Rodopite, Part 1

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I recently got the opportunity to visit a volunteer in the Rodopi Mountains in southern Bulgaria working in another orphanage there. Here’s a few pictures and the details from that trip:

My journey began with a train from Shumen, the closest big city to me (about 30 minutes away by bus). This was my first experience with the train system here in Bulgaria. I had heard some bad stories about discomfort, boredom, and just overall slowness of travel with the trains here, but still decided I would give it a try. I decided on an overnight train from Shumen to Plovdiv, with a short layover and transfer in Komunari.

I have decided that Komunari is probably the saddest place in all of Bulgaria. It is literally nothing but a train station in the middle of nowhere. It’s as if 2 train tracks crossed at some point in a random field, and they decided to put a train station there for whatever reason. I tried to get away and try to find a place that would have some coffee, a snack, or at least a place where I could buy some water. I got about 30 feet away from the station when I realized that there was just total darkness is every direction… no café, no houses, no people… nothing. This is it:

Komunari is also home to the hands-down-worst bathroom I have ever stepped foot in, but I can’t really describe in words what that was like right now.

Overall the train ride itself wasn’t too bad, but the heat was on the entire time, set to what can only be described as the “melt passengers” setting. Other than that I managed to get some sleep, laying down in the compartment, which was totally mine for the majority of the ride.

It seems the only way into the Rodopis is through Plovidv, Bulgaria’s second biggest city. There is no train service in the mountains, and the bus service is kind of spotty, which let me check out a bit of Plovdiv during a layover there. Plovdiv is called the “Paris of the Balkans” and for good reason. It’s an absolutely beautiful place with an old town built around a well preserved Roman stadium and amphitheater, little winding streets, and tons of charm. It’s definitely a place I want to make it back to during my time here, and seeing that you have to go through it to get to a lot of different places in Bulgaria, I’m pretty sure I’ll get that chance again.

After a few hours of walking around, eating delicious food (see previous entry) and a bit of waiting, I boarded another bus to the city of Smolyan, which is touted as Bulgaria’s “highest city”, which sort of reminded me of how Denver is advertised as the “mile high city”. Smolyan also has the bizarre distinction of being Bulgaria’s “longest” city, a fact of which they are inexplicably proud.

Smolyan is also called the "Pearl of the Rodopis," a name that it definitely lives up to. The place is absolutely beautiful, located under these amazing rock formations.

Funny/frustrating story from my time in Smolyan: As I said before, bus service is pretty bad down in the Rodopis, and I almost missed my chance to get to Stoikite, the village where the volunteer I was visiting lives. While waiting for my bus, tons of buses started to pour into the station, all leaving at the same time as the one I was scheduled to get on. I’m standing in the correct sektor (places from which my specific bus is supposed to leave from) waiting for the correct bus, and sure enough a bus pulls in. I show the driver my ticket and he gives me the standard Bulgarian head nod and “tsk” roughly meaning something like “no, you’re an idiot” (something you have to see to believe – seems unbelievably rude and off-putting the first time you see it, but it’s totally normal here – a skill I’m practicing myself. It’s actually pretty fun). Anyway, I start running around to the other buses that have pulled in asking if they go to Stoikite, and each time I get the same response, with a few variations (maybe a wag of the finger, a glare, etc… again, totally normal).

After about 5 minutes, all the buses head out and I’m left standing on the platform at the Smolyan bus station wondering what the heck just happened. I went in and talked to the ticket lady, who informed me that it had come, and didn’t I see it, and why was I still here. I showed her that I was standing in the sektor listed on the ticket, and the wrong bus had come there, and I couldn’t find the bus that I was supposed to be on. Holding back her laughter but with an obvious smirk, she told me that the bus didn’t park in a sektor, despite what the ticket said (like I was supposed to know this). Such is travel here in Bulgaria… Luckily, she gave me a new ticket free of charge on the next microbus to Stoikite, and I was on my way, just as confused as ever, but pleased that I was finally on my way to my destination…

More to come later...