The only thing I knew about Bulgaria before entering was that the capitol is called Sofia and there is a famous orthodox monastery in the mountains there named "Rila." The latter was my first stop, proved to be beautiful but odd after coming there from Mt. Athos. This monastary looked just like the best ones on Mt. Athos but there was something missing besides the blue waters of the mediterranean: the monks. Ravaged by the anti-religious character of the communist era and the subsequent mad dash towards capitalism, Rilski monastery (built for 1000 monks) is now home to a skeliton crew of ten monks who are basically running it as a hotel, tourist attraction, and chapel for small services and big public ceremonies. I even saw a busload of Bulgarian student visitors milling around inside, several of whom were wearing bikini tops in the June heat and the bar outside has loud sex-based print advertising for beer and ice cream facing one side of the holy refuge - a far cry from the isolation from the world of Mt. Athos, but for all this worldliness all the more accessable to the average visitor. This is the monastery of the modern world, a beautiful tourist building with no soul and little actual soul-searching.

But destiny was at work here in its usual subtle ways; To paraphrase Rumi 'it attracts you with one thing and then satisfies you with something completely different' - I found more than my satisfaction for holy solitude in the awesome refuge of the Rila Mountains and the collection of crystal blue snowfringed lakes on high known as "Sedem Ezero."

Here is what happened:

No Trail, Straight Up

The Rila Mountains

Ancient Guru at The Seven Lakes

Wild Horses Thundering