Part 4 of the series „Kom-Emine – Walking on the Backbone of the Balkan Peninsula“
Readers, if you have made it this far, we recommend the series:
Kom-Emine – Walking on the backbone of the Balkans
Day 11
Today I decided to take a break from walking and joined the organization of buying food and fulfilling the group's orders.
I felt a little guilty for not going with the others, but I also needed a little „civilization“ and a break.
It turned out that this was one of the most fun days. Shopping with our driver is a real event.
The ten-day trek through the mountain trails certainly manages to blur the urban daily routine.
Things like a clean bathroom, a working shower, a warm breakfast, and an afternoon frappé become a mirage.
As for hygiene, in 50% of the accommodation places, it’s not even worth talking about.
It’s hard for me to accept that this is „the Bulgarian reality“, but at least I stopped counting the numerous „scares“ of insects in the washbasins and under the windows in the rooms.
That's why when you get a hot crispy bun for breakfast on a clean plate with a knife, fork and napkin, accompanied by a fragrant cappuccino with foam and on top of that you have more than an hour to have breakfast and you chat about life in Spain with the smiling owner of the restaurant, it seems to you that you are in the most idyllic place on earth.
I enjoyed every bite of the warm bath and every second without rushing, while at our side there were carriages and cars rushing north and south.
After about an hour and a half, we started through the pass – the next turn on the road revealed to our eyes the vastness of the Tvardishka valley.
We passed through the small town of Gurkovo, which bears the name of the great Russian military leader in gratitude, and stopped in the center of Tvarditsa.
We looked for a large grocery store and a pharmacy.
Our driver had meticulously recorded in separate orders all the goods and read them out aloud to himself what we had to buy for each individual tourist.
That's how we had to fill about 20 consecutive baskets with products and pay them at the checkout with 20 separate cash receipts. (Two for the author, exactly 22 😊)
A big show ensued, and the people in the store rushed to help us.
In a very short time, we bought most of the fruits, vegetables, canned goods, waffles, ice cream, and beer in front of the astonished looks of the regular customers who came here mainly for bread.
The most fun and most responsible part of the shopping was when the given product was missing or they had never even heard of it before and we had to find a worthy substitute for it…
Apparently we had done a good job because afterwards there were no hungry people.
There were no complaints either.
After visiting the pharmacy, the neighboring clothing store and the train station to leave one suitcase, we had completed our tasks and in the early afternoon we arrived at Hut Bukovets.
We unloaded the group's luggage and it was time to settle in.
The dense cool shadow of the tall trees had enveloped the meadow in front of the cabin.
The sun shone through the windows of the massive building, and the wind had taken refuge in the folds of the Bulgarian flag, which stood proudly above its parade entrance, awaiting the new visitors.
Day 12 – Following in the footsteps of the Hudiuc bands
Another day in the beautiful beech forest of the Balkans.
We set off again at 06:00 with the dawn. Bodri climbs up to the top. Chumerna Hut, Where delicious princesses with cheese and colorful salt await us.
On the way, we pass by the area Haiduška čukar, where, under the cool shade of the large beech trees, the troops of the famous voivodes made their camp. Kara Koli, Filip Tothu, Stefan Karadj and Panayot Hitov.
We continue and soon we climb over the top of Chumerna. From a distance it looks quite unfriendly with the several military buildings. I learned that there is an old fortress south of it. I don’t know how much of it has been preserved, but next time I promised myself to look it over better. Now we’re in a hurry again.
We took the lunch break on the meadow with the mirror.
Well, it is important to have a mirror on the tree. The person who put it there must have known that I hadn't had time to get ready or put on makeup for about 10 days. All the makeup I had with me was only cocoa butter, but I didn't need a mirror for that.
Aglykina meadow and the chapel „St. Dimitar“ I won't tell you.
Whoever was there knows what a unique place we have there. And those who haven't been there, let them go.
Because of its historical significance and strong energy presence, I designate Aglikina Polana next to monuments such as: Shipka peak и Around the waist.
I don't think anyone can remain indifferent in front of this sacred place. From here begins the path to the legend of the Hadj Dimitir.
If we close our eyes, we can still hear the words of those great Bulgarians who dreamed of freedom. And today the wind still carries their heroic songs far away…
We may not hear them anymore, but it is certainly a good idea not to forget them.
Our day ended with the Vratnik pass and shortly after that we set up our bivouac.
After 34 km of hiking, there is nothing more pleasant than taking a bath in the icy cold water.
The night swallowed our small camp imperceptibly; we heard the voices of the night birds and the fatigue suddenly filled our eyelids. It was time for sleep, and the fresh morning would reveal to us the secrets of the new day…
Edge.
Beautiful authorial text by Ani Orozova.
We expect more adventures to Nose Emine – Ani has been taking the route for two consecutive years.
See more about the author Ani Orozova here
