After a rainy Sunday night we awoke to a dull Monday morning. The upside though was that it was not too hot to get some work done, so first thing we went collecting walnuts from our top land. Everyone is saying the crops and especially walnut harvests are poor this year, but just from the floor we managed to fill half a sack with nuts. The walnuts have to be dried out before they can be eaten so Pammi washed them then set them in trays in the palace windowsill. Pammi then went to clean the courtyard whilst I chopped down an old apple tree that has not borne any fruit and will also open up the view over the village from the campsite. That done, I logged the tree and stacked it for drying out before starting on leveling out the land at the front of the house where the new cess pits have been dug. At last the front is starting to look tidy. E&A have been messaging Pammi as they have now left Serbia and are heading for Sofia. In theory they will be here tomorrow. Then disaster strikes when Pammi's phone dies. Whatever we try we cannot get it to turn on, typical when we need it to keep track of where E&A are. So into the car and a mad dash to Ruse to get it fixed or replaced. Thankfully the shop was able to reset it in minutes so disaster was averted for once. Then a quick dash home as we are going out tonight with K&C to celebrate their wedding anniversary. We get back with half an hour to spare, so shower, change and out the door. We had a great night at the restaurant in Opaka although as usual ate far too much.
Early morning mist over the valley
Walnut harvest
Tuesday morning is really foggy but the sun soon burns it off to reveal a beautiful day. On the way home from the restaurant last night the car headlights both decided to stop working so I nip off to the garage at Opaka to get them sorted. An hour later and a bit of rewiring and new connectors and we have lights again. E&A have left Sofia and are heading our way, they will be in Ruse later today so Pammi preps tonights meal whilst I strim the lawns. Just as I finish we get the call to say E&A are in Ruse. London to Ruse, hitchhiking all the way, in less than five days. Once collected we go home and spend the evening eating, drinking and catching up, it is great to see them both again.
Maizi and Marple chilling out
Wednesday is a hot, sunny day. E&A are exhausted so we spend the day chilling out before taking them on a walking tour of the village. That night we make pizza and light the fire pit as the evenings are definitely getting chilly now.
Is that squirrels on the roof? No, just a couple of goats!!
One of the many monuments in the village
Squashes drying out in the sun
Geese out for a stroll
Thursday is another lovely day so we go off to the the bat caves at Dve Mogili. I could never be a tour guide, this is the second time in a few weeks we have done these places but I went into the caves this time whilst Pammi enjoyed the sun outside. As it turned out we had a great guide who spoke really good English and he showed us things I had not seen on previous visits which was great. We even got to see some bats, there are 12000 of them in the cave and we had never seen even one before. E&A really enjoyed it there. Next stop is the rock monastery at Ivanovo. After a nice picnic in the sun we climb up to the monastery which is hewn out of the rocks and has cave paintings dating back to the 13th century. A quick tour of Dve Mogili on the way home then, after a full day of being tourists, we decided to go to the restaurant in Opaka, which is now our favourite restaurant and is always amazing value for money.
View out over the valley at the bat caves
Picnic at Ivanovo before the climb up the hill
The views from the top of Ivanovo are amazing
The park in Dve Mogili
This was a push bike with an engine literally strapped onto it
Train in Dve Mogili
Friday morning we get up early and head up our lane to the woods as I want to photograph the sunrise. It does not disappoint as we get some great shots. We are taking E&A to the market in Popovo today but first stop is our village market where E&A get to meet TH. Then off to Popovo. It is a really hot day and decide to stop in the square for an icecream but unfortunately the ice cream shop was closed so go for lunch instead in a street cafe. Over lunch we make the decision to buy some vats so that we can make our own wine. The market is full of grapes today and if we don't do it now we will miss this years harvest. So back to the market where we buy three vats. Unfortunately we cannot get the grapes today as we need to sterilize the barrels first and we need to do some research before we plunge into the wine making process. On the way home we pop into the monastery at Krepcha which has the oldest Hebrew and Cryllic writing in the Balkans carved into the walls. Back home we research what equipment we may need and how to make wine. It seems so complicated and cannot believe Bulgarians would go to all the expense and long winded processes that it appears we need to go through. So the plan of action is just get advice from the villagers before we do anything else.
Sunrise over the valley
On the way back after our photo session
Popovo fruit market
Crushing grapes at the market
Pammi at the monastery at Krepcha
But Saturday we are going to Etara and VT for the day so wine making takes a back seat. It is once again hot and sunny. We have a great time around the craft centre at Etara before stopping for a drink, walk about and then ice cream in VT on the way home. It is a long day and we are all exhausted by the time we get home so spend a relaxing evening in the courtyard eating and chatting.
Etara craft centre
Another beautiful old house at Etara
Looking out over the river at VT
Copper pot making in VT
It was an amazing sunset on the way home
As we missed Christmas with E&A last year we are having Christmas Day today. Pammi is creating a traditional Bulgarian Christmas eve feast of an uneven number of vegetarian dishes. Whilst she is busy cooking I go off to Opaka to buy our grapes for our wine. We have worked out we need 100kg of Merlot grapes which will give us about 180 litres of wine, almost enough for one Bulgarian party!! We will mix these with our own grapes. But as usual nothing goes to plan and when I get to the market they run out of grapes before I am served. They tell me to come back later or tomorrow when another load will be delivered. Tomorrow it is then as I need to get back in time for our Christmas meal. But as I get home Efan pulls up and I tell him about our wine making and how I could not get the grapes. He knows where to get good grapes so we arrange to meet on Tuesday next week and go get them. Then Borko and Ani arrive. We go through the wine story again and Borko has a wine press we can borrow so we all jump in the car and follow Borko home to get his press. So we now have a press and the collection of the grapes organised. We also now know we need none of the equipment the internet tells us we need, but I will leave that story till next weeks blog. Back home Pammi has worked so hard on our Christmas meal. We have banista, empanadas, aubergine stacks, roasted squashes, roasted tomatoes with garlic, potatoes, shopska salad, sharing breads, nuts and cheeses, it was a great meal. Afterwards it was a bit chilly so we all went indoors and watched Christmas films. A great evening.
That's it for now, I will post this weeks blog on Sunday all being well. Take care all.
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