Riding into devil's throat

Our furry cat friend came into our tent during the night and slept there until we had to pack it in the morning. Furthermore, a dog was happy to see us at sunrise, so he had some company, so he decided to run with us for some kilometres. What a good start of the day if there's animal friends around!
We had our breakfast stop in one of the villages at the lake and were pleasantly surprised by a bakery selling sourdow break - yum! Then, an amazing day of riding in the Rhodope mountains began. First, we passed an area of a mix of forests and meadows. Later, the mountains became rockier with steep canyons. The road to Devil's Throat was one of our highlights in Bulgaria so far.
In Bulgaria, there's is countless springs along the roads, so it's easy to find water. Most of them have benches and tables with a roof or even a bbq oven with firewood next to them, so it's an ideal picnic place. Today, we used these for lunch and an early dinner.
We wanted to do wild camping tonight as we thought it would be nice to sleep with the mountains and canyons around us. However, the problem with those canyon is that they are very narrow and there's absolutely no space for pitching a tent. We also couldn't get down to the river as the shore was to steep. The only two roads to access it ended in a private property for the rich and famous.
We went further and further until we got out of the mountains. From here, it was only 35km to Plovdiv where we were heading. It was after 6pm and we decided to race it through before dark. So eventually, we ended up sleeping in a guesthouse, but at least enjoying a beer after this beautiful but exhausting 155km-day.Read more