Going Up

We were going up the winding mountain road when the engine warning light came on. We parked under a shady tree by the stream and crossed the road to an open air restaurant while we figured out what to do. When you have some time to wait, eating is always a good idea. We ordered some local favorites: shopska salad of cucumber, tomato and feta cheese, bean soup, meatballs, French fries sprinkled with feta, and hot flat bread sprinkled with more cheese.
 After a larger than normal lunch we continued driving uphill. We didn't get far before the warning reappeared and we pulled into yet another restaurant to ask for help. The five Bulgarian men who politely looked under the hood advised us not to continue uphill. We coasted downhill till we found a gas station. No one spoke English, and my limited Bulgarian did not allow me to communicate that we needed mechanical help. Then out of nowhere a man appeared with a flat-bed trailer, loaded up our car and took us to the nearest mechanic in the town of Blagoevgrad.

After leaving the car outside the closed shop and checking into the "Party Time" hotel, we sat down to eat again. This time I ordered a refreshing cold cucumber soup called "tarator" while DC sampled the local beer.
The next morning we found a mechanic who promptly jacked our car up on his lift, told us he needed to order a part and the car would be ready tomorrow. I left him to it, feeling slightly out of place among the crowd of chain smoking, coffee drinking men standing around the yard... And went after some coffee for myself. Moving up in the world, we checked into another hotel, unsurprisingly named "Diva". They were able to arrange a taxi driver to take us up the mountain again to Rila Monastery. That road was starting to look remarkably familiar. We were rewarded when we arrived by the beautiful setting and "mekitsi", the fried bread at the monastery bakery.
Now I am feeling rather full after yet another local meal. We ordered too much, being misled as to portion sizes by the low price. Mo ended her meal with a 3 ft saber-looking shadhlik of grilled chicken and veggies and side of fries for under $5. We laughed, and made a note to learn from this experience for our next meal. "We were led askew-er", were DC's words do wisdom.