Day 42 – Sofia to Kostenets – 108km 761m

Massive hunks

Wet roads greeted us during a gloomy sunrise in Sofia. Thankfully we dodged all rain today though, otherwise it would have been much colder than it already felt.

Having spent Sunday afternoon remarking on the relaxed vibe in the city, we hit the commuter traffic immediately. Getting out of the city wasn’t pretty, apart from one wooded section in between the centre and the sprawl.

But the first 40km was hectic. We had to go on one section of motorway, which, because the hard shoulder was very wide, was easier than the A roads with container trucks at our shoulders.

Abruptly, the A road simply became a dirt track. Suddenly there was no traffic and we were whistling through the Bulgarian countryside through small villages.

Sometimes there were massive hunks of concrete Soviet era buildings that had fallen into total disrepair. An abandoned hotel in the middle of nowhere. A massive disused factory, rotting.

We rejoined quieter tarmac after lunch, rolling down a wide valley that incrementally became narrower, funneling us to tonight’s destination, nestled in the hills.

We are both amazed that a modern guesthouse (with no other guests) exists in this tiny unremarkable out-of-the-way village, let alone that it is a viable business concern.

There are no shops here, so with great foresight we purchased food before arriving and ate our tuna sandwiches for dinner in the bedroom.

Tomorrow we will ride to Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second city, and an archeological gem apparently, with Roman ruins.