Kerkíni

We only had a short drive planned for today (83km to Kovachevitsa), so Nadya suggested a visit to Greece on the way!

Melnik is only 20km from the Greek border, so we set our sights for Lake Kerkini, one of the most important wetlands in Europe, is considered to be one of the top European bird watching destinations, with about 300 bird species spotted.

First stop after leaving Melnik was Rohzen Monastery, where we also went for a walk up the pinnacles, with a spectacular view over the whole area.

The border crossing to Greece was full of trucks, but we only had to stop for a quick passport check and we were on our way.

We didn't have any Euro with us, and Nadya only had 15 Euro after paying the border toll, so we knew lunch had to be cheap... and cheap it was! She spotted a mulberry tree in full fruit on the side of the road, so we stopped and picked enough to satisfy us all.

We continued on to the lake and went for a short walk to do some birdwatching (and eat more mulberries from a tree in the waterfront, this time the white variety).

We drove through a number of villages (and checked out the stork nests on the top of the power poles), before visiting another bay before beginning our journey back to Bulgaria.Läs mer