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Backwoods BulgariaBy Metodia Hristova from the Mar/Apr 1999 Issue With the first rays of the morning sun, the little village of Orehovo, perched high in the Rhodope Mountains of southern Bulgaria, comes alive with motion and sound. Old women put on their cowhide slippers and shuffle into barns to milk the cows and feed the hens. Wind-burned men in sleeveless jackets chop firewood in the yards and load dozing donkeys with scythes and rakes for the long day in the field. The cries of roosters rise in the crisp air and mix with steam from the chimneys and the smell of fresh-baked bread. If you are a visitor to Orehovo, after taking in this idyllic scene you can go down to the river valley and watch colorful rugs drying in the sun beside the river. You can sample Rhodope meals, such as katmi, thick pancakes baked on a fire stove, or kapama, meat and vegetable stew cooked in a clay pot for eight hours. Or you can just sit in the yard with a cup of steaming goat milk in hand, enjoying a panorama of activities on the farm plots covering the surrounding hills. For nature lovers, mountain trails begin at the village’s edge and weave through lush gardens and orchards into the dense forest of fir and spruce. The enchanting beauty of these mountains inspired the mythical singer Orpheus, said to have tamed the wild beasts here with the heavenly music of his lyre. The mountains stretch 150 miles along Bulgaria’s southern border with Greece and Turkey. Half of the Rhodope region’s population is Bulgarian Muslim (Pomack) and Turkish. Still, in spite of five centuries of harsh Ottoman rule, the Muslims and Christians in the Rhodope region enjoy good relations. In the picturesque village of Kovatchevitsa, nestled in the western Rhodope, a couple from Sofia has bought an 18th century house and restored it to its original appearance. Sonya and Stoyan Kapsuzovi treat visitors as their personal guests, or family friends, and say they enjoy having people in their house and exchanging ideas with them. Guests learn about village customs and enjoy the scenic surroundings. Elaborate traditional meals are followed by homemade wine and rakya, the Bulgarian plum brandy, and conversations by the fireplace. If you travel by yourself to remote and little visited rural areas, such as the Rhodope region, a 10-day trip can cost you as little as $100 for food, lodging, and bus transportation. If you rent a car, the expenses will probably increase twofold. Inflation has made the exchange rate favorable for American visitors, who can dine at a good restaurant for $3 or take the train to the Black Sea coast for less than $5. In tourist resorts foreigners are charged special rates for food and lodging that are many times higher than those for Bulgarians. However, if you travel in underdeveloped tourist areas, you are likely to get the normal rates and a congenial welcome. And you will experience the real rhythm of life in the area, which doesn’t usually happen from the inside of a tour bus. Travel in the Rhodope Getting to Bulgaria. Balkan Airlines, (212) 371-2506, has direct flights from New York to Sofia twice a week. Roundtrip fares average $600 in low season and $800 in high season (June 15-August 15). American visitors who stay in the country for less than a month do not need a visa, but have to pay a $30 entry fee at the airport. Getting to the Rhodope Mountains. You can ride the train from Sofia to Plovdiv for $1 and then take a bus to one of the villages from the Rhodope bus station located right across from the Plovdiv train station. Renting a car from the numerous rent-a-car agencies in Sofia and Plovdiv is a faster and more reliable way to reach your destination. Hertz, (011) 359-2-980-0461, has the best car rental rates, starting from $21 a day. Where to stay. When you go into a village in the Rhodope mountains, ask for a guesthouse. If you find yourself in a village with no accommodations for tourists, keep in mind that Bulgarians are famous for their hospitality and will welcome you in their houses as a personal guest. Some charming villages to explore in the Rhodope mountains are Iagodino, Momchilovtsi, Orehovo, and Kovatchevista. What to eat. Try banitsa (sheep cheese pie), katmi (thick pancakes cooked over a fire stove), kapama (Rhodope meat-and-vegetable stew), baklava (nut-filled sweet pastry), and of course, rakyia (homemade wine and brandy). Rural tourism companies. Odysseia-Inn, odysseia@omega.bg, offers specially tailored study tours to Bulgarian villages combined with active recreation in the mountains. Welt tourist company, www.travel-bulgaria.com/welt/rural. html, takes visitors to the villages of Bozhentsi and Apriltsi for a first-hand experience of the local culture and cuisine. Sunshine Tours, 011-3592-723-579, and Alexander Tour, 011-3592-832-371, also provide accommodations in villages across the country. General Travel Information. Exchange only a small amount of money at the airport. Rates are poor there, and you’ll find plenty of change offices in the cities. Do not rely on credit cards, ATM machines, or traveler’s checks. Budget travelers with no Bulgarian language skills can find English-speaking university students who will be happy to practice the language with a native speaker for $5-$10 per day. General travel information on Bulgaria is available on the web at www.travel-bulgaria.com or www.bulgaria.com/travel. For information on organized tours of Bulgaria, contact Balkan USA, (800) 822-1106. METODIA HRISTOVA is a graduate student at the Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, MO. |
