We have been in the Bansko area a few times now so David has done a lot of the geocaches around but there is one near Obidin Cathedral, so that was the next place we headed. Now, in theory it should have been straightforward and eventually it was, but of course we had to make it difficult for ourselves and eventually got it on our fourth attempt.
The geocache is actually within walking distance of the house but we didn't know that so for attempt number one we headed out of Dobrinishte in the direction of the Bezbog ski hut. At this hut you can catch a chairlift up the mountains to either go for walks during the summer or skiing in the winter. So we made our way up a very pretty road, which got narrower and narrower the more we worked our way up, even up here you see some interesting sights, we passed two men walking a horse in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, after a while the GPS was showing that we were actually getting further away from the geocache so we carefully did a u turn on the road and made our way back down. The GPS was telling us to head in a certain direction but we couldn't see how to go that way, so we decided to leave it for that day and think about it some more.
We found out that just outside Dobrinishte we should have taken a left turn up a dirt track and that is what leads you to Obidin. So this is what we tried on our second attempt, all was going well and the distance was going down on the GPS but the road, or should I say dirt track was getting more rougher and steeper as we progressed. Worried about the car we decided to leave it as we knew there was another road to it which may be more easier but was a far longer drive.
This longer drive led us out of Dobrinishte, on the same road we took to go to Greece. We headed back down the mountain we are on and then back up it on the other side. It is a beautiful road with stunning views. Once more, the further away you get from main roads the more worse the roads get but at least this time we were on Tarmac and eventually reached Obidin .
Obidin is a tiny place but has a very nice town square in the middle of it with a cafe. There is also a lovely church just as you enter the town which I hoped was the monastery, no such luck I am afraid. The GPS led us out of the town and once again we found ourselves on dirt tracks which would have been ideal for quad bikes, not for our car. David at long last admitted defeat, we are both aware that we cannot afford any damage to our car as we need it to get home. What amazed us though was the amount of large lorries we saw trundling along these tracks.
On the way back down we saw lots of cones lying around by the side of the road, we picked up some of them for our daughter as they are good to start fires in the winter. So at least it wasn't a totally wasted journey, although I must admit it is a beautiful drive and well worth it for the views alone.
Then we found out that we could actually walk to the monastery from the place we are staying, with it only being about an hour and a half walk away. Early one morning we set off with Stella to finally get the geocache. It is a lovely walk but my advice would be to make sure you stay on the main road. You guessed it, we didn't , we tried to cut corners and ended up deep in the woods. I was just starting to think about being in bear and wild boar territory when David said he was worried that we would lose the path back if we went any further. So we turned about and headed back the way we came.
It was a nice walk and though I said stick to to the main road , it is just a wide dirt path, with varying degrees of smoothness, shall we say, and a lot of it was uphill. Although it was a hot day the walk is mainly shaded by trees which protects you from the sun and also the rain which it started to do at one point.
As we were walking along David's GPS started making funny noises, a sign that we were very close. Looking at a nearby tree David very quickly found it, our mission was complete. That is the geocache in the photo above, usually they have some small items in it but they always have a little book or roll of paper for you to sign, to say that you have been there.
We were however puzzled as there was no sign of a monastery. So having walked so far we decided to continue. Just at that point a car drove passed so we had to stand to the side of the road which caused us to look down and we saw this little building.
It wasn't the monastery but a little chapel. We walked down to explore it further, inside it was quite dark and gloomy with not much in it but a little table and a metal box which was padlocked.
Running alongside it was a river with a picnic bench beside it.
Stella loves water so took the chance to have a paddle.
This is the path leading down to the chapel.
Once we were back on the road we continued on our way as we wanted to see the monastery. Then into view came this building, it looked like a rather modern looking house with another one being built beside it. Turns out that this was the monastery, we were so disappointed. I am so glad we did the geocache becauseif we had just done the walk to see the monastery it wouldn't be worth your while. We didn't go in as I am not sure we could, as we got closer a very scary looking dog started
barking at us so we just left and made our way back.
On the way Stella decided to go into more water and lie down, she came out absolutely manky,
Walking the dirt path back towards home.
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