Down by the riverside

We have now been back in Kalotina for about a week, having returned from Veliko Tarnovo rather earlier than we had planned. (Yes, there is a big secret attached to that one, but you will have to wait a bit more before I reveal it.)

The weather has been wonderfully warm and sunny, even though it is nearly the end of October, so on Saturday we decided to go for a walk along the river. 

The River Nishava is really not much more than a big stream when it flows through the village of Kalotina. A lot of the water comes from the springs in Berende Izvor and so the river has kept flowing, even though we have had hardly any rain for the last few months.

First we went along the road and then turned right by the fishing lakes. Then we came across the field to the river. On our way across the field, we said hello to a couple of friendly horses. Next time, we must remember to bring some carrots with us.

Of course we had to stop quite often on our walk, to rummage around in the leaves for the last of this year’s walnuts. 

The walk by the river, at the foot of the steep slope that leads up to the railways line, is beautiful and peaceful, apart from the sound of rushing water. It was a bit too difficult to carry on along the river to the old footbridge, so we went back across our neighbour’s homemade bridge and then through the Secret Garden and our back gate.

The Roman poet Virgil (or Vergil, if you are an American) wrote fortunatus est ipse qui deos novit agrestes.* Yes, I think that I would agree with the old hexameter basher.

* Roughly translated, "Fortunate also is he who knows the gods of the countryside." Do you like asterisks?