This is my blog about emigrating to Bulgaria. It starts with the idea and will take you through all the steps I am taking to create my new life in this wonderful idyllic country. Thank you for reading.
Please make use of the comments box to ask questions or suggest blog subjects too :)
What a good nights sleep I had last night; off by about 9pm and woke up naturally at just before 7am in good time get my day started correctly.
Mist over my dell
It was a misty morning this morning, with rain in the air but not falling heavily. I was collecting the men this morning to go down to the main builders yard to order the chain link and concrete fence posts to surround the land, and provide a run for Rambo. I had a lovely quick and very hot shower, a cup of tea, and then I was off towards their village with about 25 mins til I had to collect them.
The views on the way were spectacular with the clouds moving in front of the hills across the river valley however I didn't stop to take any pictures because I didn't want to be late. As it turned out it is only 15 mins driving, even at a slow pace, to get there so I could have done. The moral of the story is always pause to take the picture, you can got a couple of miles an hour faster after if you need.
They were in their cafe and came out promptly at 8am, though a minute after I arrived a man came legging it out and jumped into his car and left; he'd obviously missed the time. After a short drive we arrived at the builders yard and it was hammering it down by this point. I am still in my sandals as I am determined to keep wearing them and I must admit at times while we walked around that yard I wished that I had made a different decision today.
In the shop attached to the builders yard
We were buying 400m of 2mm 40x40 chain link, and 32 concrete fence posts for me, and also some other items for my friend where the men were actually working today. It took some negotiating and conversation but eventually the items had been arranged and I was to expect delivery tomorrow at some point when a phone call would be made to warn me. The builders yard had a little shop attached to it with literally everything a man could want in it; from beer to scythe blades and everything in between. At least it was warm in there and I even got some free WiFi at this point.
Coffee served in a golden cup
There then followed some more walking around in the rain getting cold, a finalisation of our orders, and then we were treated to a free coffee (other of course than the huge amount we had just spent) which we drank sat up on an outside terrace while Bekir and Sally both had a smoke and chatted to a few people.
On the seat next to mine was a tiny kitten which was a bit standoffish when I first arrived. I scratched behind its ears and stroked it and pretty soon it was my best friend, forcing itself on me and demanding attention. I had a lot of fun fighting and pushing it around while the other two chatted (Sally is a big cat fan and he was most amused to watch me play with it) and then I decided to photograph it (which didn't work) so I took this video. It is Bekir and another man in the background chatting about something to do with a mayor.
Bekir getting soaked attaching the load to Thomas
After our coffee I pulled Thomas round to where the wood for my friend had been put and they set about tying it to the roof. I must admit I sat in Thomas with the heater on defrosting myself and wishing I'd put socks and shoes on.
He's got the right idea too
As I was sheltering from the worst of the elements I noticed a man with a huge toothy smile doing the same, hidden under a shelter just across from me and grinning while watching those two working to secure the lengths of wood to my roof rack. I snapped a quick picture which amused him no end. I think he was an employee of the yard who was enjoying seeing someone else have to struggle loading stuff.
The load arrived safely
Load secured it was a long and very slow drive back to my friends being really careful as the wood was longer than Thomas and I didn't want it to slip off or even worse, smash my windscreen. It took ages but we got there and as we did it got a bit nicer weather and stopped raining and brightened up slightly. I made a brew for us and we sat around chatting for a bit. After a little bit of discussion with Bekir and Sally about their work we were off to the local town.
My new rug, down in Room 13
I had a list of things to do. I want to buy some coal and a few cubic of burning wood, get some money out to pay for the fencing supplies I had ordered, get some buckets (for coal, mainly) and find some potting compost from somewhere. Our first stop was a hardware shop I hadn't been in before, next to the hotel we used to stay in when we were house hunting, and it had everything. I bought a rug and the buckets, but could have bought so much more. There was an amazing hanging seat type thing with a sun umbrella for 500lev which I loved, but I won't buy because it is a waste.
We then headed around the corner towards where we thought we had spotted a market nursery the other day when on our way to the first geocaching trip. I missed the turning first and had to go around and, even though there was a new looking white van inside the gates, they were locked and it looked shut. It was then that we spotted, all around, piles and piles of partially rotted sawdust and other excellent planting materials. I filled both my new buckets with this and my friend spotted some fir trees which had been thrown away, from the looks of it, so we also grabbed a load of them and shoved them all in the back of Thomas and then, feeling like outlaws, we drove off. I am going to head back there with some bags for the potting material and also going to get as many of the trees as possible; I love fir trees and would like to plant a load of them to make a grove, eventually.
I didn't stop to take pictures of this episode, obviously.
Our next stop was the coal yard which was just up the road but on the way my friend spotted a shop she wanted to pop into and I stood by Thomas waiting and that was when I heard it; a whistling and bubbling sound from one of the wheels. A puncture! I got close to the wheel and managed to spot it bubbling a bit; I got a small amount of mud from the side of the road and managed to stop it; this told me it was a tiny hole and would be OK to drive on, if I went straight to get it repaired. I can only think that one of the big potholes on the way back from where we got the trees had knocked a previously inserted plug out as it definitely wasn't whistling at that stop.
We went to the coal shop, as it was just next to where we were, and I bought one bag and also decided to add more air to my leaky tire and then I was driving carefully back to the same garage I had been to twice before.
We arrived and they asked me for the locking nut thing but I had no idea where that is (and still don't; not a good thing. I had better look for it tomorrow) so the shrugged, backed Thomas up to their work area, jacked him up and proceeded to fix the puncture with the tire still attached, in about five minutes flat, and then only charged me 3 lev for the whole process. About £1.30. Amazing.
Lovely chicken and tatties, not so nice dessert
Because of the puncture there were a few jobs we hadn't done in the main town, including my main food shop, but I can do that another time. Now we were in the town we went for some lunch at a cafe my friend frequents and had chicken and potatoes in a lovely sauce, followed by something sweet but not very nice for dessert; well I like to try things.
After eating we went to the shop below and I bought three loaves of a bread, a couple of nardenitsa, some onions, tomatoes and mushrooms, and a couple of frozen chicken thighs and it came to just under £5. What a bargain! That should feed me for three days I reckon, and the bread will last a couple of weeks as I have frozen two of the loaves. Our last job was to go to the wood yard however neither of the ones we went to had anyone to serve us so I am still without good wood, and am sat here with more waste wood from upstairs burning in the petchka.
The small sapling, planted and staked
And so to drop my friend off, offload her purchases and found trees, and collect a kindly donated half bag of kindling for my fire, and back to my house. I was feeling like resting however first of all I decided that I would plant both the trees out front near my little grove of walnut trees, where I could care for them as I want to have a table and chairs there for summer external eating. I may even put my BBQ there when I make it. Anyway, that's getting ahead of myself. I gathered my tools together and dug a hole first for the littler of the two saplings. First I put some hay from what will be my kitchen in the bottom of the hole and watered it, then some of the potting mulch and then I carefully placed the root system on this and surrounded with more of the compost. I then watered this well and finally pushed down the original soil over the top and attached the sapling to a bamboo stake. I really hope this little plant survives though, with it being a couple of weeks until I can fence my land, I am sure the goats will take advantage and eat it. I'll not be happy if they do.
And the larger one, not staked
I repeated the process, with a bigger hole, for the larger sapling and this felt much more secure so I haven't not staked it yet. I have since found something I can use to do this so I will probably go and tie it tomorrow morning.
I really REALLY like this picture
As I was coming up and down stairs getting stuff I saw Sassy hopping around on the landing; once again I had left her door open, it must have been this morning when I fed here! I managed to catch her and put her back in but I really do need to pay attention to this as I have cables around and she could easily destroy one of them very easily. She is now happily in her cage again and tomorrow I am going to wheel her through to her run room while I am around to keep an eye on her so she can get more exercise.
My bucket full of coal
For my last task of the day I took one of the (now emptied of compost) metal buckets over to the outhouse with all the coal in it, and spent a few minutes sifting through the mound in there, filling it with fairly sizable chunks really quite quickly. I'm glad I bought the sack of coal just in case I run out but frankly it can just sit and dry out in the store room while I burn all the reserves I can find in this outhouse. What a cracking resource to have.
Unexpected delivery
And so I settled down at my desk to relax, have a beer, maybe start writing this blog and suddenly I heard an engine and then a tooting and I went downstairs and the people from the building merchant (including the toothy smiley one) had arrived with a tipper truck full to the top with chain link fence, and underneath all that, the fence posts.
Unloading the fence posts
Working together myself and the toothy one carried all the rolls of fencing inside the house while the other two unloaded it from the wagon and then it came time to unload the posts. Now these are pretty long and made of steel reinforced concrete so they are not light. The solution to getting them out the back of the truck was simple; they put the tipper up until the whole load slid and rested between the back of the truck and the ground. Once again it was me and the smiley one who did all the lifting, while the other two stood and watched and asked me questions (including "where is my woman?") to satisfy their curiosity about the person who would buy a huge school to make it into a house!
400m of chain link fence in a room
They left after I paid them most of the money; I can only get so much out a day from the cash points and I wasn't expecting them til tomorrow but they were perfectly fine with me saying "I'll pay the rest tomorrow" and they drove off, tooting and waving and after having said "we can help you with ALL the materials for this place!" with dollar (or lev) signs in their eyes. I was left looking at a room now full of rolls of chain link fencing. 400m is a LOT of chain link fence!
After this I really was at the end of my strenuous working for the day so I have been sat at my desk, writing this blog and then getting the petchka burning (it isn't as hot as yesterday, but that is good as I was roasting!) and I have used some of the coals to keep it at a low ebb, every now and then adding some wood to give a burst of heat. I do definitely need to get some better wood which will last more than 10-15 mins even for a big chunk, but I suppose it can wait until Sunday.
Really tasty dinner
Dinner tonight was Nardenitsa fried with garlic, onions and mushrooms and with half a HUGE tomato on the side on slightly old bread brought to life with liberal lashings of mayonnaise. It went down very well, particularly as it was again accompanied by a pint of Ariana.
For some reason the dog which normally wakes me up in the morning is currently barking its little head off and I must admit to being a little concerned for my neighbours; it never normally barks at this time and it is really going for it; I hope they are OK and secondly I hope it shuts up before I head to bed; I don't really want to have to try to ignore that while attempting to find my happy place.
I'll sign this off now and catch you all again tomorrow.
EDIT......
So apologies to those who read this quickly.
Bodged the tripod high enough
I was just adding a few more logs to the fire and when I opened the hatch to drop them in I was so impressed with the glowing coals I decided I had to get a picture of them. This was not as simple as at first thought because the tripod I have was too wide at the base to sit on anything but the table which has the gas hob on it, to make the camera high enough to look down inside the petchka. What a mission.
The result
But I hope you agree it was worth it. I just love fire and the fact that this is keeping me so toasty warm while outside it is so freezing and cold just makes everything even better.
The stars looking towards the back of my property
The stars tonight are outstanding though and (even though I can't get a picture yet; the camera enabled telescope has to go high on the list of priorities I think) I just love standing and looking at them.
I had a slightly disturbed night last night as, about 2 or 3am a dog started barking near (I think it was the sheep dog, not the normal one which starts at 6am) and went on for what felt like ages. I actually went back to sleep while it was still barking, that is how tired I was. I had set an alarm last night so I could be confident of not missing the time for collecting the parents and was glad of it as I was still tired when it went off.
Low cloud and drizzle in the air
The day dawned overcast and with a very slight drizzle in the air. This is more normal March weather and it wasn't crazily cold still. I think it is just the weather making sure my parents don't have too much of a shock going back to chilly old England. I pottered around a bit moving things in the dump room away from the windows (as rain was forecast), finding that my water was still not working and eating one of the oranges I had bought (absolutely lovely way to wake myself up) and then headed towards the parents' hotel for the last time.
Misty on the top
As I arrived the heavens opened and it was hammering it down and continued while we loaded the car and made our way through the main town and out to the mountain pass which we had driven over just ten days previously. As we climbed we got above the rain and then on the other side we descended into cloud and fog which fortunately did not persist for long and then we were on the other side and could see blue sky and nice weather ahead.
Snow topped mountains in the distance
Pretty quickly it became a lovely day (well, inside the warmth of the car that is) and we could see for miles as the dust from the long hot days had been washed out of the atmosphere. In the distance were mountains which still had their white tops on and the valley between looked lush and green. We had planned on stopping for breakfast on the way however nowhere we drove past was open so we just kept rolling on at a steady pace all the way to the airport.
Breakfast at the airport
It seems that things are changing as the airport carpark, which was free every other time I've used it, now charged 2 lev to park for an hour however, after briefly considering not paying, I decided I'd properly wave the parents off and pulled a ticket on the way in. The airport is slightly nicer than it was with a little cafe just by the security check in point so we decided to have breakfast there and bought a cheese and salami baget thing (which they warmed very slightly in a microwave; not sure why) and sat on a table to eat them.
While we were doing this we spotted my uncle who had happened to be in the country at the same time as us and was flying back on the same plane as my parents. We had hoped to see him and it was really nice to bump into him and be able to sit with him for a bit. My parents got to go through security with him as well however they then went to the posh area for priority boarding while he was with the plebs. He has supported an orphanage in Bulgaria for the past 15 years or so and was out for the weekend assisting in some renovations I think.
About to say goodbye
A brief hug and wave and I was off, following instructions from my dad to avoid a "tearful protracted goodbye". They know just how much I have appreciated all their help and their presence over the last two plus weeks and it didn't need anything more than a strong hug to top off what has been a wonderful couple of weeks for all of us. They really are stars and, as a few of you have observed, deserve medals for what they have done.
Two storks on their nest
And so I was driving away from the airport and back towards the mountain pass but this time alone and in a sense the adventure, started so successfully with my parents near, now fully in my hands. It was a thought which kept my mind churning pretty much all the way over the pass. There was one brief moment of fun when, as I was coming through one of the villages, I spotted a couple of storks sat in a nest and stopped by the road, leaning out of the window to take the shot like a real wildlife photographer. Or something.
I was debating all the way home about a few tasks I had set myself for today, namely getting some potting compost, visiting the police about my residency and getting my bulgarian phone fixed. I was feeling quite tired as I drove and made the decision, at the roundabout where I'd have had to turn off, to not go for the potting compost. I think my friend will want to come with me when we go to that nursery anyway so I'll do it then. I did, however, decide to go into my town to do the other two things before coming up to the house to check on the water. I'm glad I did.
First of all I parked up where all the police cars were and wondered into the big building opposite guessing, correctly, that it would be the police station. I went in too far first of all and got told to go to the window, and then caused much amusement with my request. Very quickly they found a really helpful and friendly, English speaking, policeman who told me where I had to start my quest for residency and even offered to drive so I could follow him and find the office. As I was tired, and also had the phone to fix, I said thanks and waved goodbye to them.
From there I went to the mobile phone shop and the non-english speaking girl recognised me and smiled and indicated that the english speaking girl was there. After a little confusion trying to track down the details on their system she rang again and got the PUK again and it turns out that I had had the correct one it was just the next message had been asking me for a new PIN. I now have a working phone and a PIN that I can remember and I know it works as I have arranged to see Lubo again using it, a visit which will entail seeing my Kmet and maybe I will ask him to tag along for the residency visit.
It was, therefore, with quite a positive feeling that I turned and came home. My first real foray into trying to do things on my own and I had managed fine. The police station was a cold and forbidding place, though, with a cell directly on your right as you went in; maybe to put the fear of the law into all visitors.
As I drove up the hill towards home I drove past the Special One and gave him a lift home and he was able to confirm (contrary to what the farmer told me) that their water was NOT working. This made me more comfortable about the whole situation. I was still, obviously, pretty keen on getting my connection back. I once again pottered around for a bit, had a bite to eat, and chatting to a few people online and then decided that I should actually do something productive today. I chose sorting out the entrance hall. This had not been touched really since I arrived and the Laycorn boxes were in a bad place, blocking passage, and there was stuff from the original tidying cluttering up the back wall.
About one minute, maybe less, between pictures
As I have observed before, this aim was not immediately achievable as I first realised I had stuff in the way that I needed to burn so I popped outside and, just as the rain started to fall again, set a fire with this rubbish and that which I had collected in the kitchen. Again it was the work of just a single match into some plastic items and the whole lot was blazing away merrily.
About 1/3 of the dust I collected
This task done I grabbed my broom and started sweeping. But not in the downstairs entrance where my target was, instead I started right outside Room 13 and swept the top landing, down the stairs to the middle landing and then onwards down to the ground floor. This took a fair while and was quite awkward with the stairs having an overhanging lip which made getting to the piles of dust under each step quite difficult. After a bit of effort (I warmed myself right up doing this) I had a nice pile of dust to put in the wheelbarrow and dump outside, and a lovely clean stairway and entrance lobby.
It's raining. Still.
The rain was still coming down hard at this time so I went to Julian and grabbed my leather hat and then wheeled the barrow to the dump and emptied it, along with a load of glass that I had collected the other day, and a couple of larger pieces from inside that had got in the way of my tidying.
Nicely organised now
I then did the thing I had originally set out to do; I tidied the laycorn boxes and the other stuff which had cluttered the entrance hall and now I can move around in there really easily without tripping or banging into stuff.
Some old furniture to break apart and burn
My final task for the day was to get into the attic and collect together a pile of burnable items from the roof timbers and other broken furniture up there. I am being careful only to select the things which I definitely won't find a use for at another time as I want to repurpose as much of the school as possible including the old fabric of the building. I do, however, need to stay warm and I reckon I will be grateful for having a pile of wood near the petchka. I found a load of stuff and collected it together then broke it apart using brute force, and a saw for one of the large chunks, and it is now collected in Room 13 ready for burning.
Broken into small pieces
I didn't break it all up; there was part of an old table I decided to leave for now, and I have decided I am going to buy some wood in very soon so I have a couple of cubic in storage, maybe even four, to get me through any cold patches and ensure my warmth for the next month or so until it definitely warms up.
Once I had finished all this I came back to Room 13 and sat down with a brew but then something made me check the water situation and wouldn't you know it, I have water! I ran it through until it was hot and then quickly washed up my dishes; I will have a shower after doing this update as I wanted to make sure all the water was hot for that; I don't want to be caught half way through the shower and run out of hot water.
Clearing a bit in the distance
Thunder has been rumbling around this afternoon a bit, while I was in the attic and as I have been sat typing this; there was one in particular which physically shook the windows in their frames. I never saw any lightning however and it moved over quite quickly.
Raiding me for my grass
As I have been sat here I could hear a very loud sound of cowbells so I decided to go and investigate and I caught these very bedraggled looking specimens munching the grass on my back yard. They had better enjoy it while it lasts as tomorrow I am ordering the new fence posts and chain link to enclose the whole property, and also put in the area for Rambo to run.
So I have finished typing for now, I'll probably be back to add more to this later or maybe I'll just hit publish. Only time will tell.
Sassy is now closer to me :)
Well, you are in luck; a couple of little things to add. First of all, I have brought Sassy into Room 13. I went to feed her and realised that I was missing actually interacting with her, and also that it was really REALLY cold in that room. So I got the previously tidily stashed trolley and lifted her cage onto it, and pulled her to sit next to me in here. Now I can talk to her whenever I want.
I have also got the petchka lit again and I took a little video for you, attempting to capture the thrumming sound it makes as it burns, which is quite soothing, but I don't think it really came out that well. It was worth a try and you do get to see my grinning face at the end.
Collecting coal / coke
My dad suggested I try some of the black coal/coke looking stuff in the outhouse in the fire so I've just been out in the cold and damp to recover some. I've dropped a few pieces in and will see what it does; if it makes the fire a bit longer lasting that would be good cos the rubbish wood I am burning is just disappearing so fast. I really REALLY need to order some of the good wood sooner rather than later.
Evening sky light in the distance
Now, time to boil some tatties and make myself dinner.
My final addition of the night.
I am sat right now after eating my dinner listening to the quiet snap and crack of the fire and feeling so lovely and warm and toasty and relaxed I almost cannot believe it. The coal has made a lot of difference and I just keep popping a few bits of wood in to keep the heat up while the coal persists the base fire. I'll be collecting more of that and keeping it in a bucket next to the petchka, with the wood. I've not burned half as much of the wood as I expected either.
Making use of the hot plate on the petchka
I made myself the rest of the tatties (though it turned out to be massively too many so cold potatoes at some point tomorrow for me) and fried off the pork chops. While the chops were on the ring (I only use one of the rings at once as I remember it being a bit dodgy when trying to use both) I moved the tatty pot and sat it on the cooking ring on the petchka to keep it hot. What a great thing.
Meat AND potatoes
Dinner was outstanding, just so tasty, and washed down with a pint of lovely Ariana it has finished my day off very satisfactorily.
For now I am going to settle my dinner for a bit then head to bed and read; I'm up early again to take the men over to the builders yard to order fencing materials for Rambo's pen and to surround the entire land. I have spoken to the transport person just now and Rambo should be arriving about the 11th of next month. Very excited to see him indeed, and I can't wait to give him his new house and see how he likes it :) I reckon he'll love it.
So there you have it; I am happily contented even though I am now symbolically alone; long may this happiness continue.
Today is, as the title of this post suggests, the last full day my parents are here with me. After an amazing 18 days they are flying home tomorrow and that will be a big moment in my transition from not living here to living here. I have had to pinch myself a couple of times over the last two days to remind myself that I am staying here,this IS my reality, and not a holiday. Such an amazing feeling.
This is my shower.
So my day started a bit later than normal as I slept in until 7.30; I'm getting good at this staying asleep malarkey. I made myself a brew and pottered a bit and then had a shower. Now, I didn't take a picture of me IN the shower (that would be rude) but I did take a shot of what my shower currently consists of. I have to climb into the trough and be careful not to spray the entire room however the water is lovely and hot and it is a good strong pressure too so a good shower all in all. I will probably get some wood slats to stand on as currently you are right on the concrete (no tiles on the floor of the trough).
Standpipe now secure
Having had a shower I took myself outside to the standpipe, which was just held up by some twisted wire around a piece of steel, and investigated how I would attach it to a piece of wood. First of all I dug a hole as deep as I could behind the tap with the pick axe and pushed a couple of pieces of wood in. The first I (very loosely) screwed to the concrete behind it and the second I (very firmly) screwed to the first piece of wood. I then screwed the actual tap onto the second piece of wood and then filled the hole in, stamping it down, and then positioning rocks to support and protect the whole thing.
Walnut starting to show green
While I was doing this my little lady came over with her customary drink of hot, sugary, milk and she was very approving of my handiwork so I feel quite validated. We had a short conversation, as they have to be as I'm very bad with the language still, and I noticed the Walnut trees are showing leaves which is very exciting to me. I asked her what the word was for Walnut and she told it me in Turkish and Bulgarian. Typical. I think the Bulgarian was "brrzo" or something like that? It was good, and felt nice to interact with her a little more. She is very lovely, really.
After I finished doing this I set myself to do the next task on my short list for this morning; plant some stuff. Now I don't have any potting compost so I just went out and picked some of the soil into a bucket as I have nothing else; it is very sandy so I'm not sure what results I will get but I wanted to give it a go. I also have a couple of packets that come with their own "soil" so I decided to use them. First of all, however, I had to work out where my nursery was going to be and pretty quickly I decided the room which will become the living room eventually.
Sun flowers and Lavender planted
I knew I had some old tables in the attic so I went up and cleaned a couple off and brought them down to use as potting tables. I then started with the pre-packaged seeds and planted some sun flowers and lavender. I love both these flowers and they are really good for attracting bees and butterflies so I really hope they grow well.
Other seeds in the sandy soil
Next I got a tray for seedlings and filled each dimple with soil, pulling stones out as I did because the soil is stony as well as sandy. I planted a row of Crossley Special Chillies, a row of Birdseye Chillies, and a row of Moneymaker Tomatoes. My plan is to do a new seedling tray every day for a week or so and plant lots of different things. Following advice from my mum I am also planning on getting some potting compost as the sandy soil with no manure at all is not going to be best for them. I do have some stinging nettles growing around the land however so I'll make myself some tea with that and use it to feed the seedlings.
Breakfast of a BLT
I was hungry by this point and just had enough time to fry some of what they call "bacon" over here into a BLT which was lovely. It filled the hole nicely and then it was off to collect the parents for the second to last time. It was not a standard collection this time however as my dad had set a geocache near a chapel near the hotel and they wanted to show me as I would be maintaining it. We met at the corner near their hotel and drove the short distance up to the location.
Tiny church and huge picnic area
It was lovely. A tiny church surrounded by loads of fixed tables which you presume would be used for feast days and other big occasions. I shall have to get myself up here for one of these, if I ever hear they are happening.
Church locked shut
One thing that amused me was the fact that there were three different locks on the front door; talk about over-secured! So different from churches over in England where they are always open (or supposed to be) to provide sanctuary.
After this we headed over to their hotel as my parents had asked me to tell them to not cook breakfast tomorrow morning and also we wanted to double check the amount of the bill. This was quite amusing as the breakfast instruction was accepted quickly however when I asked for the bill much confusion was generated. We resolved it when we worked out they were trying to calculate it in Euros and we wanted to pay in Lev. I even had to go round behind the counter where the man got google translate up to communicate a bit better. It was all smiles after a while and everything is arranged.
And so we headed over to the school and had a bit of lunch and then had a couple of little chores to do. First of all I had to walk the entire perimeter of the land to find out how many more boundary posts I would need as some had disappeared and some were just knackered. I then laid out some rough boundaries for Rambo's run and measured these so I can get enough posts for that, and add to the order for the chain link fence. This was quite lovely as the sun was out and I hadn't actually walked the whole land with my parents before. Then my mum tied her Martenitsa to one of the trees in the garden (my dad was now the only one to not have seen a stork). The final little task was to lift my TV onto its stand and secure it as this was a two or three person job and easier when the other people spoke English.
The lake where the river enters it
The water is definitely high in the dam
At one of the picnic points by the side of the road
After this we packed ourselves into Thomas and headed out for the afternoon. Our ultimate destination was a geocache by a bridge my dad had spotted however the way went along a road which is stunning and I had wanted to show my parents anyway. I missed the turn to the geocache and went along the road but this didn't end up being a problem as my parents really loved the drive. I have picked the best pictures from both cameras for here.
Approaching the abandoned power station
The dam, and one of the control towers
Me on top of the dam
The dam, blown up to make it a bridge
I drove up this road further than I ever have before and after a few minutes came to a fantastic place; an abandoned power station. We spent ages walking around it looking in all the buildings and I walked across the top of the old dam and had my picture taken on it. There must be hundreds of these relics of communist industry scattered throughout the country each one just waiting to be discovered. It was a brilliant thing to find and a perfect place to turn round and head back to the cache location.
Yet another picture of a lake
It didn't take long to get to the correct place, having put a place name in my SatNav and we went off down a cheren put until we got to a village and I decided to park just outside it so we could walk the rest of the way. This ended up being a good decision as the walk wasn't too hard but some of the views were amazing and it was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours.
A glimpse of the cables for the bridge through the forest
After about 2 or 3 km of walking along a track and through some gorgeous pine forests we spotted, through the trees, the object of our hike. A long foot bridge styled (apparently) on the Golden Gate Bridge. It was pretty impressive to be fair but it squeaked and swayed as we crossed.
Parents on the bridge
My parents got a bit ahead of me as I was taking some pictures and when I stopped in the middle I could really feel it swaying a lot. My dad isn't great with heights and so he just kept going, looking down, until he reached the other side. The reason for crossing to the other side was that is where the cache is and we climbed a short way up before I decided to just chill and let them find it while I sat on my own in the peace and quiet listening to the waves on the lake, the wind in the trees, and bird calls from all around me. Lovely.
A very old grave
As we walked back to Thomas we stopped to take some pictures of a graveyard we were walking through. It was only because we stopped that we saw just how extensive it was, with some REALLY old graves heading up the hill from the track as well as below where we had first noticed them. It highlighted just how old this countryside is and how many years humans have inhabited it, continually. Fascinating.
What an outstanding view he must have from his balcony
Secondly we had spotted a house on a bluff with a fantastic view across the lake on the way out and we met a man walking his cows back to his house who explained that it was owned by an englishman. I haven't heard about any other expats in this area so that was interesting; maybe I'll do some research. Whoever it is has excellent taste as the view must have been stunning, and he had done a fantastic job making the house look great.
Some kind of bird, maybe an Egyptian Vulture
Our walk over with we headed towards the restaurant we had been to on Saturday. On the way we spotted what we think is an Egyptian Vulture swooping and swirling in the distance. I grabbed my super zoom lens and snapped away as many as I could until the battery died on the camera. This was the best picture as it was a long way away, and the wind was really blustery so I had to lean on Thomas' bonnet to steady myself.
We got to the restaurant but chose the place next door which my friend had said had good pizzas. We couldn't see any pizza at all on the menu so I fell back on some of my favourite dishes, and my parents each chose something random which looked nice from the pictures. Both of their choices were outstanding and so tasty I even asked (and noted down) the name of one of them so I can order it again.
Gorgeous view (taken with my phone)
The same view with my dad's camera
After a really overcast, and at times cold, day (I was wearing trousers and even brought a hoody with me! First time not in shorts since I got here) the sunset from this place was something else and I'm afraid I will bore you again with another selection of pictures taken from my phone and my dad's. Wonderful to see. I took a few pictures while we walked around the fish farm attached to the restaurant as we waited between courses (the young lad who served us had some english and was proud to use it).
And so I have dropped them back at their hotel for the last time and I am now sat here just finishing the blog and considering the fact that from tomorrow they will be gone and I won't see them probably until the end of the year. It's a strange feeling but I am looking forward to it in a sense.
One last thing to record; I went to make a brew while I was writing this and had no running water through my internal plumbing. Now it was working earlier when my parents were here so I didn't do anything stupid when I put the standpipe wood in, so I'm presuming something has happened to the supply (the men in the village were digging around it last week). Fortunately my "bez pare" (free) water supply still works so I filled up outside and brewed up anyway. I have unplugged the boiler as it is obviously empty so it doesn't come on in the early hours and cause a problem.
I am now thinking, having typed this, that there was a weird sound in the boiler earlier every time I turned the tap on sounding like a sticking valve. I really hope I don't have a problem with the boiler! I'm sure the cold water doesn't go through it, though I'll have to check that in the morning.
Oh well, no shower for me tomorrow. *chokes on the fumes*
