Rila Lakes (Sapareva Banya ~ Bulgaria)

October 2019

The trip from Plovdiv to Sapareva Banya was not quite straightforward as we would have liked. There being no direct bus we decided the best option was to catch a bus that would drop us off in Dupnitsa where we could then get a taxi for the last 15 km to Sapareva Banya.

However the drop off in Dupnitsa wasn't at the bus station as we had hoped but on the side of them motorway on the edge of Dupnitsa. This then entailed lugging our bags under a dodgy motorway under pass and even dodgier railway underpass before getting to somewhere we would see civilisation and taxis.

Sapareva Banya is a small spa town and home to the hottest geyser in Europe. Water is continuously spouting out at a temperature of about 103 degrees - so not something you would want to dabble your fingers in.

Of course where there are geysers there are spa centres galore!

But the main reason most people turn up here, in the summer, is to visit the Rila Lakes - 7 high country glacial lakes. Getting to them means driving up to a "new" chairlift. The chair lift was built in 2009 but even at the time was an old model and is quite sluggish - 30 mins to take you along 2kms and up 500m and by the sounds of it it's construction was not a popular decision - but in the plus side it did stop a lot of 4x4s driving into a pristine area.

Once up there there are a few well trodden paths that take you past the lakes and up to view points. Must admit we didn't make it to the highest viewpoint due to time constraints (wanted to get back before chairlift shut down for the day) and energy constraints (knackered getting to second highest view point).

The lakes (tarns?) themselves are crystal clear and in a couple of weeks time will start to freeze over. Already saw evidence of ice forming on some of the small waterfalls between the lakes.

Glad we did manage to get the chair lift down as even at a quarter to four it was a very cold (ie about 5 degrees c) ride down.

At the end of the day we spent an hour in the hot pool in the local public spa complex. Quite an odd place (think basic/budget version of Hammer Springs). Not complaining as the heat did wonders for sore muscles.

The downside of small towns is that eating options can be quite limited. This was the case here but can't complain as the place we did find served really good tasty food. So much so that were more than happy to eat there two nights in a row. One of our current goto dishes in Bulgaria is Lutenitsa - a tomato / capsicum type chutney. So nice in fact that I tracked down the recipe.

Lutenitsa

Ingredients

• 2 kg red peppers
• 1kg ripe tomatoes
• 80 ml vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp salt

Method

• Wash peppers and tomatoes.
• Grill or roast peppers until charred. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let them stand for at least 30  minutes, to cool off and steam.
• Peel peppers. Remove stems and seeds.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Make a small cross cut on the bottom of each tomato.
• Add tomatoes and boil for 1 minute. Take them out and rinse with cold water.
• Peel tomatoes and roughly chop.
• In a large pot, combine tomatoes, salt, sugar, oil and peppers. Cook over medium heat for 1 1/2 -2 hours, until thick. (to test doneness, when using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pot and the lutenitsa shouldn't be moving to the inside).
• Remove from heat and let it cool.

Next stop from Rila Lakes was Rila Monastry.