Biking Bulgaria
17 October 2023, Rila, 17.64km
Urban Lodge Portala, 40lev [R400]
"Lucky fish!" I am not a fan of "lucky"*, but that is the refrain I heard in my head today.
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We cycled just 17km north to the village of Rila on a quiet rural road, via the aptly named Junk Museum. Rila's population numbers around 1,000. It used to number 5,000-plus, but when Bulgaria signed the 2005 treaty to join the EU (formalised 2007), the majority of the villagers took advantage of easy-to-get work permits and moved to Spain. This information we gleaned from our lodge host, Viktor.
Viktor's grandparents lived in Rila, so he spent his childhood holidays here. Ten years ago he bought a 110-year old house here which he has almost completed renovating. He, his wife and their 2-year old son moved in last month, but are not quite yet ready to accept guests. We saw the lodge (prematurely) advertised on Google Maps, SMS'd a query, and were invited to spend the night at a discounted rate. When we returned from our afternoon at the Rila Monastery 20km away, we were treated to fresh garden salad and moussaka, and Viktor's excellent company (his wife is in Sofia, the capital, tonight). He is a photographer by trade, grows his own veg, loves to cook and cycle, and dreams about circumnavigating Africa by car.
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Unesco: "Rila Monastery was founded in the 10th century by St John of Rila, a hermit canonized by the Orthodox Church. His ascetic dwelling and tomb became a holy site and were transformed into a monastic complex which played an important role in the spiritual and social life of medieval Bulgaria. Destroyed by fire at the beginning of the 19th century, the complex was rebuilt between 1834 and 1862. A characteristic example of the Bulgarian Renaissance (18th–19th centuries), the monument symbolizes the awareness of a Slavic cultural identity following centuries of occupation."
A truly beautiful complex in a stunning setting. We hitched two rides with locals from Rila to the monastery, and one ride back with tourists from America.
I will let my photos and videos do the talking...
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At just 8°, it was decidedly chilly today.
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* Aside from the big things over which we have no control, I think we make our own “luck”. Each decision Charl and I have taken, each action, each choice, each trade-off, inevitably resulted in us being just here today. I was “lucky” to be born a woman in the 20th century rather than in any previous century, I was “lucky” to be born into a more liberal environment rather than an oppressive one, I was “lucky” to have middle-class parents rather than poor. But being here today is a result of design not luck.
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The BMW Isetta with the bust of Stalin pictured here is a very similar to my transport to and from school in the 60's. I had a lift in one every day from a teacher that lived across the road from us.