Tuesday 15th September
We arrived at our house in Gorsko Ablanovo very late at night. We are here for 10 days to prepare for our arrival when we move here permanently in October. Like most Bulgarian houses there is a bed in the kitchen so we will sleep here for tonight, Pam on the bed and me on the floor. A quick spring clean then some food and wine and off to sleep.
Wednesday 16th September
The house is full of 50 years of possessions that all need clearing out. We spend the day exploring our land and outbuildings and cleaning the house as much as possible. More water spurts from the pipe joints than the shower head. Only one ring on the cooker works. We need tools to complete some of the jobs so a shopping expedition is planned. We are told that the nearest hardware store is 7kms away so we plan to go there tomorrow. Our evening meal is cooked in the clay oven and eaten under the stars in our little courtyard. Pam describes the night sky as a 'blanket of twinkliness'. We even see a shooting star.
That evening Pam enters the basement which is where our toilet and shower room is. There is an almighty scream. Pam has come face to face with a big black rat. Both her and it run in opposite directions. Tomorrow I will clear out the basement and rid the house of our furry residents.
Thursday 17th September
'Bulgaria may be a heavenly paradise but Bulgarians are no angels' this was said to us by a Bulgarian friend, our experience of Bulgarian people so far proves him wrong..........
0645 sees us set off to walk the 7kms to get our tools. 3 hours later and we are still walking. 7kms turns into 20kms and it is about 40 degrees. Out of the blue an elderly Bulgarian man pulls up alongside us and offers us a lift. He saves us at least another 2 hours walk. Shopping complete, a new shower, hand tools, bow saw, mugs and a 6ft scythe and we go in search of a taxi or bus. We are told there are neither so off we march on our epic return hike. An hour or so later we spot a local bus coming our way. I flag him down and despite not going to our village he can get us to within 5kms. We bundle all our goods onto the already packed bus and I have to squat on the floor as there are no seats. At the next stop I have to get off the bus to allows passengers off. I slip, twist my ankle and go crashing to the floor. Later I discover I have smashed my phone in the fall. A disaster, no emails or internet and my phone has all our Bulgarian contact numbers on it. Eventually we get to our get off point. We thank the driver for his kindness, haul all our purchases off the bus and start our walk home. Suddenly Pam realises that between us we have left her handbag on the bus. It contains her purse with the equivalent of a few months Bulgarian wages. We are in despair. No phone, most of our money gone and no way to know where the bus is going or who to contact to help us. We trudge back to the main road not really sure why, but we did. There in the distance we can see the bus winding it's way back down the hill side. He is heading back towards us. Pam runs towards him and to our astonishment the driver is holding Pams bag out of the window. He had found the bag and was coming to find us to return it. We are certainly being watched over.
We get home and Monica (our estate agent, fixer of all and truly good friend) and Borko (our builder and all round nice guy) are outside waiting for us. Borko fixes the shower in no time. Life is back to normal.
That night we drank a glass or two to all our Bulgarian Angels.
Friday 18th September
After hours of cleaning we decide to demolish the outside toilet and a store shed. Pam volunteers to do that so I get on with clearing out the house and cellar. We end up with a bonfire that burns continually for four days to clear the items left in the house. Useable items we put outside our house for anyone to take if they want them. Which they do. In ten minutes they have disappeared. Pam demolishes the old outhouses using just ancient tools from one of the barns. I have cleared every room in the house. No sign of the rats now but I do find three scorpions in an outhouse!!
Saturday 19th September
Another beautiful day so we clear the overgrown front of our house with just some old hoes we found in a barn. Job done we take the afternoon off to relax in the sun. Our evening meal is cooked in the clay oven and we spend the evening looking out at the stars and enjoying the silence of the village (we have even got used to the village dogs who bark incessantly for a couple of hours each evening).
Sunday 20th September
A day of rest and reading in the sun. A couple of ice cold beers from the local store are extremely welcome. As nobody in the village speaks English and our Bulgarian is poor to put it mildly, we have taken to writing down and practicing saying our shopping items before we get to the store. Everyone is so patient with us but we are getting by. Each evening after our meal we have taken to going for a walk around the village. We meet a local who takes his turkeys out for a walk every night. He speaks only Russian and Bulgarian but is trying to teach us a little Bulgarian each time we meet.
Monday 21st September
We clear out what will be the herb garden today, getting what jobs we can get done with the limited tools we have. Another gloriously sunny day. That evening as we sit eating our meal under the stars when we think we hear wolves howling in the forest. This is another world from what we are used to and we love it.
Our new herb garden before we clear it
Tuesday 22nd September
Today we decide to explore the village a little more and find suitable places to walk our dogs when they get here. We find plenty of ideal places. The countryside and forests go on forever and I don't think we could ever stop discovering new places to explore. We even find a bee farm in the village so cannot wait to try the local honey. Borko comes and harvests our grapes so that he can make some Rakia (a brandy).
Wednesday 23rd September
We take a walk up into the forest just outside our house and discover a monument to a battle that took place in 1877. We intend to clear the walkway to the monument as it will be a lovely walk for our guests when they stay with us. A lovely day again but that night we had very heavy rain. We were able to sit under the overhang of our roof as it was so warm and watch the storm.
Thursday 24th September
Heavy rain all morning so we pack ready for our return to the UK tomorrow. The weather clears up in the afternoon and the sun returns to it's rightful place. Our last evening under the blanket of twinkliness.
