Iskar Gorge

Don is filling up with water at a monastery, en route. The water quality in Bulgaria has been beautiful. Mountain water.

The monastery visit was a nice little break.

Lunch by a Babbling Brook - Iskar River

Another spot to top up water supply.

In the middle of nowhere we found a traffic jam complete with traffic police. Turned out to be a
kids fishing competition in a little concrete edged dam. The only fish we saw being caught was less than 10cm but caused a lot of excitement. So this is what you do on Sundays in this neck of the woods.

Iskar Gorge

Maddy and Don about to head off after lunch. Sigrid is particularly taken by the Birch trees. The river passing through the gorge.

Some of the stunning rock formations.

Maddy relaxing in the hotel room after a wet, miserable day leaving Sofia.

A bit of Bulgarian Line Dancing to finish the day.

Sofia to Svoge (Sat 30th May, 48.08km @ 16.4kph)

We left Sofia after a hearty breakfast and after saying goodbye to the many people we'd met at the Hostel Mostel. (a great place to stay) We rode out of town in the company of another cyclist whom we had met the night before. Maddy is a 64yr old Swiss physio who had been travelling by bike around the world for many years. She had lived in New Zealand for 30 years. The weather was inclement (pouring), the traffic heavy and the roads potholed and narrow. We found our way to the Iskar Gorge which passes through a mountain range to the north of Sofia. However, the weather was inclement: pouring rain and 10 degree temperatures, visibility was low and we were wet through to the skin and cold. The first town in the gorge was Svoge so we decided to curtail our day's cycling before hypothermia set in and find a hotel. We were relieved to find the one and only hotel in town eventually and settle down for the night. After dinner that evening the hotel came alive with a disco for oldies and lots of Bulgarian traditional dancing which Siggy thoroughly enjoyed .

Svoge to Montana (Sun 31st May, 112.7km @ 21.4kph)

We woke to find the poor weather had cleared and we left Svoge in sparkling sunshine. The gorge was spectacular with a procession of mountains, cliffs, waterfalls and great scenery. The gorge had been scoured out by the forces of water over millions of years and was more down hill than up. We were following a river as it raced down the gorge towards the Danube of which it is a tributary. All in all a great ride. We kicked on towards the town of Montana after parting ways with Maddy who was going to free camp. We found a comfy room in the Hotel Europa for about A $ 40 and after a couple of local beers (less tan $1.50 for 500ml) we were pretty happy with our day's work.

Sophia

The National Theatre of Sophia

The Church of St George dates back to the 4th century AD with Roman ruins excavated in foreground and Sheraton Hotel in background.

Deparment of Silly Walks: The changing of the guard outside The Presidency.

Sophia Monument: built in 2001, this replaced a gigantic statue of Lenin. Sophia is the personification of wisdom and faith.

The Ladies Market: This is the fruit and vegetable market of Sophia. The men don't appear to do much of the shopping for the basics, hence the name.

Sophia (30th May)

Today was to be a day of sightseeing in Bulgaria's capital. It was the first wet day of our trip. Sophia is a bit rough around the edges and could do with a bit of sprucing up. Now that Bugaria is in the European Union, it is sure to benefit from money from the rest of the E. U. towards its restoration.

Melnik to Sophia

The hilly terrain leaving Melnik.

The road followed this river through the gorge and mountains.

The road out of Melnik with a chateau overlooking the vineyards.

Melnik is famous as Bugaria's best wine region. Here, a winemaker is espousing the hangover free qualities of his old-world , traditionally made organic wine. He had little time for wine of the new world such as Australia.

The cave keeps the wine at a constant temperature. This wine has been made by the same family for 150 years.

Melnik to Blagoevgrad (Thurs 29th May: 84.5 km @ 20.5kph)

We departed Melnik at 8:30 after a typical Bulgarian breakfast of black coffee, omolette and not much else. The road was initially undulating through farmland studded with vineyards and the occasional chateaux. Our exit from Melnik was much more straight forward than our arrival- the road showed some sign of maintenance.

Back on the E79 we joined the stream of trucks and other traffic heading north towards Sofia, the capital city. Our road today cut through mountain country via a gorge. The road was surprisingly flat but with little shoulder as it followed the course of a river and the occasional tunnel through the mountainside. We found flashing lights to be very handy. As we rode into Blageovgrad, (pop 80,000) we were not impressed by the road surface or the number of trucks competing for space on the roads. After a quick ride up the main street the drabness of the place was apparent. Did we really want to stay there? We ducked into the railway station and the next train for Sophia was leaving in 30 minutes so we decided to catch it the final 120km or so. The fare was very cheap: about $15 for both of us and 2 bikes.

After a pleasant 2hr30min train journey we arrived in Sophia and booked into The Mostel Hostel that Sigrid had been reading about in The Lonely Planet. All that was available was a dorm room, so we booked it for two nights.

Border crossing.

This road is getting worse and those mountains look high. Where the heck is Melnik?

Melnik. It used to be a thriving village. Now approx 300 people and mainly tourism plus the local wine.

Sand Pyramids

Just arrived in Melnik after going on a road we were later had not been maintained for 30 years. That beer was good! Too much effort to move so after 2 beers we rented a room of them for 2 nights. Rest day!

The old Town Hall has seen better days. Interesting that under the render which is crumbling you can see the exposed wooden pillars

Looking down onto Melnik on the walk to the Rozhen Monastery.

Melnik with some of the "Sand Stone "Pyramids" in the background.

Happy Birthday to Sue! The roses have been stunning in Greece and Bulgaria. Bulgaria is the worlds biggest producer of rose oil.

Heading North

Touzia Beach to Serres (Mon 25th May, 65.8km @ 18.2kph)
We left our "camping area" early and the boarded up office was still closed so we pedalled off, gratis, to have breakfast at the local bakery. We then left the seaside and heaaded for the hills. This was riding on ancient land with archeological sites intermingled with crops and orchards. Legs felt heavy and it wasn't until we had a couple of really long downhills, one over 3km, that we realized we'd spent the first 40km gently climbing. As we entered the Macedonian town of Serres we immedeately hit on a bike shop. As Sigrid's cleat had lost a screw we went in and soon were best friends with Kosta, the owner who sold everything from plastic dinkies for toddlers to roadbikes . He lamented that Greeks weren't into bike riding and therefore his stock wasn't as good as it should be. Anyhow, cleats were sorted and we got a few other bits and pieces. He rang his mate who had a hotel and booked us in at a discount . As we just arrived at the hotel he turned up on his bike , just to check we got there ok. We had a great room with a big balcony where we could store the bikes. So the bikes got a bit of a clean and we enjoyed the showers and all the other trimmings which go with a hotel room.Serres has 80 000 inhabitants with a 11 000 student population. The town had a real positive vibe to it. Greek men eyeing off the ladies and ladies with a real wiggle to their hips. Good fun people watching. Probably the best town we'd been to so far . People at cafes, taverns and outdoor bars everywhere. We ended up doing what the locals do and had a late dinner.

Serres to Melnik -Bulgaria (Tues 26th May, 72km @ 17.5kph)
We left Serres on a lovely highway towards the Bulgarian border, 48km away to the north. However, the condition of the road soon deteriorated as we entered Bulgaria .(as did the signage on the roads) Our destination for today's ride was Melnik, a touristy village supposedly 15km from the border. Not having the best maps at our disposal, we took the first turn for Melnik and ended up on a very hilly and seldom used backroad.(in fact was one of the worst roads Don said he'd ever ridden a bike on) We asked a farmer who assured us, with a gleeful smile, we were stll heading towards Melnik. The terrain was becoming increasingly hilly and the vista to our right was one of snow covered peaks.
Luckily, this goat track eventually joined the road most tourists use to arrive at this scenic village. We'd taken the longer, hillier and bumpier route. On arrival we quickly consumed a couple of beers and found a local hotel for two nights. The next day was to be a rest day.
On first impressions, Bulgaria seemed to still have many hangovers from their communist days but it is inexpensive. ($1.50 for 1/2 litre of beer)
Melnik: Rest day (Wed 27th May)
Melnik is a small village famous for its whitewashed buildings, sand pyramids, Bulgaria's best wine and a picturesque walk to the 13th century Rozhen Monastery. At the time of doing this blog, we have just completed the 6km return walk to the monastery through the eroded sand pramids. It was a bit of a hike but a very beautiful walk.(see pictures) The hilltop monastery, built in 1217 with woodcarvings and a mural filled church was very peaceful and atmospheric. The grapevine covering the old wooden rafters was planted 300 years ago. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside the manastery. This evening we will check out the local wines.

heading Inland

The Aegean Coast

Blog time

A swim en route

Beach Greek style

Our view when having frappe

The Aegean Coast

Our little tent amongst so many vans

Kavala to Touzia (nearAmfipoli) 24th May, 61.4km @ 20.7kph

We left the resort at Bati Beach at 8 am to beat the expected Sunday traffic. The road hugs the coast and is a popular Sunday drive for local motorists and motorcyclists. We were greeted by stunning coastal scenery, very little traffic and a good road surface. We had a lovely swim in the Aegean, a frappe (iced coffee) overlooking an isolated beach with free campers enjoying the natural beauty and a most enjoyable ride all round. On the left was the sea and on our right were old olive groves, vineyards, fig and peach trees. This is a fertile area which is also full of many archaelogical sites. (Ancient Roman and Byzantenium)

We arrived at our final destination and were greeted by an over commercialised beach scene with deck chairs, loud throbbing music, bars lining the beach and overflowing garbage bins. I guess the Greeks were just hanging out!

We found the camping area, which was full of run down permanent vans, and managed to find a spot for our little tent. That night, we had a lovely meal in a very friendly restaurant which was owned by a local fisherman and served succulent seafood. We gleaned information for the next day's ride which was heading north, away from the coast towards Bulgaria.

Greece Here We Come

Leaving Turkey for Greece

Having a frappe with a friendly Greek

Lunch break in Komitini

Dinner in Fanari

Our chef at Fanari

Eceabat to Kesan (20th May,112km @) 15.8kph)

Big day today.Stiff headwind for 100km out of 112. Were told by guide Hassan that the Gallipoli Peninsula only has 6 wind free days per year so did expect it. After 40km stopped at Gelibolu, a nice fishing town with a quaint harbour (reminded us of Ulladulla Harbour) where we had morning (turkish) coffee. Feeling quite fresh after break we thought we'd try for Kesan 60km on. May as well get all the wind out of the way in one day rather than having 2 days of it.
The wind was so strong the Poppies which lined the road were nearly horizontal. At one stage we were both in granny on the flat.
As the road changed direction the climb started and we had a little mountan 630m to climb.
Anyhow we did finally get to Kesan which is 30 kms from the Greek border. We are both feeling a bit wind blown but this hotel actually has hot water. (not only saying they have it). Only 1 flat today.

Kesan to Alexandropolous (21st May, 81.5 km@ 21.3k/h)

We were with the wind today as we cruised towards the Greek border. A lovely day of rolling-hills, a good road surface and wide shoulder.
It was pretty exciting doing our first real border crossing. From now on we will be in EU and will hardly need our passports.We had to show it 3 times leaving Turkey and then ride through "no mans land" before entering Greece.Lots of soldiers with mashine guns on Turkish side not on Greek side,
We arrived in the seaside town of Alexandropolous and it was obvious we were in a more western country. Greece is in the European Union and has higher standards in most things. Of course the prices are correspondingly higher.
We camped in the Municipal Camping ground - the first work out for our tent. The camp ground which had very good facilities, was right on The Aegean Sea. So after a quick dip it was a short stroll along the restaurants lining the foreshore. The Greek food was great as was the beer which accompanied it. We slept well in our little tent which was good because we were planning an early start the next day. It was great to be in Greece

Alexandropolis To Fanari (22 May, 97.37km @ 19.8kph)

Today was the perfect touring day. We had a good night in our tent and were on the road by 7 am. We asked as we checked out where there were some more camping areas and were only given one spot:Fanari on the coast. So we decided that would be our aim as camping was good and cheaper than hotels.
A couple of hundred metres after take-off we stopped at a bakery and stocked up on bread, just out of the oven. We rode for approx. 5 km and the road turned into a new auto bahn. Bikes and tractors not allowed. We couldn't see another road so the temptation of brand new hotmix with a 2 1/2 m shoulder was just too much. We went for if for a f ew kms. (fun) We then saw a spot where we could get off and continued on the old highway which was very good and had hardly any cars.
Of course, while the autobahn carved through the mountains and had fewer bends we started climbing over a pretty high pass.The gradient was "do-able" but it went on for 7/8 kms. A bit of a heart starter.
We stopped for breakfast up top and plonked ourselves on a few rocks near remnants of a stony old road. There was an information board which told us the rocks we were sitting on were part of the first Roman road build outside Rome, a trade route from Rome to the East. Pretty exciting.
As we sat there enjoying yoghurt and bread, a road cyclist flew past. Dream road if you love hills (You'd love it Bruce). We then had a great downhill to a wide fertile valley . Just on cue for morning tea,(50km)a village turned up with a cafe. We have now discovered the Greek ice coffee, frappe as we joined a chatty (German spoken) man on the shady verandah. For lunch we stopped in a rather busy town (Komitini) in a park with the most beautiful grass. Don got the laptop out and found an unsecure site and enjoyed reading /writing emails. This laptop has been great so far. A well earned long lunch. Again a chat with locals, this time in English.The local cafe owner was full of good information and in for a chat.
After lunch we flew, with a good road/tailwind.Big chainwheel Sue!! It was such beautiful scenery with corn, wheat fields and other fields just filled with bright red poppies. I love them.
We arrived at a lovely fishing village and started asking for the camping area, only to eventually be told it doesn't open until June 1. It is obviously a bit of a tourist spot but we are pre season and not many people around. So it was "flash packing" again at the local hotel. Don't really mind. After showers and our daily washing we took a walk through the village and settled on a little tavern in the back streets. No menu but the proprieter took us into the kitchen and showed us what was in the fridge. Boxes of seafood packed in ice. Pick what you want. Price is per kilo. We settled on fish and Greek salad and 2 local beers. Deliscious. Half way through our meal he appeared with 2 glasses of ouzo and a plate of mussels filled with rice cooked in prawn stock. Wonderful! As his German was about 1/2 as good as mine, we started comunicating by drawing pictures on the paper table cloth.
On the way out we a had a little talk to a retired seaman who was sitting chatting to the local (greek orthodox) priest. What a great day!!!

Fanari to Kavala (23rd May, 94.3 km @ 20.2kph)

Flat ride through very fertile land . Yesterday in an inland valley today costal delta with bird sanctuary.
A couple of mishaps such as losing our map!!!!! And the tourist office ladies in Kavala were not interested in giving us any tourist information.No one seemed to know about the coastal road we want to ride tomorrow. Has it been made into an autobahn where no bikes are allowed or is the "under construction" road on the (new) map? Finally we got a straight answer from the waiter at our resort tavern (where we are camping) He rides a motor bike so he knew: yes, we can ride on it ( bikes are not allowed on autobahns) but not much shoulder but we will go 7 am Sunday morning so shouldn't be much traffic. We only plan to have a short day tomorrow and again camp. After that we head north into the mountains and Bulgaria. Don't know how much internet connections we will have.
Thanks to all who has sent us emails. (donsigrid@gmail.com) Good fun getting them., Keep them coming.

Gallipoli

Ataturk

Suvla Bay

Lone Pine

Simpson's grave

Anzac Cove

Anzac Cove

Typical Bike Shop

Yesterday (18th May) we arrived at Eceabat, gateway to the Gallipoli Peninsula but not without incident. After a couple of punctures and patching jobs we thought we'd better get a couple more spare tubes. There were no tubes in Biga so we decided to catch a bus the 90km to Canakkale to be on the safe side. No worries! Turkey has a very efficient bus network. However that city of 100 thousand inhabitants also didn't have the 700 x 25 tubes we were looking for. Apparently all bikes are mountain bikes in this neck of the woods. However, we did get around quite a few bike shops (usually guided by a local and offered cups of tea) and luckily ended up getting a couple of tubes that will do the job. Then we crossed the Dardenelles by ferry to Eceabat, the nearest town to where the Gallipoli campaign took place.

Today we had a marvellous tour of the battlefields. It's amazing to be in the places you've heard about all your life and to reflect on the tragic circumstances and events that occured there. Places such as Anzac Cove, Suvla Bay, Shrapnel Valley and Lone Pine are imbedded in the minds of all Australians. Ironically, today (19th May) is a public holiday in Turkey because on this day at Gallipoli in1915 many young Turks lost their lives defending their home land. It is now called Childrens Day.

Pictured in this blog you will find a helpful bike shop, Anac Cove, Lone Pine war cemetery, Suvla Bay, Ataturk (the military leader and hero of modern day Turkey) and other aspects of Gallipoli.

Tomorrow we head off towards Greece. Hopefully the howling gale currently blowing abates by then.