Seven Lakes

(Back in Bulgaria)

Before we flew to Istanbul, we were told by a travel agency in Blago that we could drive up to a ski chalet and take a chair lift up to some hiking trails, which would put us close to the Seven Lakes.  This was what we were originally shooting for on our first day of hiking before the rain and lightning chased us down.

We finally found the place to catch the chair lift, but the operator told us we would not have enough time to hike and still catch the last 4:30 lift down.

This is when two former weightlifters, who speak no English, approached us and grunted out another option...their jeep.

The ride, which should have come with a complimentary spinal adjustment and tube of Preparation H, was hair-raising, to say the least.

When we made it to the chalet 30 sphincter-puckering minutes later, the views were alpin-licious.

A 45-minute hike further and it was even better