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Take the road to Drama (a town in northern Greece) and turn right – into the mountains. We left the coastal plains, the factories, trucks, straight roads and the stress, and curved our way into a different part of Greece. Muslim. Rural. Beautiful.

Climbing to the Bulgarian border

Today was always going to be wet. The question was: where did we want to cycle in the nice weather after today? Along straight busy roads in Greece, or on the narrow, mountainous Bulgarian roads. An easy decision. We left the coast, and left the noise, hectic and traffic stress. The scenery, villages and people changed. We saw more mosques, and it became more rural, and much more mountainous. Granted, we were bathed in cloud, and rained on. And it was steep. But we breathed a sigh of relief. It was not just going from A to B. It was the journey again.

Before the first big climb. Filling up with some pastries.

Echinos was a muslim town. We were welcomed with 4 simultaneous calls to prayer.

What better way to celebrate a climb than with the famous Xanthian sweets? Luckily we were able to find a lovely little gazebo offering shelter from the rain, so that we could cherish these Xanthian delicacies.

The blissful moment is imminent

Hehe. Calories. Here we come!

The view from our snack gazebo

The final climb to Bulgaria was up a small, innocuous road, garnished with a little sign ‘Bulgaria’, that went almost vertically upwards from the turnoff. Entering Bulgaria we took the high road. We are now in Zlatograd, which I think is lovely name. I just love saying it, over and over. Zlatograd. Zlatograd. Zlatograd. Hehe.

Hello Bulgaria