This is one interesting monastery, founded in the second half of 14th century during the reign of the last Bulgarian kings, Ivan Shishman. When the country is finally conquered by the Turks, the monastery is destroyed, too. The name "Cherepishki" convey meaning as "Of Skulls" and the legend says that it came from the covered with white bones of the Ivan Shishman's fallen soldiers surrounding area.
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Kostnica (Bone Chapel) of Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Kostnica (Bone Chapel) of Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Kostnica (Bone Chapel) of Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Panorama of the Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery) with the river Iskar behind, Bulgaria
Magernica (Canteen/Kitchen) of the Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
House with stone tiles roof in the Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
House with stone tiles roof in the Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria.
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Bells in the Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cementery in the Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
River Iskar next to Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
River Iskar next to Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Cherepishki Manastir (Cherepish Monastery), Bulgaria
Serapion's cave is suited in the west part of the Balkan Mountain and is known as the place where a monk called Serapion lived. It is 129 m long and has 32 m denivelation. There are series of drops and it is called chasm-like cave, as the first one is 13 m and is close to the entrance. Nowadays there are no more monks living inside but rather it is a breeding ground for several types of bats and other animals and during the breeding season entry is prohibited. I made mistake and the cave is not the first one that I focused, but rather the second two openings, which where close to each other.
Also there is the so called "New Cave", which I am not sure which one is exactly, but it was closed until 1962, when some shepherd noted that the snow melts around the area and shortly after that opening was made with the use of explosives. That cave is 69 m long with 15 m denivelation.
Ritlite are comb-like ridges near the village of Lyutibrod in Bulgaria. These impressive rock formations are one of the sharpest and best defined comb-like rocks in the world. They are around 120M years old, wide 3-7 m and long 200-400 m. It is not well known place and nearly often overlooked by the tourists, who often don't even know that there is such thing in the region. I rate these rocks as one of the top nature curiosities in the country and if by any chance you are around spare an hour to get there and see them in person.
Preparing my backpack for surprising travels used to be one of my main headaches and time wasting moments. Every time I'll pack again, I'll do again checklists and often I'll miss something in the hurry and I'll be unable to deal with the more important issues around the travel. So I decided to do a checklist and have everything ready, just for a grab. Having that I can easily remember and deal with some specific items for the specific places, like additional clothing, sleeping mat for the mountains and others.
(Note: While this is not a Bug Out Bag, it has somewhat similar idea and can be used for one)
Check also: Ultralight backpacking
Here is the checklist in no particular order:
1. Documents, money, credit cards, travel tickets
2. Phone with charger and USB/miniUSB
3. 2 memory sticks
4. Solar charger
5. Camera & mini tripod
6. Map
7. Notebook, pen & pencil
8. Metallic water container (for boiling)
9. Plastic Bottle 1.5l
10. Walking stick (telescopic)
11. Small torch (flashlight)
12. Plastic bags
13. Survival tin
14. Waterproof sealable plastic bags for documents & phones
15. Pocket knife with saw
16. Small trowel
17. Sharpening stone
18. Wire
19. Paracord/rope
20. String
21. Fishing line on reel
22. Lighter
23. Tin can (for hobo stove)
24. Toilet paper
25. Soap
26. Toothpaste and brush
27. Sunscreen lotion
28. Underwear, socks, t-shirt with long sleeves
29. Swimming shorts
30. Shoes/flip-flops
31. Mosquito net
32. Insect repelant
33. Rain poncho
34. Spoon
35. Cooking pot
36. Small metal cup for coffee & instant coffee
37. Spare minimalistic backpack
38. Towel
39. "Bum bag"
40. Carbiner (attached on the backpack)
41. Plastic container
42. Woollen clothes
43. Cigarettes
The Belogradchik Rocks are a group of strange shaped sandstone and conglomerate rock formations located in the western part of the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria.
The Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) is an interesting Arctic bird, which superficially resemble seagull, but is in fact related to the Petrels. Unlike the Seagulls, the Fulmars have stiff wing action when they fly.
On the Shetland Islands I found them to be abundant, mostly around places with safe from cats and rats cliffs and rocks. The subspecies I filmed is Fulmarus glacialis auduboni (the one living closer to the North Pole is F. g. glacialis) and the morph is the light one, which is typical for this subspecies.
