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Category Archives: In English

Through my (contact)lenses – part 5: The Waterfalls in Bulgaria


The beauty of Bulgaria in a few sentences and photographs as I’ve seen it through my (contanct) lenses. This chapter is about our waterfalls.   Go to part 4: “The Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria” After I wrote a short photo-description of Bulgaria’s main mountain ranges I find it proper to devote a chapter to one other of our natural wonders – the waterfalls. Our country is blessed with huge water resources and the waterfalls on its territory are numerous. The article is not thorough, I just want to show you some of the most beautiful nooks of my homeland. I will […]

Waterfalls in Bulgaria

Through my (contact)lenses – part 4: The Rhodope Mountains (The Rhodopes), Bulgaria


The beauty of the Rhodope Mountain (The Rhodopes), Bulgaria in a few sentences and photographs as I’ve seen it through my (contanct) lenses.   Go to part 3: “Osogovo Mountain, Bulgaria” The Rhodopes are the largest mountain range in Bulgaria and occupy about one-seventh of the country. According to the geological and tectonic characteristics the Rhodope Mountains can be divided into two parts – Western and Eastern. To be honest, I am not very familiar with the Eastern Rhodopes. This is mainly because they are remote and difficult to reach from Sofia, but also due to their low average altitude […]

The Rhodopes

The Other Side


 От другата страна / The Other Side 29.11.2017  – 27.01.2018 English: That’s what our 2-month journey around the furthest from Bulgaria place on Earth – New Zealand – looks like:  around 4 000 km. of hitchhiking, one domestic flight and not a single bus. But missing on the map are the numerous mountain treks (tramps) that we did with a total distance of over 600 km. and almost 24 000 m. of elevation gain. It also does not reveal the diversity of the local landscapes: the ubiquitous jungle, the volcanic desert of Mount Ruapehu, the numerous glaciers, the wind-swept grassy hills of […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 16: Freedom camping


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran. I spent most of its night freedom camping.   Go to part 15: “Wild camping” In the previous chapter I showed you the most interesting places I camped throughout Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Abkhazia. Now you will see some of my bivouacs during the rest of the journey – Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Iran. Armenians are very proud that their country was the first in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 A.D. There are ancient churches scattered […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 15: Wild camping


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran. I spent most of its night wild camping.   Go to part 14: “16 peculiarities of Iran“ It‘s only fitting that I add a chapter in my story, dedicated to wild camping. For five months one orange piece of nylon, surrounding an area of ​​2 sq. m., represented my idea of ​​home. I spent over 2/3 of those 140 nights in it. It protected me from rain, wind and cold, ensured my privacy. It served me well in the heat of the […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 14: 16 peculiarities of Iran


  This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran. In this part you will learn some peculiarities of Iran.   Go to part 13: “The Long Way Home” After the end of the short story in pictures of my eastern adventure, I decided to write a chapter for the peculiarities of Iran that surprised me the most. Some are well known and future visitors of the country should be aware of them, others are just curious. 1. I will start with the practical peculiarities of Iran. Because of the economic […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 13: The Long Way Home


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran. Many funny incidents and numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites.   Go to: “Part 12: Half of the World” My stay in Iran was brimming over with historical sites and numerous curious meetings with locals. But the end of my 30-day visa was approaching and I forced myself into even more hectic rhythm trying to visit more places. Falak-ol-Aflak was extremely preserved Sassanid fortress and the only reason for my visit to Khorramabad. The price of the entry ticket for foreigners of […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 12: Half of the World (Isfahan)


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran. In this part you will walk around “Half of the world” (Isfahan). Go to: “Part 11: Ivan in Iran” After almost 20 days of roaming around the vast Iranian territory it was time to visit the imperial cities of Persia, glorified as some of the most beautiful in the Islamic world. Rasoul, his wife and two sons picked me up at sunset. He offered me to accompany them to his wife’s brother – Dr. Kargar. In the evening they organized a […]

Isfahan

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 11: Ivan in Iran (Ancient Persia)


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran (Ancient Persia). Go to: “Part 10: Johnnie in the Middle (East)” The first 10 days in Ancient Persia had passed quickly and imperceptibly, but the country was so rich in cultural, historical and archaeological sites that rather than slowing down the pace, I increased it. Arg-e Bam dated back to the VI century BC. It was considered the largest adobe building in the world and was part of the World Heritage List. In December 2003 a massive earthquake destroyed more than 80% […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 10: Johnnie in the Middle (East)


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran. Go to: “Part 9: Armenia’s Roof” After almost four months of roving around Turkey and some of the former Soviet republics, it was time for the last and most exotic part of my journey – Iran. Until now it was way too easy to communicate with locals. I spoke mainly in broken Bulgarian (Russian), sometimes in English, occasionally in Turkish and rarely in Spanish, but Farsi was going to be a challenge. However, in the northern parts, populated mostly by ethnic […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 9: Armenia’s Roof


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran. Go to: “Part 8: Republicans” To recapitulate the first 100 days: For a number of reasons my journey so far looked like a sleepwalker’s rambling – Bulgaria-Turkey-Georgia-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Armenia-Nagorno Karabakh-Armenia-Georgia-Turkey-Georgia-Abkhazia-Georgia-Armenia – and it was not over yet. On the way to Yerevan I visited the Sevanavank Monastery. It had a great location – on the tip of a peninsula jutted into Lake Sevan. Besides being very beautiful with its sapphire blue waters, it was the largest body of water in Armenia and the […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 8: Republicans


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran. Go to: “Part 7: Caucasians” After two weeks of nice tiring “vacation” – trekking and climbing a 5-thousander with my girlfriend – I was again alone on the Road and it would remain so until the end of the journey. There would be no more “guests”. I applied for Iranian visa and I already had a letter of permission to visit the Republic of Abkhazia. There were still a few days until its entry date and I used them to check […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 7: Caucasians


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran. This part is about the treks we did in Ushguli region. Go to: “Part 6: Mission “Prometheus“” We had climbed Mt. Kazbek (5047 m.) mostly because of luck and stubbornness. Krum and Lyubo flew back to Bulgaria and Tatyana and I headed to Svaneti to do some hikes in the surrounding mountains. It would have been wiser to start with the treks for acclimatization and then lunge for the high peaks, but we were pressed by time. Mestia greeted us with […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 6: Mission Prometheus


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran. This part is about our accent of Mt. Kazbek (5033 m.). Go to: “Part 5: The First Christians” Armenia was the smallest country in the region (not counting the controversial republics) but boasted beautiful nature and a number of interesting sights. I hadn’t seen all, but had to go back to Georgia. Two and a half months had passed since the beginning of my journey and my friends would arrive in Tbilisi soon with two bags of gear – everything necessary […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 5: The First Christians


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran.   Go to: “Part 4: A Country of Taxi-drivers and Policemen“ Because of my surprisingly short stay in Azerbaijan I was in Armenia a month ahead of “schedule”. It is a small mountainous country with beautiful nature, many historical monuments (mostly monasteries) and hitchhiker friendly. Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as an official religion as early as 301 AD. The country had numerous ancient churches each one of them more beautiful and interesting than the […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 4: A Country of Taxi-drivers and Policemen


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran.   Go to: “Part 3: The Green Mile“ After 40 days of travelling around Turkey and a relatively short stay in Georgia, I crossed the border with Azerbaijan. Right from the start I realized that hitchhiking here was going to be easy enough. I only had explained in advance that I wasn’t going to pay for it. Qobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape State Reserve was one of two Azerbaijani UNESCO World Heritage sites. It boasted over 6 000 rock engravings dating […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 3: The Green Mile


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran.   Go to: “Part 2: 13 Cups of Tea” After 40 days travelling around Turkey – a long-distance trek and numerous castles and ancient cities, I crossed over to Georgia. Although a part of the Westerners think that Bulgaria had been one of the 15 republics, I stepped on the territory of the former USSR for the first time in my life. Going so soon to Georgia was a surprise even for me, but I definitely needed a change because my […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 2: 13 Cups of Tea


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran. Go to: “Part 1: The Long Walk“ Once we reached Antalya and finished the 512 kilometers of the Lycian way for 20 days of walking (+2 days off), the journey entered a new stage. Tatyana caught a flight back home and it was time for me to go on my own. In addition we were travelling only on foot, but now I switched to hitchhiking. This allowed me to cover much longer distances. Other aspects remained the same – I continued […]

East of the Moon, West of the Sun – part 1: The Long Walk


This is the story of my 5-month eastern journey through Turkey, Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Iran. This part is abouth the Lycian Way.   Two days after I returned from South America I had an interview for BiT and I was caught off guard by the question: “What is your next destination?”. My spontaneous response was: “Southeast Asia”. Then I changed my mind – the “Stans” of Central Asia seemed more attractive to me. I gave up this idea though, because of the need for visas for each of them. Meanwhile, my girlfriend and I were thinking about ​​a […]

Through my (contact)lenses – part 3: Osogovo Mountain, Bulgaria


The beauty of Osogovo Mountain, Bulgaria in a few sentences and photographs as I’ve seen it through my (contanct) lenses.   Go to part 2: “Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria“ The marginal Osogovo mountain is quite interesting … in winter. Reaching her highest peak Mt. Ruen in summer is just a long and tedious walk along a dirt road, while a good snow cover adds charm to her rounded slopes and cold and wind add intrigue and a new level of complexity. Moreover, due to the short day and the inability to keep the summer pace with snowshoe, the only option is to […]

Through my (contact)lenses – part 2: Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria


The beauty of Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria in a few sentences and photographs as I’ve seen it through my (contanct) lenses. Go to “Part 1: Rila Mountain, Bulgaria“ When 2000 years ago by an imperial decree Serdica was given the status of a self-governing city, the extinct Skopius volcano had been already towering above its territory for more than 70 million years. I have to admit that for a mountain that I see every time I leave home and which I can reach by a regular city bus, Vitosha is undeservedly overlooked. Perhaps because of its accessibility and its relative compactness, […]

Through my (contact)lenses – part 1: Rila Mountain, Bulgaria


The beauty of Rila Mountain, Bulgaria in a few sentences and photographs as I’ve seen it through my (contanct) lenses.   I find it proper to start the series “Through my (contact)lenses” with the highest mountain on the Balkans and the first picture to be its major peak – Mt. Musala (2925 m.) – an incredibly energizing place. I highly recommend Ivan Vazov hut during the winter to the seeking solitude trekkers. It’s possible that you’ll be the first people the hut-keeper sees in more than 2 weeks. The Malyovitsa ridge is one the most Alpine-looking in Rila Mountain, and […]

Surfer’s Technique – part 5: Colombiana


“Surfer’s Technique” is a story about my 5-month long South American journey – Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru,  Ecuador and Colombia. Go to “Part 4: In the Middle Earth” After an easy (and thorough) month-long tour of Ecuador, including trekking, beaches, crater lakes and exotic wildlife, I crossed in Colombia, knowing that my journey will end there. Though I had almost a month until my return flight, the fact that I already had a ticket affected my way of travel, making it way more intense. Situated only a few kilometers from the border the neo-Gothic cathedral El Santuario de las Lajas […]

Surfer’s Technique – part 4: In the Middle Earth


“Surfer’s Technique” is a story about my 5-month long South American journey – Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru,  Ecuador and Colombia. Go to “Part 3: Life on the Amazon” The last 20 days had passed lazily just like the turbid waters of the Amazon. During this time I had travelled for more than 2500 km. on two of its main tributaries – Rio Ucayali and Rio Napo and a short stretch of the Amazon itself. I had spent most of the days lounging on a hammock with a book in hand, throwing frequent glances towards the green wall, sliding along the […]

Surfer’s Technique – part 3: Life on the Amazon


“Surfer’s Technique” is a story about my 5-month long South American journey – Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru,  Ecuador and Colombia. In this part you will learn how I travelled 2500 km. along the Amazon. Go to “Part 2: In den Cordilleren” I had spent 20 days of the last month in the mountains of Bolivia and Peru and I have run out of stamina and desire to suffer. But my interest in South America wasn’t limited to the Andes. I was attracted by any other natural landmarks, archaeological excavations and cities with beautiful architecture. Luckily, the New World was full […]

Surfer’s Technique – part 2: In den Cordilleren


“Surfer’s Technique” is a story about my 5-month long South American journey – Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru,  Ecuador and Colombia. Go to “Part 1: Am Rio de la Plata” After the first 20 days and over 3000 km. of hitchhiking throughout Uruguay and northern Argentina, often sleeping in my tent next to roadside gas stations, my journey continued in Bolivia. Here, because of the low transportation costs and the lack of personal cars, I gave up this way of travelling. I took my first coach with great pleasure. I could just relax and fall asleep, stare through the window or […]

Surfer’s Technique – part 1: Am Rio de la Plata


“Surfer’s Technique” is a story about my 5-month long South American journey – Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru,  Ecuador and Colombia.   On May 19, two and a half years after the start of my first long journey South America, I once again found myself at the airport in Buenos Aires. The similarities between the two end with the equal starting point. This time I wouldn’t  be heading south but north. Besides I arrived with a one-way ticket, having no idea when and from where I would go home. The most significant difference however was that now Tatyana wasn’t accompanying me. […]

Where the world is young, and the stars closer


This is the second part of the story about our 4-month South American journey. It is about our travel around Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil. Go to “Part one” >> After the first 50 days and more than 10 000 km. hitchhiking around Patagonia, sleeping frequently in a tent or Couchsurfing, our journey continues in Peru. Here we finally came across a standard of living similar to ours in Bulgaria. We took the first bus with great pleasure. We could just relax and go to sleep, talk or read a book – unattainable “luxury” while we were hitchhiking. Moreover we stopped […]

A journey of 10 000 miles


This is first part of the story of our South American journey – 10 000 miles of hitchhiking through Patagonia.   Аt the beginning of December 2012, after months of preparation and planning, we landed at the Buenos Aires airport. We didn’tt know any Spanish (they barely speak English there) and we had no idea where we will sleep tonight. We plunged straight into the deep. After a walk around the hostels in the city, we settled in the cheapest. “KMO” or at least so we were reading it until we realized it’s “km. 0” (kilometer zero) – the perfect […]

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