Sofia Day 1

Sofia Day 1

I write this entry after along trip up to the Rila Monestary. This took all day and involved a long drive across the country. The monastery is situated in the steep, tree covered, cloudy peaks of western Bulgaria. This is the place where St. John (Ivan)lived in seclusion for 12 years dedicating his life to prayer. We hiked up to this location and even went in the cave where he lived. Others heard of this and built a monastery since it is rumored the God told him of the location and for him to go there. I must say, it's very surreal and a magnificent perch for a monastery. It gets cold winters and the road is closed in the winter. People were praying in the church area and many candles lit the room. The surrounding area was huge trees and moss covered rocks. Hiking was a little tricky with roots and wetness, kind of like New Jersey at times. The ride up was in a private car with a driver the hostel recommended. This worked fine, but drivers around here sometimes drive so fast and do incredible passings which make you see your life flash before your your eyes at times. The music in the car was provided by the driver. It was his own mix off of his MP3 player and included some authentic Bulgarian dance, hip hop, and American dance. Sweet. We knew some, while others were new. I wrote down some rhythms and melodies in hopes of recreating them in something I create, or just to remember.

We have made quite a few friends in this hostel. And once again, after hearing stories about the town, it might be difficult not to spend a few more days in this capital city. There are more Americans here, but I have met a Scotsman, some Germans, and a nice French Canadian dude that I will run with in the morning. After the early run, we plan to go on a hike around the city to see the sites. With camera in tow, the shots will be something to talk about. I should sometime get those darn pics up into this blog, but it is too fun just writing and enjoying the trip. Maybe tomorrow I will break down and upload some pics. Now, the camera has 1400 photos. Oops. Maybe 50 decent ones, I hope.

Oh yeah, I have a cyclist, retired navy, miner, world traveler in the room. He is biking across the country and living the dream on bike. He is from Jacksonville, Fl and we have been chatting up a huge one. Cool guy. Must follow him on Facebook.

Almost forgot. I met some guys from the states and elsewhere in a ham radio club visiting the monastery. They are preparing for a large event on the air this weekend. I thought it was for ARRL field day, but this is the week after. They were all wearing their radio gear such as shirts and hats with logos. We had a little geek talk and split. They are really roughing it in Bulgaria staying at a golf and country club setting up their antennas. They seemed extremely wealthy and wanted to get going. Ok then. I talked a bit to the technical guy that sets up their antennas and he mentioned how crazy these dudes are. I guess you must be some sort of radio pimp when you can have people follow you around that just set up your antennas for you. News to me. I guess I did see the yacht with the helicopter on it in Istanbul. Maybe the same guys?

Goodnight.