Rain on the way to Kosovo

We were up early again and went for a walk through Kovachevitsa village before breakfast of banitsa (egg and feta cheese layered in filo pastry), homemade yoghurt and coffee.

The road toward Kosovo (the Bulgarian village, not the country), took us through a gypsy settlement - the contrast to the Bulgarian villages was chalk and cheese, with the gypsy settlement looking more like an African village, with ramshackle houses, rubbish everywhere and donkey carts for transport. The Romani, who are of northern Indian descent, make up about 4% of the population and are generally resented by the Bulgarians, as they believe the Romani give them an unfavorable reputation to outsiders.

Our first stop was The Eagle's Eye, a lookout overlooking the village of Yagodina, which we reached by four wheel drive. With the weather closing in we made quick time down and headed to Yagodina Caves, a 1.2km walk through a combination of wet and dry caves. We arrived at the entrance just as the rain and hail started, but by the time we emerged 45 minutes later it had stopped.

We had a late lunch at the restaurant nearby, and the rain started again.

We were scheduled to visit a yoghurt museum, but unfortunately it has closed down - and I was looking forward to seeing what could possibly be in a yoghurt museum!!

Our drive to Kosovo was through the Rodope Mountains, with a stop on the way at Grohotno, a predominantly Turkish village, where Nadya got us invited for coffee at the local shop!

Accommodation tonight is in Kosovo, another tiny village with less than 30 inhabitants.Read more