Adventures in Arkadia: Wot No Snow!

The first thing that rapidly became apparent on our drive towards the Stara Planina mountain range was that there was very little snow except on the very top of the peaks. In fact this year Bulgaria had an exceptionally dry autumn very little rain. This became obvious when we passed the Zrebcevo reservoir which had even less water in it when we last saw it in October.

The view that greets you as you drive towards our village.

Rush hour past our village.

The Yantra river that flows near the village (its the same river that winds through Veliko Turnovo on its way to the Danube).

Its still Christmas in Bulgaria!

When we left Bulgaria in October the forests were brilliant hues of golden and bronze. This time, on the drive towards our tiny mountain village, the trees were bare and silvery and due to the dryness of the soil, the landscape had changed to colours of straw and black earth from the ploughed fields. The russet red tiles from the village houses nestled in the rolling hills with smoke spiralling from the wood burning chimneys hanging in the valleys due to the still air. This was January in the Balkans.

We passed old men on bicycles laden with firewood foraged from the forest, head scarfed gypsies working the felled logs with horses and all manor of contraptions delivering logs to the villages. This was winter in full swing and although it had so far been dry and mild, the night temperature still fell below zero every night.

When we arrived at our village Slaveykovo and parked in the square we discovered that Arkadia was locked up so we wandered down the lane to Billy's house to collect the keys only to be greeted by Lilly, Billy's wife whom we had never met. On recognising two strangers in the village she immediately guessed who we were and after initial greetings, ushered us into their house and up onto their balcony for coffee. Just seeing the amazing views again from the balcony draw our breath away once again and reminded us why we chose to live in this lovely village. Further more, sitting on the sun trapped balcony with our winter clobber on chatting away, we were begging to swelter. Secretly I was feeling quite smug that even January could offer as much warmth as a winter sun get away to the Costa's.

The next few days were spent cleaning out the rubbish from the house and barns and having daily bonfires. If the black smoke rising from the garden hadn't alerted the village to the presence of newbies in the village, then the metal gate to our property which had been firmly locked for the last couple of years was now ajar and by Saturday, the bench on the opposite side of the square, which was directly opposite our gate, saw many a curious villager sitting in the sunshine observing us working in the garden.

The view that greets you as you walk though our gate.

One of many bonfires!

Anyone for wine and pickles?

Our dodgy electric box. Like something out of a soviet power station.

As the week progressed, the day time temperature steadily rose to the mid twenties. It felt incredibly spring like as the insect life woke up as started to buzz about. At the bottom of the garden we could hear a woodpecker busy at work searching for insects in the tree bark. However, the temperature plummeted as soon as the heat from the sun began to wane. We usually finished the day at Billy's Bar, 'The Thirsty Lizard' and by the time we emerged an hour later the temperature was freezing.

Clearing Sebastian's pen. We discovered an extra piece of land already walled off. Perfect for a tortoise.

Clearing the dead wood in the garden.

Its hot work!

Chris inspecting the bottom house.

We are getting a bulldozer in to clear the thicket of bullace trees. Spikey little blighters!

Chris eyeing up the wood burning stove for his barn.

The 30 minute drive back to our hotel in Veliko Turnovo was always interesting in the dark. It seems to be customary to walk about on the deserted roads in dressed in black so you have to nearly hit the person before you see them. One night we nearly hit a load of startled horses careering out of a field onto the road in front of us. Another night a puppy dog scuttled out into the road and I had to swerve to miss him.

The views from our favourite coffee bar in Veliko Turnovo, The Lino. In the distance of the second photo you can just see the snow capped mountains of the Stara Planina mountain range. Somewhere just before them is our house.

By Friday it was time to go window shopping in Veliko Turnovo to explore the range of kitchens, bathrooms, electrical goods and furniture. Anything we couldn't get in Bulgaria we still had time to purchase in the UK and ship with our furniture. Of course, there was a cost involved so it had to be essential stuff. We concluded that we think we will be ok on up to date kitchens and appliances but the bath will have to be shipped over and I positively cringed at the 1970's style furniture. We had been warned that their furniture was awful and we have to agree. Think MFI and 1970's bling...Gross! When we visited Practiker the Bulgarian DIY store, we became engrossed in the many types of pumps to draw water from our well to irrigate our vegetable patch. A real geeks subject which needs further investigation.

After much measuring and lack of sleep, we finally got the plans to the house renovation drawn up with window sizes and locations decided upon. There was a lot to decide in a week and the walls were marked where holes needed to be knocked through and plumbing put in etc. Billy told us his boys could start knocking the house about on Monday with the roofers not starting until March. Fingers crossed, with good weather, we will see a dramatic transformation by mid March when we plan to return.

In the meantime, we return to the UK with a long list of stuff to investigate for the next stage of the renovation project.