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| Pirin |
Bansko Bulgaria
Tuesday 12th
January 2016
I
woke up to my alarm once more at 7:30am and it was definitely a tiring morning
due to the fact I came in really late the previous night from the pub crawl. I
was still reminiscing over what an enjoyable night I had but I had to focus on
today and what wonderful things I had in store. I got changed and headed down
for breakfast as I was absolutely hungry. I entered the room and I could see
Sean sitting down to his breakfast. We gave each other a look as though to say
we survived the night. I quickly grabbed a few things such as eggs, cheese and
ham as well as fruits and juice and made my way to Sean’s table. We got talking
about the pub crawl and how much fun we had as well as what our intentions were
today. We eventually finished our food as we both headed to our rooms to grab
our skiing equipment. After double checking I had everything including my heavy
ski boots, I headed straight down to the outside area awaiting pick up by the
shuttle bus.
As
I arrived there were a few others waiting too and I had a quick conversation
with them to pass the time. Sean eventually showed up just in time for the bus
to arrive. As soon as it pulled up we all rushed on eager to get going.
Unfortunately, the driver rushed off inside the hotel and then quickly rushed
back out and then hit a bombshell at us. News came out that the Gondola lift
was not working and we all had mixed minds whether to stay at the hotel or not.
The driver made the decision for us all and drove to the gondola station anyway
in the hopes that it would be working later on. I thought the day was ruined to
be honest as we eventually pulled up in the car park in front of the gondola.
We could see the cars weren’t moving as well as countless people pacing the
area wondering what was going on. We all got out and went our separate ways
flustered about what to do.
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| Bunderishka Polyana |
Reluctantly,
I decided to grab my skis anyway just incase. I put on my ski boots and placed
my shoes on the shelf and made my way back out to join everyone else outside.
As I got out I bumped into Maz and Tracey who already had their skis and
informed me that there were shuttle busses put together to take everyone up the
mid section of the mountain. They were pointing near the ‘Happy Ends’ bar and
as I looked over, I could see a very huge queue forming so I rushed over as
best as I could with my boots on and joined the queue. It was very tedious spending
a very long time nudging forward getting closer to the barrier area and as time
passed, I was constantly looking back at the gondola station to see if the cars
were moving to which they weren’t unfortunately.
A
very long time passed until I eventually made it to the mini vans. The driver
was grabbing everyone’s skis and chucking them in the back where we all crammed
in ready to set away. The driver was rushing back into the van and left
straight away making our way to the mid section of the mountain. I had a
feeling it would be a long journey in the van knowing how long it was in the
cable car. We were making quick pace up the mountain along the very tight
winding road cutting down the miles. The driver had no fear and was overtaking
cars on corners, speeding around them and before we knew it the familiar sight
of the mid section arrived. I was happy to get out of the van and grab my skis
and I couldn’t believe what I had seen. The gondola lift decided to work when I
got up there and I was laughing with disbelief. I was up here now anyway and to
be honest it was great because everyone was still trying to make their way up
so it was pretty empty. This meant the button lift was free to use with no
queues whatsoever.
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| Bunderishka Polyana |
I thought I used the slight time I had to
improve my turns and ploughs. I went a few times up and down the slopes finding
each plough at ease but still struggling a bit on the turns. I noticed everyone
from my ski group was gathered around Katy so I made my way straight to them. I
came to a nice stop and said hello to everyone and immediately talking about
the gondola lift. We then continued on up the button lift and were told to make
our way up to the second snow cannon area which was half way up the slope we
were on. We all made it with some people walking up the slope instead of the
lift and because we were slightly higher up, I could see the beautiful
mountains to the north poking up above the alpine trees
looking glorious as ever.
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| Bunderishka Polyana |
We
all lined up taking turns again at perfecting our turns and ploughs with ease;
so then Katy decided to challenge us by placing her sticks 1 metre apart with
another stick lying across them. She provided a demonstration where she
basically ducked underneath and through the sticks as though we were doing a
forward limbo. There were a few finding it easy and some who ended up pulling
apart the sticks. There was one moment I thought I knocked it over when I felt
the stick hit my back but as I stopped and turned I seen it was still there.
Over time everyone got the hang of it and passed under with ease so we focused
more on turning. Katy yet again gave us a demonstration where we had to learn
to bend our knees and keep a forward momentum whilst turning. It was quite
complicated to understand at first because to turn left, I had to lean to the
right and visa versa. Each time I would go down I couldn’t really get the hang
of it but then towards the end I managed coming to a perfect stop boosting my
confidence feeling in control.
The
lesson came to an end as we all went down the slope together and then we were
told we had an hours break before the afternoon lesson would begin. So we all
dropped our skis at the racks and went our separate ways. I did my usual
routine and grabbed a big bag of crisps and croissant with some pop and sat
down outside admiring the hustle and bustle of everyone having a great time. I
quickly finished my snacks and thought about risking going up a bit higher up
the mountain to try another route out as I wanted to experience something new.
I grabbed my skis and walked over to the huge map of the mountain slopes to
figure out where the chair lift nearest to me was going too. I was in two minds
whether to go up or not when I found out it was leading to a small moderate
route and then onto the beginners route.
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| Bansko Ski Map |
I
braved it though and clipped my skis on my feet sliding over to the checkpoint.
It was still quite quiet so I didn’t have to queue when I passed the lift
barrier. I was actually dreading this part as I had visions of me falling on my
backside as soon as I tried to get on and off the chair. I nudged myself
forward and came up to another barrier which was knee height so I lined myself
up touching the barrier ready for it to open up. As I stood there I noticed the
red and white conveyor belt in front of me which I wasn’t expecting but braced
myself when the barrier opened and slid on the belt. I stumbled slightly but
stayed upright as it moved me forward to the end of it. I then came to a stop
and watched on at the 6 seated chair as it came round the corner and I thought
this is it don’t fall over as it pushed into my knees and forced me to sit down
on it. It was hard to keep the skis straight as the chair turned around again
but then the ground level dropped as I was rapidly shunted up the cable on my
way to the moderate route.
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| Cable to the Moderate Route |
I
had to put the barrier down to keep me from falling to my doom in the soft snow
below but once I sat back and relaxed, I was overwhelmed by the shear silence
of the journey up. I couldn’t hear anything and it felt great and peaceful. As
I gained height, the colder it got of course so it was a good job I was wrapped
up. I couldn’t get over the beautiful views on the way up too but I had to
focus on getting off the chair because the top station was vastly approaching.
I had difficulty lifting the safety bar up because I forgot my skis were
holding it down. I lifted the bar up just in time for the chair to arrive at
the top. My next concern was getting off at the top at ease and I had my sticks
ready in front of me to help push me off. Thankfully I timed it right to jump
off the chair and I came to a controlled momentum straight onto a slight slope.
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| Moderate Route |
The
snow was a lot deeper at this section which I thought would be good to help me
control my turns and pace. I made it down to the top of the moderate route but
I didn’t go down it straight away. I stopped at the flatter surface at the very
top of the route and the first view that caught my eye was the picturesque view
of the next mountain top to the west of me with the pine trees bundled up
together below it. I was also standing right next to the black slope too and
was taken aback with how steep it was. There was no way I was heading down that
route on this trip so I turned around and braced myself for the moderate route.
It was definitely intimidating as I started making my way down. I immediately
began my turns and ploughing constantly and I was doing quite well but a minute
or so down the route I lost the control I had with the turns and I was gaining
speed. The turns I was trying to make were not really helping and all of a
sudden I fell over backwards coming to a soft landing in the snow. I came to a
slow stop right in front of a baby pine tree completely covered in snow. I was
happy I didn’t get injured thankfully and got myself back on my feet grabbing
my sticks continuing on down the slope.
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| Moderate Route |
I
had a hell of a lot more control from then on and I was enjoying the moments I
would pick up speed. I could see another restaurant area approaching which was
called ‘Shiligarnik’ and it was home to a couple more chair lift stations which
took people up to the very top. I was tempted to go up but I didn’t have time
as the afternoon lesson was really close. This was also the area where the
moderate route connected to the beginner route so I headed straight onto it. It
was great to see different views than the ones I became used to and I loved the
moment of skiing through the woodland areas performing reasonable turns to keep
the momentum up but still focused on controlling my speed with ploughs. There
were a few sharp and steep turns which I managed to pass at ease and I picked
up speed again as the route became flatter.
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| Moderate Route |
Then
the ‘Bunderishka Polyana’ area emerged through the thick trees and I could see
a lot of people gathered outside the restaurant/bar area. I was coming to the
end section of the route which looked to be awkward as it was very steep and
was on a turn. So I had to control my speed at a slow pace and thankfully I
made it to the bottom of that route. I was happy about what I did as I
continued on to meet the others for the afternoon lesson. Most of the people
were there ready to go so I had a conversation with them about what I just did
and some of them were surprised I went down there and asked if I was ok when I
fell over. Katy arrived as well as the rest of the group and so we made our way
up the button lift again. Yet again we were improving on our turns learning new
techniques on controlling speed while turning. One manoeuvre involved balancing
one stick on both hands and to create a slalom movement without dropping the
stick. We had to really bend the knees and then extend which was putting quite
a bit of pressure on my left knee but I still pressed on as did everyone else.
The
ones that were doing badly at the start of the holiday were showing great
improvement which was a beauty of itself. The other thing that was making it
difficult for everyone was the horrible rain and cold that came our way in the
afternoon. It also didn’t help at the fact there were times we were standing
still for a while and everyone was getting soaked especially my gloves. I could
tell everyone wanted the lesson to be over quick and as luck would have it Katy
decided to cut the lesson short. We all skied to the restaurant area again so
we could get a brief from Katy and telling us what time we had to meet up the
next day. We said goodbye to each other as we parted ways.
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| Bad Weather |
I
was heading straight for the ski road to see if I had improved from yesterdays
run down it. As I blissfully enjoyed the first section of peace and
tranquillity, I was vastly approaching the steeper section with the slight
turns. I could immediately feel the difference in my control when I was making
the turns feeling confident enough to get faster. I was passing a lot more
people but still not keeping up with the pros.
The
fact that I was in control meant I could really enjoy the views surrounding me
which was fantastic as the wind blew in my face. There were also times on
straight sections where I would bend down to pick up the speed and they were
the moments where the wind would rush past me gaining speed. I loved the
momentum I established but it was short lived when I reached the bottom section
of the route as it was flat and slow so it seemed to take forever to arrive at
the bottom gondola station. I was thinking of finishing there and then but I
changed my mind and made my way through to the gondola station again. As I made
my way up to the steps I noticed it was really quiet with hardly anyone there.
I made my way through the barrier and a car was ready for me to jump in. I
thought I was going to have the car to myself but a foreign woman jumped in at
the last minute and we were soon on our way up.
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| Bansko |
At
this point the clouds were clearing which meant I could pass the time by
admiring the glorious views of Bansko town and mountains far behind. I could
also hear the wind becoming stronger through the small windows on the car.
There were times we were swaying up, down and side to side which meant the
cable had to stop at times. The woman was getting slightly frustrated whereas I
didn’t as I continued admiring the views around me. A very long time passed
with gondola stopping until we came up to the top station once more with the
familiar sights of fluorescent skiers bunched up around the area. We were happy
we finally left the car as I strapped on my skis and headed straight down the
ski road again. It wasn’t raining the second time going down but I still
covered my face with my goggles and balaclava as it was still freezing cold.
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| Journey Back Up |
The
second run was a lot better than my first one as I was picking up speed even on
the harder turns next to the flowing river alongside me. It was definitely a
thrill to be going at a faster pace watching on at a few people falling over
both skiers and snowboarders as I quite quickly arrived back at the bottom
again. I felt happier with my control but I didn’t want to go up the gondola
again just incase it kept stopping. So I unclipped my skis and made my way into
the ski centre. I returned my skis like I normally do and then went to the
shelf to retrieve my shoes. As I went to the shelf that I placed them on, they
weren’t even there. I was shocked that they weren’t there and so I checked
every shelf that was in that room with no luck. I did spot a pair that looked
very similar to mine but I wasn’t sure and I thought someone might have taken
mine thinking that they were theirs. I didn’t know what to do so in the end I
just walked away wearing my ski boots. I unbuckled the straps to make it easier
for me to walk in and made my way out still flustered on what just happened.
I
was eager to get back to the hotel and luckily enough the right shuttle bus was
waiting in the car park with no body inside. I walked as best as I could to it
and eventually entered the van. 15 minutes later the driver made his way to my
hotel as I was the only one in the van. In no time at all we pulled up outside
the hotel and I let myself out to save the driver from doing it. I clambered up
the few stairs to the entrance and noticed the sign stating no ski boots on. So
I took them off and the steam coming out of the boots were billowing out like a
steam train. I was laughing as I picked them up and walked straight for the
lift.
I
entered my room finally and as I opened the door there was a letter on the
floor which stated the gondola lift was working again which was pointless to be
honest as the day was over with. My next concern was to go and buy new walking
boots. Luckily I brought my smart shoes with me so despite the fact it looked
quite silly wearing outdoor gear with smart shoes, I made my way out into the
town of Bansko
in the hopes of finding a shoe shop. I walked along to the square where all the
Christmas trees were and up the hill towards one of the main streets. There
were a few shops that looked like they had shoes in but they were either
women’s shoes or novelty shoes which was no good of course. Finally, I managed to
find one where the whole place was crammed with shoes and boots on shelves so I
wasted no time entering the shop. It didn’t take long for me to catch my eye on
a pair and then the shopkeeper approached me to help out. She helped me pick a
good pair of walking boots and quite happily helped me put them on my feet and
even tied my laces. I was telling her what happened at the ski centre to which
she laughed but shocked at what happened. I paid 60 Lev and made my way out
with my smart shoes in a black bag.
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| Bansko |
I
wasted no time getting back with my comfy shoes and then I managed to get a
shower because I didn’t want to stink the place out for tonight’s event. I was
taking part in a Bulgarian folklore fiesta which I thought would be a good
thing to do understanding the culture of a country in one evening. I grabbed my
voucher I needed and made my way downstairs to the lobby area. Within minutes
of me sitting at reception, a man came in to the building and must have known I
was waiting for pick up. I gave him my voucher and made my way outside. At this
point the rain was pouring down so we wasted no time getting into the car and
driving off.
I
thought the journey would be quite long but he only turned a few corners and
then stopped. I thought we were picking more people up but he got out and told
me to follow him. We walked at a quick pace down a narrow cobbled street with
our heads bowed due to the rain as he escorted me to a low wooden door. He said
to watch my head as I passed through the door then into a very small yard in
the back and then through another small door. I entered into a small building
with a small bar with Bulgarian artefacts and drapes overtaking the stonework.
It was quite a sight to see as I made my way through. The larger than life rep
was waiting between two rooms with a few other reps and then he escorted me to
the next small room as the driver took his leave.
The
place was pretty much packed as the rep told me where to sit which was quite
close to the doorway. The starter dish was already set out on the tables so as
soon as I sat down I joined everyone else and began eating. It was basically a
salad with piles of cucumber, tomatoes and white cheese and I was kind of
enjoying it but it was still rabbit food to me. As I was eating I realised there
were 4 seats to my left empty assuming I was the last to arrive and then I
realised I didn’t know anyone in the room. So then I tried my best to mingle
with the middle aged people next to me. It was good to talk to the people next
to me but to be honest the conversation was becoming quite boring as they were
trying to guess each others jobs. Fortunately, the rep interrupted everyone to
introduce him and the team. He was giving us information on Bulgarian history
and the history of the actual building we were in which used to be the town’s
bank in the 17th century. We were also told the Bulgarian’s yes no
scenario (during the Ottoman Empire era, the ottomans would invade towns like
Bansko and line families up in their own homes with a knife to their throat.
They would get asked if they would join the empire and if they said no then
they would die. So they would say yes but really meant no).
It
was very intriguing to know and then the best part came at the end. Each of us
had a small wine glass at our side full of a Bulgarian spirit called Rakia. I
heard of this stuff and heard it tasted like paint thinner so then the rep
requested we all lifted up the glass, look at the nearest person in the eye and
give them cheers. So we all did and then drank. My face almost twisted like it
would with a glass of whiskey but it didn’t feel as strong which was good
enough for me. I noticed nobody else around me liked theirs and offered me
their drink. I didn’t hold back so I took them and drank them as they laughed.
A
moment later, 4 women walked through and took the 4 empty seats next to me. They
looked as though they were fun kind of people and immediately they were talking
to me. They were asking if they had missed much and I told them about the
history lesson by the rep and the Rakia. They liked the fact I had to drink
everyone’s drink sitting near me. We all got talking straight away about
everything and anything. There were jokes and serious talks and it felt great
to be a part of it. At this point the main course arrived which was like a
goulash/stew dish which was plentiful of beef. I dug in straight away losing
count of how many pieces of bread I used to soak up the stew. Then the women
were admiring my travel tattoo on my arm wondering what it was all about. I was
explaining that there was a hidden assassins’ creed symbol in the tattoo and
they were definitely up for finding it. So they were looking for the next five
minutes with no luck and then they gave up. I gave them a clue and they
immediately seen it. We were having more good conversations about where we all
came from and the woman called Sarah sitting next to me lived in Newcastle but came
from London which was where all the other friend Flora came from. We were also
talking about our skiing experience and which routes we had been down. It
passed the time very well and then the rep interrupted us all again.
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| Bulgarian Folklore Fiesta |
He
was introducing the traditional dancers and musicians to us and we all applauded
as two dancers approached the room wearing traditional red and white garments.
The musicians were hiding in the back as they began playing away whilst the
dancers began to do twists and turns in the tight nipped room. It was really
good to watch and hear the unique music playing in the background and it was
definitely a different vibe than the previous night’s pub crawl. We were all
enjoying it and wanted more so when the dancers finished, the musicians stepped
forward and one man sang a solo with quite a loud deep voice which hit every
one of us. Then the musicians began playing together with the clarinet player
at the front. He was making everyone laugh when he kept unscrewing each part of
the clarinet and playing it as the sound got higher and higher in pitch. He was
down to his last section of his clarinet which played the highest pitched sound
until he screwed all the pieces back on and continued on playing. We gave him a
big cheer as they all bowed in appreciation. Then they played one more tune and
the dancers came in once more.
They
did a little dance and then grabbed random people from the tables and as they
linked arms, they were jumping sideways through the whole room to the next room
and back. Flora and the other friend were lifted up and joined the line as we
all laughed. I was happy I was sitting at the opposite side so they couldn’t
grab me. The music eventually finished with loud applause as the evening came
towards end. I was telling the women about the paper rose I do and they were
eager to learn so I went through the process as they did in time with me and
eventually we all finished at the same time with them wowed by what they had
learned. To my surprise there was a kid who was copying too and gave me a rose
to put in with the rest. The women thought it was cute of him as I thought it
was cool. Anyway the night came to an end and the women were asking if I wanted
a lift in the pick up they had and I turned it down due to the fact I was only
round the corner.
We
parted ways in the hopes that we would meet up again during our time here. We
all left together and thanks to the woman who bumped her head on the low
doorway, I managed to duck my head in time. I waved them good bye and made my
way straight for the hotel. I was thinking about what a great evening I had
meeting new people and understanding the history of Bulgaria in one night. I soon
returned back to my hotel feeling relieved to be back and rested for the days
to come.
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