Mount Vitosha
21 August 2004
Thanks to the efforts of Peace Corps volunteer Leslie Geer, Peace Corps provided funds for an excursion for eight of our Slatino kids to Mount Vitosha. Mount Vitosha is a peak that rises just to the south of capital Sofia. In the hot summertime (it was 37c in Sofia!), it's a wonderful place to escape the heat and to spend a day hiking around the splendid landscape.
Our Day
We left Slatino at 8:30 in the morning, had breakfast on the road, and eventually arrived in Dragalevtsi village, at the base of Mount Vitosha, at about noon. At Dragalevtsi there is a 30-minute chair-lift that goes part-way up the mountain. We took this lift, and then enjoyed a very nice 30-minute hike on the mountainside to Aleko lodge. At Aleko the kids ate a hot lunch and rested for a bit, and then we took another 20-minute chair-lift to the top of the mountain. The kids wandered around the mountain top for a while, climbing rocks, and enjoying the cool air and spectacular views and scenery. We returned to Aleko late in the afternoon, where we had a soda break. From Aleko we took a 30-minute cabin-lift back down to the base of the mountain. We arrived back in Dupnitza at 8:30pm where our weary kids had dinner. They finally arrived back in Slatino at 9:30, 13 hours after they left! They were very tired, but behaved perfectly and had a great time. As always, it was a great distraction for them from their boring summer days in the village.
