Fancied a ‘walkabout’ so decided to go to Bulgaria to traverse the Great Balkan mountains from West to East. Not so sure I’ll finish it as it needs twenty one days (weather permitting) and I only have seventeen. Didn’t factor in a little run in with a car four hours after landing at Sofia airport. Got run over at 4am while having a pee at the side of the road during a break from the car journey to Kom. Luckily for me there was a hospital 15 km away  so I got x-rayed and checked out: no broken bones but smashed legs, backside, spine, right hand shoulder and whiplash. Thought I was going to have to come home BUT a good injection of some powerful painkiller and with some help from my guide Marian (he helped me onto the horse each time) we managed to get going. Boy that hurt- ride the horse or walk, each was as painful, did a bit of both through the first day but …when the injection wore off the next day, I thought I’d done 12 rounds in a boxing ring. It’s taken nearly 10 days before I can get out of bed without grabbing my hair to lift my head up due to the whiplash, didn’t know it had that effect on your neck. Has been worth the struggle tho’- what a place- and am in the Great Balkan National Park now. These photos are of the first five or so days.
djobaldrickowen
Sadeik
