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 spend the night in the shelter … if you can dig up its door. Then pray that there is some firewood left and the chimney is not blocked. Good luck!

The state border between Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia runs along the slopes of the mountain. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall it was a part of the “Iron Curtain” dividing the Eastern bloc, in this case Bulgaria, and the independent Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Nowadays the former frontier posts which guarded strictly this imaginary line are all in ruins.

I think that mountaineers should be obliged to wear tourist equipment in bright colors – red, blue, green … I mean, people in white clothes are not visible on photographs, while those with black look just like blurry spots.

A charming model is of a great help to the photographer.

That magic hour – the sunset!

The last rays of the setting sun turn the snow sculpted by the wind into a futuristic landscape.

My most memorable celebration of Valentine’s / Trifon’s Day ever took place in Ruen shelter – a building without a single bed, which managed to accommodate 22 persons. Two people incarnated the expression “to fall asleep on the table”. Two others made use of the space underneath it, while three of us “spread ourselves out” on a single bench.

I was outside in cold making half-hearted attempts for boring photos when a bright meteorite literally split the darkness, passing right through the center of my frame. It was only on the computer back home that I noticed that it was not the only one.

Communication with the Mothership is very important.

And remember, if you want to get stars in your home take down the roof!

Go to part 4: “The Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria“