Well, Bulgaria actually has several mountain ranges all over the country, so I am not the only lucky one. Here is a quick guide to Bulgaria's many mountain ranges. The Sredna Gora are considered the central highlands located where else but in central Bulgaria. The Rhodope Mountains are located in the southern most area of Bulgaria. The Rila Mountains are located in the northwestern part with the highest peak. The Pirin mountains are situated in the southwest boasting the second highest peak. And finally, we cant forget the Stara Planina, also known as the Old Mountains situated in the north. That was all too basic, but if you get out your BG map, you might have a better idea of what I am talking about.
Anyway, in one of my previous posts I mentioned my need for some fresh air. Well, it didn't stop with the Freedom Monument. Our goal was to reach the Uzana Hidja (chalet) tucked away in the Stara Planina Mountains.
The hike itself was absolutely gorgeous. We were in the thick of Bulgaria's ever so famous nature and were loving it. The trail was very well marked with red and yellow markers along the way. Never once did we feel like we lost the trail. Although there were markers for other trails, but we weren't exactly sure where those led to.
As we reached one of the summits we took a short break for water, snacks and pictures. Look how much fun we are having. Kathy digging for snacks and me just being silly. Because it was rather windy at the top, we didn't stay put for too long. Plus we wanted to take advantage of the daylight hours, as we got a late start.
Look at me....I am such a cute hiker with my hat on and my walking stick in hand.
After several hikes ups, and several hikes downs, a bit of snow and a bit of mud, and about 12 km later, the sky was getting darker and our legs were getting more and more tired. But we did it. We managed to reach Hidja Uzana. And what a place it was. Typically a hidja or a mountain chalet can house around 80 people with only the essentials, a warm place to sleep for the night. Without any real snow, we were expecting the hidja to be pretty quiet. But man were we wrong. The minute we walked in we knew it was going to be a long night. But how long, we would have never anticipated what we got. More on that...later.
As this post is becoming quite long, let me just say the hike was just what I needed. A perfect end to a blah kind of week.
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