Messing about in Boats, Part 2


After we drove back from Greece, we had a few days to get things ready. On the Sunday we had lunch at the cheap but rather good Chinese restaurant next to the church. Dave and Beth Kanelos of IBC had been running a Christian camp in Macedonia, so they wanted to say “thank you” to their co-workers and we were invited to the lunch as well.
Lunch after church, with Dave, Beth and lots of IBC people

My old friend from our teacher training college days, Peter Adams, has come to stay. Peter arrived on the Tuesday. I collected him from Sofia airport and we had a late lunch, followed by a wander around the huge park that is just across the road from our flat in Ulitsa Kozyak. Then on the Wednesday we went to see my school, St. George’s. Peter was suitably impressed by the amazing gym and the penthouse suite, complete with the fully-equipped bar and spectacular views of Mount Vitosha, but my security card does not give me access to the theatre and the swimming pool. Bother!

Out on Lake Iskar
Later on Wednesday, we walked around Sofia for a bit and bought a special HDMI cable for my laptop, so that we could see the photos of our holiday in Greece on our big TV screen in our apartment.

On Thursday, the three of us set off for Lake Iskar, just outside Sofia. I think that Lake Iskar is really a reservoir for Sofia, but it is in a pretty spot and so it is a favourite weekend picnic spot for Sofiots. We live near the ring road, so it took about twenty minutes to drive to the lake and park the car. 
The "three man" kayak had a lady instead

The “three man” Itiwit kayak was easy to inflate and Irena, Peter and I went for a very enjoyable little paddle on Lake Iskar. Irena was in the middle, with Peter and I providing the muscle power. It was a beautiful sunny day, with a big blue sky and just breath of cool wind. The lake and the surrounding countryside were lovely, as usual.

After our aquatic adventures, we had a well-earned late luncheon at the traditional Bulgarian restaurant by the side of the lake. The menu was entirely in Bulgarian (always a good sign) and the food was excellent and reasonably-priced. As usual, schkembe chorba was my choice for the soup, followed by salad, some splendidly meaty kofte and potatoes. (In case you are wondering, schkembe chorba is a wonderful Bulgarian delicacy: tripe soup. It is made with the fatty lining of the pig's stomach.) I could not drink any alcohol, alas, as I was doing the driving.



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