home and Marie and Nil took some time in Sofia to work on their photos and blog posts before they headed into Serbia.
Now in Serbia, they are finding it hard to get to know the country. Many villages are abandoned, with people preferring to move to the large cities in search of work. The weather hasn’t helped either, with rain and cold weather keeping those left indoors.
However, they have seen some beautiful natural sights. First, Rosomače Canyon and then a large artificial lake in the Stara Planina Natural Park called Zavojsko Jezero. Most recently, they have climbed the mountain of Babin Zub. From the peak, they looked out over a blanket of cloud covering Serbia.
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