I’ve always liked linden trees and linden tea. These trees are usually massive, with wide, leafy canopies. That’s why it surprised me to see a very tall rose pushing its way up and blooming right in the branches.
Linden Tree
Author: Veselin
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The Fall of Koli by M.R. Carey
I’m sometimes hesitant to complete book series. Some stories are better left open. We need to be thankful to M.R. Carey for closing this one even though objectively, a two-book series would’ve been even better.
The Trials of Koli left us with Koli finding a functioning ship in the ocean. In book three, he has to deal with what this ship represents, which is difficult to imagine. Whatever it is, it will be the key to solving the puzzle in some way, thankfully not as awful as in The Girl with All the Gifts.
I’d say the book is good, worth reading, and an honorable way to end the series. I’m ready for something else, where the world is thriving, and there are no ghosts.
4*/5
Meme
Saw this billboard today:
Couldn’t resist the meme:
From Kartala to Macedonia Hut
We did our first true hike since we had children. I know we’ve been to Vitosha many times but Vitosha is almost a city park, it has lots of visitors, easy access, and is a low-effort adventure. Rila, on the other hand, is more remote, higher, and more scenic.
Our starting point, Kartala, is a small ski resort, 28 kilometers away from Blagoevgrad. The asphalt road to it is in a fine condition., Hut Macedonia is about about 9km further up in the Rila mountain. It should’ve been an easy 2.5h walk, according to all the websites we found. It might be 2.5 hours but you need to be in a good shape for it. For people like us, 3-4h is more realistic.
The path looks like this:
The trail is also accessible by vehicles with permit. It is used for supplying the hut and the nearby maintain rescue group. There are 3-4 well marked shortcuts that can cut maybe 2 kilometers from the total walk but are steeper and we only took them on the way down.
It starts as a continuation of the road Blagoevgrad-Kartala, however I would advise using the free parking at Kartala. The part of the road accessible for the public is maybe a few hundred meters and not worth breaking your car.
Took us 3h 10 min without any breaks for a total of about 26000 steps both ways, which is very close to my personal best since my phone started tracking in 2015.
We didn’t have any food so we were very happy that the hut keeper cooked for us and fed us well. The food was great.
The area is full of tiny creeks that all go to this small river, called Bistritza. I’d say it was moist. Lots of berries everywhere, still green, but once they’re ripe, the path will become even more challenging 😃
The altitude gain of this route is about 730 meters.
Orchid
A year ago, we found an orchid in the mountain. I was surprised that wild orchids exist in my country. We saw plenty this weekend from another species.
I have my doubts about the exact species. The first photo clearly shows dots on the leaves, so according to the image search, it should be the Broad-leaved Marsh Orchid. However, given that we are not in Germany, it’s more likely that we saw Dactylorhiza cordigera or Сърцевиден дланокоренник instead.
I wish I took better photos.
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