Bulgaria Weeks 7-10 – Waterfalls and ATV Tours!
We have had so much snow, that between skiing and working, I’ve been a bit lax on writing our travel diaries, but we’ve done loads of cool things this month.
We obviously have done loads of skiing, which is fun to do, but a little repetitive to read about I think so instead, I thought I’d tell you about our favourite 5 – the best five things we have done this month.
Hike to St Nicolai Waterfall
We saw on the Bansko Notice Board that a few people had taken a tour up to see a frozen waterfall, so the four of us (Laura & Alexi and Aaron & I) jumped in the car to go and find it.
You’re guaranteed an adventure when you’re following Google Maps, which doesn’t quite understand the roads in Bansko, let alone any hiking trails in the mountains, but we went for it anyway. After abandoning the car at the side of the road, we made our way up a wet & boggy unmade road, toward the mountains.
As we got further up, it got steeper, with more snow and ice appearing where the sun hadn’t quite reached it. Google had said it was a 30-minute walk but hadn’t indicated that it would be at such a steep incline, which we weren’t ready for! We were even convinced that we saw a bear track in the ice. Whilst I am told that bears are still in hibernation, I’m not convinced that this is a dog track.
When we got to the end of the road, we were greeted by the sound of rushing water. Conveniently, there were some steps which led down to a small stream although inconveniently these were covered in ice!
We carefully walked (slid) down there to investigate, only to find that the stream went over the edge of the mountain, and we couldn’t get close enough to peer over the edge to see where it went.
So, obviously, the answer was to scale the side of a snowy, moss-covered mountain to get to the very top, to see if we could figure out where this waterfall might be! The fact that we could hear lots of running water suggested that it may well be a defrosted waterfall (particularly by the time we found it!).
After a crawl, quite literally we were on all fours, grabbing at trees and rocks, up the side of the mountain, we made it to the top. We were so glad we did though, the views were spectacular!
No luck on the waterfall but we figured it was quite a way below where we were and slightly round to the right. By this point it was around 4pm, so after a quick calculation of how much daylight we had left and a group decision as to whether we could make it down to where we thought the waterfall was and back to the car, we got a stomp on.
Unsurprisingly, given the slippery conditions, we made it down the mountain a lot quicker than we did up it! After a short (and mostly flat) walk, we found the spot directly below the stream we’d found and lo and behold, the waterfall was just around the corner!
It was mostly still frozen, despite being at ground level, rather than up high. As we approached, we realised we were walking over the frozen stream!
The waterfall, although admittedly it was less frozen than it was in the photo we had seen just a week ago, was still super impressive with a casing of frozen water around the stream. It was difficult and terrifying to get close to the fall, because it was so icy, but we spent a bit of time trying, and getting a few snaps before making our way back to the car.
It was fun to go and do something different to skiing for an afternoon and do a bit of adventuring. We enjoyed not knowing exactly where we were going or what we would find (apart from the possibility of bears). It was also very surprising that even though I have spent the best part of two months skiing, I literally couldn’t breathe walking up the hill, and my heart rate was 156…so much for getting fit in Bansko!
Quad biking through the Pirin Mountains
It was Aaron’s birthday on the 24th Feb, so I arranged for us to go on a ATV tour in the mountains. We went quad biking in Cyprus which we both really enjoyed, so even though this would be a different experience to that, I thought Aaron would enjoy it!
We arrived at the site and met John who was our guide for the day and got kitted out – waterproof trousers, jackets & gloves along with a huge helmet! Aaron had to do a couple of test runs around the carpark to make sure he was a competent driver, and then after that, we were off!
We drove through the national park and over a mixture of track and off-piste. It started quite muddy, and we went steaming through puddles and streams (thank god for the waterproofs) before veering off track onto snow which no one had been over yet.
It was really good fun, and the two hours went so fast!
Steak & Wine
Aaron’s favourite meal is steak, so we finally went to Steak House Lazur for his birthday meal. We had heard so many great things, but we were saving it for a special occasion. It did not disappoint and was our favourite meal we’ve had so far and definitely now one of our favourite restaurants in Bansko!
Aaron went for the milk steak with pepper sauce and chips, and I went for the steak with blue cheese sauce. Dear lord, it was INCREDIBLE. It was soft, perfectly cooked and the sauce was amazing too – not too cheesy so you could still taste the meat. Best meal ever and I can’t wait to go again!
It was a night of firsts because after the steak we went to Wine Bar 25. It was only the four of us in there but the lady that worked there was lovely, and we got to try a couple of Bulgarian wines which were delicious. The wine has been one thing that has really surprised us whilst we’ve been here, it is really good, but you never really hear about it at home.
Visit to Pamporovo Ski Resort
On 3 March, we all took a day off work (which now means try and cram Thursday’s hours into the other days!) and ventured out of Bansko to Pamporovo ski resort.
It is the third largest ski resort in Bulgaria, with Bansko being the largest, closely followed by Borovets (which we plan to visit this week so watch this space!). It was a three-hour drive to the resort which meant a very early start! The alarm went off at 6am (which may as well have been 3am it was so dark!) and Lexi & Laura picked us up at 7.15am.
It was a long drive but it was basically one long winding road around the mountains which made for some incredible views of lakes, forests, and valleys through the mountains. We also drove through a few small towns, and it was strange to see a “real life” town, which didn’t revolve around skiing.
As we approached the resort, the snow had picked up and it was coming down quite fast as we parked the car. Luckily, the floor was quite wet, so it didn’t seem to be sticking which alleviated Alexi’s fear of returning to his car being buried in snow!
By the time we reached the resort, it was around 11am, and the cheaper tickets for the resort went on sale at 12pm so we decided that we’d stop for a (very) early lunch to save us stopping later and ski through the afternoon. We’d also then make it for the reduced afternoon tickets, rather than pay the whole day price.
We’d read that Alex’s Pub was the place to eat, so took a seat in there. Given the time we’d beaten the lunchtime crew, but it wasn’t long before it was packed. We all ordered a pizza (a classic brunch!) and washed these down with free shots (Thanks Alex!) before heading out onto the slopes.
The resort was much older than Bansko and had clearly had a lot less investment. The chair lifts were a rickety and it took a lot longer than those in Bansko. However, the only time they didn’t go slow was when it came to get on them. Once you’re seated comfortably, then they take all the time they need, but getting on them was a mission, and it was 50/50 whether you’d make it out alive.
They had these crazy rusty one-person chair lifts, which flung round at the speed of light and which were so speedy they had someone to grab the chair to stop it banging you in the back of the legs and taking off in a pile down the slope. Alexi said once we’d gotten off that he wouldn’t be surprised to see something like that in a fairground and I totally agree. As with all things which provide a small danger to life, it was really fun and possibly a highlight of the trip!
The resort was not as high as Bansko either, with the top point being 1,900m above sea level (whereas Bansko is 2,600m) so it is mostly known as a family resort, where people go to learn to ski, as it has a lot of gentle slopes which you don’t really have in Bansko. There were a good few red and black runs for us to try, which were a bit slippery and icy in places (not my favourite!) and overall, it was good fun to go and try out some new runs!
After a few hours of skiing, and once the chairlifts had stopped running at 4.30 we made it back to Alex’s bar for a quick drink before the long journey home. Of course, we were treated to another round of shots (because what else do you need before a 3-hour car journey?!).
I really enjoyed getting out of Bansko and experiencing a different resort. It wasn’t the greatest resort and I felt grateful to have been living in Bansko for the last two months because the difference in standard was quite unbelievable. We had good fun exploring the different pistes, and even went off piste on a couple of occasions, which didn’t always work out – see photo below!
Fun with the Altspacers
We’ve spent a lot of time eating, drinking and socialising with the guys in Altspace recently. We’ve met a lovely couple Laura & Matt, who are from New Zealand and are travelling with their two young kids, and Laura’s mum whilst they work.
They’ve been travelling around since pre-Covid so it’s been amazing to hear about their experience and they’ve given us some amazing recommendations! We’ve started a little supper club where we go and eat out once a week – so we’ve had some great food and great company!
On the opposite end of the scale, after our hike to the waterfall, we went to the opening of Hub360, a new sports bar in town. We were absolutely knackered from the hike but decided to go for one drink as we knew Becky & Mark (who own AltSpace) and some of the other members would be there. As usually happens with Aaron and I, 1 drink turned into 10 and we ended up going to bed at 2.30am, after Aaron spent a bit of time in the bathroom, thinking about his decisions from that night ha ha.
On Fridays, there are drinks at AltSpace so we’ve been to a couple of those, which again, often end up with us being out later than planned! One night, after a few beers we ended up at a mehana for dinner which was great fun…and here I am wondering why my fitness hasn’t improved!
Joining AltSpace has been a game changer for us and our time in Bansko. We’ve met loads of lovely people, and found a little community here – we won’t want to leave in March and are already planning a return in the Summer!
At the time of writing, we have just over two weeks left of our trip here. We’ve had an outrageous amount of snow, well over a metre, and it’s meant to snow continuously for the next few days too. We’re making the most of our skiing time, and last week we skied pretty much every day, which explains why my thighs feel like they’re about to explode today!
In the last month, I’ve mastered all the runs, including the black runs on the ski map so I’ve finally completed the resort. Now, its just about enjoying the snow and making the most of it for the rest of our time here.
We have Dave, one of our friends from Bristol visiting on our final weekend, and we’re planning a trip to Borovets this week, and we’ll be ticking off some of the last things we wanted to do on our list.
Speak soon!
Love Meg xx
