Day 72 - Varvara to Plovdiv

 74.3 km - Total so far 3,941.8 km - Route pedalled.      Relive Video (with pictures)

Video of the day: Europe Day 72                        554 Left to pedal

We are safe and secure in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

We were very much looking forward to the start of today’s ride because it started with a gentle down hill right up to the roundabout.

Hélène had produced an alternative start to the ride that reduced the total distance by 6 kilometres. This also eliminated three villages early in the ride and had planned to get breakfast on the road.  We didn’t see anywhere we wanted to stop for breakfast in those early villages. We did however see the slaughter of a large sheep right on the sidewalk and that didn’t encourage us to stop and eat.

By the time we got to Pazardzhik, we were getting pretty hungry. We stopped at a little hole in the wall bakery and armed with Google Translate we scanned the labels to get an idea of what was available. An elderly gentleman jumped in to help us order something to eat and not only, but he insisted on paying for our coffees. After exchanging contact information, Ivan got back to his ambulance, gave us a burst of siren and a wave. We also bought some take away food for lunch.

Ivan who bought us coffees

Ham & Cheese, what we had for lunch

We did our picnic lunch in the village of Stamboliyski. In and around the town square, vendors were setting up for some big event on the weekend. We were surprised by the amount of green spaces in a small village. 

We have been seeing a lot of nests with a stork in it in many villages and towns but now we also see nests with 2 or more fledgling that are getting pretty big.

Stork family

We got somewhat anxious as we neared Plovdiv, second biggest city in Bulgaria, remembering our experience entering into Sofia. Once passed the big ‘Plovdiv’ sign, we were on a somewhat quiet road, then onto a bike path in the woods, then along the 2 kilometre Plovdiv Rowing Canal and finally a nice urban bike path. We were on an actual road for about 500 metres before we got to our destination for the night, a ground floor one bedroom place!

Plovdiv Rowing Canal

We are staying put in Plovdiv to rest, relax and be tourists. We are also going to prepare for the final leg, the push to and through Istanbul.

The temperature has gone up 10 degrees in the last week and that is a real game changer. Today, we left 1 hour earlier than we normally do because of the heat. We might have to start leaving much earlier each day.