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Orpheus and Shiroka Laka
Orpheus certainly made his mark round here. What a guy! A musician, a prophet, a poet and all round charmer, there’s not much here that isn’t named after him. Naturally we couldn’t leave here without climbing Orpheus Peak in homage to him and as it happens, it’s also the second highest point in the Rhodope…
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Smolyan – Waterfall Canyon and Koleto Fortress
I forget to mention in the previous blog that while we were hiking yesterday, we chatted to an older Bulgarian couple who were collecting chamomile flowers to make into tea. The gentlemen said something along the lines of “your body will thank you.” I’ve noticed this foraging in Eastern Europe before and I love it.…
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Sofia/ Smolyan – hike to Orpheus Rock, Smolyan Lakes and Tower of Snezhanka
We have stayed at The Jasmine Hotel in Sofia before. Snazzy it ain’t but comfortable and conveniently situated it is. It’s very well situated for the Vitosha National Park which we haven’t visited yet but may well do before we fly home. After a hearty but strange breakfast (frankfurters and unpleasant looking mushed eggs for…
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Roaming the Rhodope – Bulgaria
I won’t bore you with the details, but last week was not a good one, and at one point I honestly thought the only place I’d be checking into would be an asylum. However, here we are, in The Jasmine Hotel Sofia, having had a stress free flight with some reviving champagne and a good…
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Anton Valley/Panama City
Our German boys were extremely thoughtful and very quiet, but the fiesta/ whatever the hell it is partying went on into the small hours again so we weren’t sorry to be upping sticks. S much better but it was still boiling in AV so it was time to move on. Our hosts were very concerned…
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Anton Vallee
Who can tell, indeed? Those serious looking people carrying the religious icon yesterday turned out to be wild fiesta types after all. Both the white noise machine and ear plugs had to be deployed as the noises of serious partying went on and on and on. We blearily awoke just before 7.20am and I toyed…
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Las Lajas/Anton Valley
Naturalmente Bungalows and Chantal turned out to be delightful. In the evening, We drove into “town” (a small parade of restaurants and shops) and had delicious pizzas at the Naturalmente Pizza restaurant. (Run by Chantal’s brother-in-law.)The rain stopped so we were able to eat outside. It’s a popular restaurant – the pizzas are very good…
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Playa Bluff to Las Lajas
Such a peaceful night and a contrast to the previous night – the only sound being the waves and a gecko that is in the room somewhere. It left its trail last night with some droppings by the fan and also in Steve’s water glass! Obviously on holiday – air conditioning and a pool to…
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Boca del Toro – if at first you don’t succeed….
Not a great night sleep wise. We have a fabulous view out to sea and I wouldn’t change it, but the downside is we are next to the restaurant and immediately above 3 rooms and below two apartments. Nadia and Salvatore had some Italian guests staying and although they weren’t up very late, it was…
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Isla Colon- Playa Bluff Jungle Hike
The weather forecast looked good for today – a very slight chance of a shower but nothing much- so we decided to do the walk up past Playa Bluff and along the jungle trail which ends at the tip of the island. According to Nadia our host, the walk was about a 4 hour round…
Middle-aged flash packers
The ramblings and wanderings of two middle-aged travellers up for adventure
- 2021 – There are no plans. Covid
- About
- Australia/Vietnam Revisited 2025
- Bulgaria – Roses and Trains 2025
- Cabo de Gata 2024
- Costa Rica 2015
- Escape to Italy 2017
- Going round in Circles – Circumnavigating Spain 2021
- Gran Canaria – The Isle of Dogs
- Greece – Pottering The Peloponnese 2021
- Into Africa – 2022
- Into Africa -November/December 2022
- Jordan Jaunts 2023
- Mini adventure in Northern Portugal – 2018
- Mission Triglav – Slovenia, Italy, France 2017
- My blog
- Myanmar and Thailand 2019
- Oman 2019
- Oz Odyssey – Australia, Fiji,Hawaii 2016
- Panama 2023
- Return of the Road Warriors – Europe revisited 2019 Liechenstein, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Germany
- Road Trip to Anywhere – France, Italy, ? 2022
- Roaming the Rhodope – Bulgaria
- Sicily wanderings – on the volcano trail
- Tea, Trains and Temples – A journey around Sri Lanka 2017
- Tenerife 2024
- The Grand Tour – Driving from UK to Turkey and back again 2015
- The Hills are Alive – Austria road trip September 2025
- The Silk Road – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan 2019
- Turkey – 2020
- Wainwrights Lake District UK part 2 2022 March
- Walking the Wainwrights part 1 – Lake District UK 2021
Middle-aged flash packers 