Saturday 11th August 9am

Ooo, that was a rough night by any standards…. After leaving our 6000ft wild camp, we continued to make our way slowly through the Rodapi mountains past lakes, reservoirs, forests and … athletes ! Yes, that’s right, athletes, it seems that the area through which we were riding is used extensively for the training of athletes for the winter Olympics and everywhere we went there were people skiing down ( and up) the roads on inline skates, sculling on the lakes, mountain biking and just running. I don’t mean your usual weekend keep fit nutters, this was very serious stuff being undertaken by some very fit athletes!  However all those fit young bodies did nothing to detract from the incredibly beauty of the area. Every where you turn you are confronted with one mind-blowing vista after another!

All day long we had been hearing the rumble of thunder behind us and as we rode into the afternoon it became apparent that we were losing the battle to out run the following  storm. So in spite of it only being about 3pm we decided that it would make sense to find somewhere to camp before we got a thorough soaking. We turned off the main road in favour of a little side road, as it’s generally easier to find a good wild camp spot on the smaller roads. A couple of likely tracks were investigated and dismissed, then I spotted some abandoned building by the road side, one with a huge Red Star on the end of it… Walking up the track into the yard I found that there were 3 partly demolished buildings and a fourth which was in a reasonable state of repair, even having a fence around it, although It didn’t appear to be inhabited and to top it all off there was even a working tap in the yard. Perhaps I should explain for those reading this that have never wild camped; carrying sufficient water for drinking, cooking and washing is always a bit of an issue. We have it down to quite a fine art and carry 8 x  1.5lt full water bottles between us which we fill from local springs by the side of the road, of which there are many. However, if we can find another water supply by way of a river, spring or tap it makes life a bit easier as we can wash out some clothes and even have a good shower in the morning before we leave which sets us up nicely for the days riding.

Anyway, we got the tents and tarp up just in time before the rain started hammering down and got down to the serious business of preparing the evenings repast! I have always thought I eat well whilst camping, but Taz takes it to a whole new level, we had even bought some frozen meat, although it proved not to be quite what it seemed, as the picture on the packet clearly showed minced beef from which we were all looking forward to a nice Spag Bog… but without the Spag as Taz tries not to eat flour or other grains. Instead we found that we had bought a form of sausage meat, so we had a sort of Meatball Bog! Either way, as always, it was delicious, particularly when washed down with some 1Euro/Lt Red wine !

The rain continued on and off for most of the night, although it takes rather more than a little rain to stop us all sleeping soundly once ensconced in a nice peaceful, wild camp spot. I don’t think organised camp sites with their myriads of people and sounds will ever be quite the same again! As morning broke it was obvious that for the first time since leaving France in early June the tents were going to have to be packed away wet!  So breakfast over, which incidentally tends to be my job and this morning was scrambled eggs cooked with onion and spicy salami, we had a break in the rain to get everything packed away, shower and get back on the road… that was where I made the mistake that would come back to bite me of filling two of my water bottles from the tap!

Our goal for the day was to be Smolyan and easy ride by any standards, even at our leisurely pace! The scenery continued to fill senses whilst after a couple of hours or so the thunder once again filled our ears. We stopped for a quick coffee at Dospat, where we also bought a freshly cooked chicken straight from the Rotisserie and on we rode. Lunch came and went in a roadside shelter and the temperature dropped so much we all fastened our coats right up, another first for some weeks!

Stopping at the picturesque little town of Siroka Laka to take some photos and have another coffee, the storm finally caught up with us again. The rain started softly but by the time we were ready to leave it was bouncing off the road, making the thought of riding, never mind camping decidedly unattractive. At first we though we would just sit it out, but about an hour later there was still no let up. It was at this point that as she paid for our coffees, Taz noticed that the bar we were in also had letting rooms, it looked a bit beyond our budget but it was worth asking anyway. Taz’s jaw dropped as she discovered that it would cost us just 20 Lev or about £8 each to stay at the hotel; and that included breakfast. It didn’t need a lot of discussion – wet camp or warm dry room? We checked into a 2 roomed 3 bed apartment for less money that we had paid on many camp sites…and none too soon, as that was the point at which my mornings mistake of filling my water bottles from the tap started to bite me.

At first I though it was just a little bit of indigestion from the chicken and warm bread we had eaten for lunch so I took a Zantac tablet. However to no avail, my distended stomach was now beginning to really hurt and I was also feeling very tired and a bit nauseous. By the time I got to my bed  I was really beginning to feel bad, dinner was out of the question, as was the nice ice cold beer I had been looking forward to.  Trying to analize what I had eaten or drunk different to Taz and Joel ,who were so far unaffected, suspicion centered on the tap water in my bottles. I had only drunk a little of it at lunch time as it looked a bit cloudy and had an “off” taste, but although I had spit most of it out, I had probably swallowed a little. It took another hour or so before the suspicion of food (or water) poisoning   was confirmed and I just made it too the bathroom before being violently sick.

Thankfully that was the worst of it over although I did run a very high temperature for most of the night and had just one more trip to the big white phone! Today I’m hopefully on the way back up although feeling very weak and wobbly. Breakfast in the hotel consisted of a rather heavy pancake covered with fresh fruit jam about ½ inch thick and a nearly cold cup of coffee. I guess I managed about half of it and take the fact that I now feel hungry as a good sign!

In view of my condition (to say nothing of the fact that it is still pouring of rain!) we have opted to stay at the Hotel Kalina for a second night and see what tomorrow brings… That’s one of the joys of not having a fixed schedule, we can afford to just chill for the day!