Day 67 - Pirot to Dragoman (Bulgaria)

 49.2 km - Total so far 3,685.50 km - Route pedalled.      Relive Video (with pictures)

Video of the day: Europe Day 67                        837 Left to pedal

We are safe and secure in Dragoman, Bulgaria at the Lovely Studio apartment.

The goal for today was to complete a steady climb of 49 kilometres to Dragoman, Bulgaria. Mission accomplished. Let me tell you, there was very little coasting today.

As we told you yesterday, we planned on crossing into Bulgaria with no Serbian dinars remaining. In Dimitrovgrad, Hélène walked into one of those packed to ceiling with stuff dépanneur and came out with a large bag of stuff and only 40 RSD (dinars worth 0.53 CAD). We also later found out that we had found our new “favourite cookies”.

Gurabija Almond cookies

We were through both borders very quickly. In Bulgaria, as you near the customs booth they spray the undersides of cars. A bicycle triggers the same result so you get wet!

 

We were relieved to find a wide shoulder on the highway but the higher speeds still present a challenge. You keep looking in your mirror all of the time and find it hard to relax like you do on a dyke .

We had a walkabout in Dragoman. It was more challenging than expected getting to the grocery store. The town is split by railroad tracks but Google Map doesn’t know about the rail reconstruction and the absent crossings. It was like negotiating an obstacle course but we did okay.

City center needs a facelift

We met a young Englishman after crossing into to Bulgaria. He will be in Istanbul in 10 days. Our Spanish friend, David, changed his plans and is now heading to Istanbul on the Sultans Trail route that Hélène shared with him. We are also following two other cyclists on Facebook who are also going to Istanbul. We have not heard from Henri (French) in a couple of days. Is he also going to Istanbul now?

It’s gonna be pretty crowded if we all end up in Istanbul. Glad we have already secured accommodations.

Tomorrow we bike to Sofia and will take a days rest.

Interesting link, what is a Dragoman?