700 Travels

Bulgaria II: Churches, Monasteries, and the UFO Monument to Communism

May 27-June 1, 2023

It may sound strange, with us suffering “castle burnout” and “church burnout” after our second year in Europe visiting all of these amazing places, but we were headed to visit some churches and a monastery in Bulgaria. Though admittedly these are a little different.

Shortly after crossing the border from Romania and riding through Ruse, Bulgaria, we turned off the main road and snaked our way down a small backroad to our lodging for the evening: Complex Orehite, aka Hotel Walnuts in Bozhichen, Bulgaria. About a mile before our destination, the skies turned black and the wind picked up. It was obvious that the weather was about to get very bad. We pulled up to the entrance to this small family hotel, and I walked past the rooms to the main house and restaurant. Finding nobody available, and the rain starting, I quickly returned to Diana, who was standing near the six or so rooms. There was a key in the door of Room 3, so I opened it and looked inside. It was empty, and clean, so we made the executive decision to check ourselves in. We ran back to the bike and pulled our luggage off just as the hail began to pelt us and the lightning began to strike nearby.

It hailed hard for several minutes, mostly just pea-sized, but some larger. We sat on the back balcony of our room watching the hail and rain, thankful that we had made it to the hotel just in the nick of time. Had we stopped for coffee or a snack earlier, there would have been no place to hide from the storm, and it could have been painful.

The rain eventually let up and we began to see movement down towards the restaurant. I walked down there, and found several young men who clearly worked there, and I’m guessing were probably brothers as well (as I said, small family hotel). They confirmed that we should take Room 3 (good to know), and we agreed to return for dinner around 7pm.


I can read exactly one word on the menu…BBQ. Thank you Google Translate Camera Mode for allowing us to order, and thanks to the staff for some great suggestions.


“Fresh Grilled Bacon with BBQ Sauce”…More like Pork Belly…and “Broccoli with Four Types of Cheese”. Excellent.


“Boneless Pork Knuckle with Wild Mushroom Sauce” and “Chicken Herb Filets with Parmesan”. Delicious. Not the cheapest meal we’ve had at about US$29 total, but worth every penny.

The next morning we rode a short ten minutes or so north to Basarbovo, to the rock monastery of Saint Dimitar Basarbowski.


The Rock Monastery of Basarbova. It was founded in the 12th Century, but is best known for St. Dimitar Basarbovski, who lived (and died) in the rock cliff in the 17th Century.





After waiting out another small rain shower, we headed south another 15 minutes or so to the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo.


This small path leads up to a ridge that then leads to the main church.


At the top of the short climb you can look across the valley from this cliff to another cliff. We had been talking for a while about the idiots that climb over the railings at National Parks to take photos in dangerous situations, like at the geysers at Yellowstone National Park, or at the rim of the Grand Canyon. Some of these idiots insist on doing “yoga poses”. There’s a website that logs the antics of these morons in the hope that the National Park Service will identify and arrest/fine them (and it’s working). The owner of the site coined the term “Touron” to describe Tourist Morons. So here’s Diana doing her Touron Yoga Pose, but on the correct side of the railing. (And just to finish the rant, we consider anyone who insists on blocking access to these places for the rest of the general public while they spend long minutes taking dozens (if not more) Instagram pose photos to be dangerously close to the Touron category.)


The entrance to the church is a bit narrow…


The frescoes on the walls are original and unrestored, but preserved (to some extent), and date back to the early 14th century.


This painting on the ceiling of the Last Supper pre-dates the famous DaVinci painting by 150 years.

Our religious tour complete, we headed south once again to Idilevo and MotoCamp, and once again got caught in the rain. We spent a night at MotoCamp, which now had many more visitors than the first time we arrived a week earlier. In all, we counted riders from thirteen different countries this time, including Austria, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium, France, UK, Australia, Romania, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, and Germany.


We stopped at a roadside station for petrol and a quick snack, and while seated at a picnic table, happened to notice this dog who had found a cool, shady place to take a nap.


While back at MotoCamp, we briefly ran into Chloe Jones, who is riding this Honda C90 from her home in Wales to Tajikistan. She has a great Instagram and YouTube channel.

The next day would be our last riding day in Bulgaria for a while. We headed south from MotoCamp, back over the Shipka Pass that we had come over a week earlier, to the Buzludzha Monument, formally known as the Buzludzha Memorial House.


Built in the 1970s during the socialist communism era of Bulgaria, Buzludzha was intended as a museum to communism. It opened in 1981 and was shut in 1989 at the fall of communism in Bulgaria.


The monument sits in a remote location atop Buzludzha Peak.


An adjoining 70m (230ft) tower has a Red Star on each side that measures 12m (39ft) across and is made out of synthetic ruby glass. The stars were lighted and reportedly could be seen as far away as the Romanian border to the north and the Greek border to the south.


With the fall of communism in 1989, the massive structure sat empty for many years, and was quickly stripped of all of its’ finer materials. It became a destination for “adventure tourism” until within the last fifteen years or so when an effort was made to try to save what was left of the building. More recently the building has been barricaded (too little too late?) to prevent entrance by vandals, and a guard has been posted.

We left the haunting structure of the Buzludzha Monument and rode back once again to MotoCamp, where we would spend our last day preparing for a trip home. We had planned several months ago to surprise Diana’s mother on her 90th birthday, but to our surprise, Diana’s parents turned the tables on us and planned their own trip for her birthday (yep, they are amazingly healthy people who continue to live happy lives on their terms at 90+ years of age). So she wasn’t even going to be home when we arrived! Nevertheless we were happy for them and we were ready to take some time off and be home.

Perspective

July 22, 2023

Often we get asked “Where are you from?” Sometimes we just answer “Texas”, as if Texas is a country. To Americans, and especially Texans, it sort of is. It’s bigger than many countries. Texas even used a slogan for a while that called it “A whole other country.”


Cover of the 2013 official Texas Travel Guide. Yep, “It’s Like a Whole Other Country”.

Texas is well known around the world, mostly for cowboys and, still today, J. R. Ewing and the television show Dallas.

But occasionally people laugh when we say we’re “from Texas” as if it’s ridiculous to expect people to know Texas is part of the United States, or as if we are disrespecting our country. After experiencing this multiple times we switched to answering that we are from “America…Texas”, because, in the end we are still proud Texans.

It is humbling to meet people who aren’t sure where Texas is. It’s not that they are any less educated than us; it’s just not important in their world. I’m willing to bet that most people in the US couldn’t quickly point to Bulgaria on a map or name the countries it borders. It happened in Africa when, after answering that I was from Texas, the gentleman responded, “That’s in Canada, right?”

In hindsight, I think he confused “Texas” with “Toronto”, thinking that I was telling him the city I was from.

It happened again this morning as I caught a ride from the Sofia airport back to Idilevo to pick up the bike. The driver knew Texas was part of America, and knew that it was generally in the middle of the US, but that’s about it. Which is about as good as most Americans could do to describe Bulgaria in relation to Europe.

It’s a nice reminder of why we travel. I love meeting people that share an interest in the world, and enjoy learning about others as much as I do.

Is Transfagarasan The Best Motorcycle Road in the World? Our Top 15 Rides After 63 Countries

October 21, 2024

If you Google “Best Motorcycle Roads in the world”, you’ll get a number of pages featuring a lot of different opinions on the subject. Depending on whose list it is, it may focus on highway-only riding on a touring bike, or slant more towards the offroad enthusiast. Everyone has their own personal criteria that determines what is the “best” motorcycle road for them. For some, it is smooth pavement and fast twisting curves. For others it may be steep mountain climbs with sharp switchbacks. For many, regardless of the elevation change or surface, a stunning scenic view is as important as the road.

For us, it’s often necessary to add that it must be in, or lead to, a place that is quiet, peaceful, and uncrowded. This criteria can be difficult, as many of the “Top 10 Motorcycle Roads” lists are mostly limited to places that are so popular that it’s almost impossible to not ride in traffic or be stuck in a crowd at the scenic vistas.

Last July, as I was riding the Transalpina Road in Romania, I began to think about these rides and all of the places we’ve seen across the last eight years of riding around the world. And again the following morning, as I rode the Transfagarasan Road, I kept thinking about the various internet articles I had read that called it one of “The Best” motorcycle roads in the world, and what criteria made it qualify.

We have certainly not covered even a decent percentage of roads in the world, but we have ridden through 63 countries now, and we’ve come to have some favorite roads. So here are our “Top 15 Favorite Motorcycle Roads In The World So Far” and a bit about the good and bad of each, in our opinion, of course.

15. Stelvio Pass, Italy

Stelvio Pass is a motorcyclist favorite; for us not so much, because while the climb and the view of the road from the top is pretty awesome, the switchbacks are very tight and you have to compete with tour buses and RVs, which can make it physically and mentally exhausting. The top is a tourist mecca; in other words it is crowded and anything but peaceful. Many riders and locals will tell you that Stelvio is the tourist trap…there are many other passes that are less crowded, just as scenic, and more fun.

Much of the Alpine roads in Austria, Switzerland, and northern Italy just can’t be missed. I could spend a couple of months just riding this area (in July and August perhaps, due to the elevations and snow other times of year). Spend time talking to the locals, and you’ll inevitably hear “There are better passes than Stelvio”. We agree.

14. Old McKenzie Highway, Oregon
Officially Highway 242, the portion of this road from the McKenzie River up to the Dee Wright Observatory is one of those roads that can feel like you’re in another world. It’s fairly narrow, lush with trees and dense foliage, and has very little traffic. The climb up to the observatory has plenty of tight twists and turns. It’s not a fast road, so you’re in it more for the scenery and technicality. The observatory at the top was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps out of black lava, and sits in a 65 square mile field of black lava at an elevation of 5,187 feet. As you approach the top from the west and head down toward Sisters, Oregon, the scenery is vastly different than on the western side.

This ride would be much higher up our list, but it’s fairly short; the western climb from the McKenzie River to the Observatory is about 23 miles, and it’s another 15 miles to Sisters.

13. Road 7A, Romania

From Brezoi on the east end to Obarsia Lotrilui on the west.
The 7A road, west from E81 to the “T” intersection at the Transalpina (67C) marked by the stickered-up sign (above), is a beautiful road of about 65km or 40 miles, and as far as I’m concerned is comparable to a 40 mile long version of the Tail of the Dragon in the US (which is 318 curves in 11 miles). Similar to the Dragon, 7A is flowing curves in mostly forest as it passes by Lake Vidra. It doesn’t have a place to stop and take a photo looking down into a valley of spaghetti-shaped roads, but it is some of the nicest riding I experienced in Romania.

12. Carretera Austral, Chile

This one is for the scenery, as there isn’t a lot of elevation change or twisties. Much of the road is still dirt, though portions are paved. It reminded me of a Southern Hemisphere version of Alaska. The only downside is that in the summer (the only time the road is fully clear and passable), portions of it can be swarmed with tourists, backpackers, and campers. Still, it’s worth the ride if you’re in Chile or headed to Ushuaia and have the time. If you are heading further south from here, there is a great dirt road (X-83) just north of Cochrane that will take you across the border from Chile to Argentina and onto Ruta 40. It’s about 100 miles across, and there is a border control checkpoint on the dirt road and the two border guards there were extremely friendly and welcoming when I crossed (they also probably hadn’t seen anyone for hours or days).

11. Transfagarasan and Transalpina, Romania

I combined these two because you can make a loop out of them.

The Transfagarasan (DN7C) is a nice, scenic road, and the pass on the north side of the tunnel at the top is another photo-worthy stop, similar to the Stelvio Pass. However, while the Transfagarasan can be busy with both cars and bikes in the summer, the curves and switchbacks aren’t as tight and flow better than the Stelvio, which means you won’t find yourself having to stop in an awkward spot to wait for a tourbus to do a three-point turn to get around a switchback, and there’s less chance (though still somewhat likely) of someone running all the way into your lane around the curves. The crowd at the top can be as bad or worse than Stelvio, and there are two pay-to-park lots at the summit (though there is also room to park bikes without having to enter these lots).

The Transalpina is less famous, but what it might lack in Instagramability, it makes up for with a “Mulholland Drive Rock Store” vibe, where there is a restaurant and lots of food and souvenir vendors set up, making for a place to stop and check out the other bikes (and cars) that have come for the curves.

If you are in or near Romania, these are definitely a “must-ride”. I highly recommend spending a night or two at the cabins at Camping Arges; it’s the perfect staging point for a couple of days riding the Transalpina and Transfagarasan, and the owners are great people and riders as well.

10. Mae Hong Son Loop, Thailand


This is a long (600km) loop starting and ending in Chiang Mai. Portions of it are better than others, of course, but overall the scenery, the twisty roads, and the stops along the way make this a loop worth doing. Many (if not most) tourists are backpackers doing it on rented 150cc scooters, but you will run across locals on Harleys and big BMWs also. We rented a Honda 500 since we were 2-up, but the 500 is unnecessarily large for this part of the world.

9. Tizi n’ Test Pass, Morocco

Referred to by some as “the most dangerous road in Morocco” (a catchy phrase used a lot by people who don’t normally venture far from their living room or office). A combination of dirt and paved road, there was some construction when we were there which made for some muddy spots, but overall it’s a fairly easy climb and very much worth it for the cliff-hanging distant views as you climb up.

8. Beartooth Highway, Montana, USA

A portion of US Highway 212 between Red Lodge and the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park, Charles Kuralt once called this “the most beautiful road in America”. Those same people mentioned above in #9 have sometimes called this “The most dangerous road in America”, which is kind of why Diana wanted to go there. Like anywhere else, it’s a road. It’s only as dangerous as your approach to it. We met a 90-something year old couple at the top of Beartooth Pass in their Ford F350 pickup that didn’t seem to have any problem driving it. Great climbs and beautiful vistas.

7. Pacific Coast Highway, California

No “Most scenic roads” list would be complete without PCH. The tourist traffic can be frustrating (the long lines of RVs especially), and finding a place to camp anywhere around Big Sur can also be difficult (best to plan six months in advance if possible), but the gentle curves, ocean views and great temperatures year-round make this one well worth it.

6. Route 60, Colombia

Colombia and Peru have a lot of beautiful dirt roads in the Andes mountains and it’s hard to pick just one or two. In Colombia I fell in love with Route 60 from Villa de Leyva to Puerto Boyaca. Of all of South America, this is still one of my favorite rides, mostly because of the remoteness and the scenery.

5. Stewart, BC and Hyder, Alaska

If you’re headed north to Alaska, or from Alaska south, a stop in Stewart or Hyder should be a requirement. Especially if you’re headed north, because you’ve probably already been in the Rockies. The mountains here are like that, but on steroids. Bigger, steeper, more dramatic.

4. Dades Gorge Loop, Morocco

R704 From Agoudal to Boumaine Dades, Morocco: this is the western half of a loop that runs up from Todra Gorge on Road N12 to Agoudal, then turns to dirt for several miles between Agoudal and Tilmi. The dirt portion is a bit rocky but is easily done 2-up on the Tenere and has great distant views. It’s a good reward for a day of riding to get to the Hotel La Gazelle du Dades just south of the Dades Gorge.

3. Dalton Highway, Alaska

The Dalton Highway is one of those “bucket list” or “check the square” rides that many riders feel obligated to do at some point, and most riders that have done it have no desire to do it again. It’s a long gravel road up to the Arctic Sea, and just as long back. On a good four days, it’s dusty gravel and some 18-wheelers who literally own the road and don’t have patience for tourists. On one good day and three rainy, snowy days, like we had, it’s a muddy, slippery, sketchy 800 miles round trip. The only truly impressive scenery, in my opinion, is Atigun Pass and the first glimpses of the tundra to the north of the Pass.

2. Huascaran National Park, Peru




AN-107 from Carhuaz up to the world’s highest vehiclular tunnel (15,535 feet or 4735 meters) at Punta Olimpica, and then AN-106 back down to Yungas. A mixture of dirt and pavement, a peak of around 16,000 feet elevation (over 4800 meters) if you take the “old road” up and over the Punta Olimpica tunnel, and absolutely stunning. I will be doing this ride again in the next year or so, I hope. Note: when I went over the tunnel in 2016, the old road had been intentionally blocked with large boulders on the north side. Bikes can squeeze through, but nothing wider will fit. A fully loaded GS with wide panniers might push the limit.

1. Route 63 south of Trollstigen, Norway



Lots of people talk about Trollstigen, and while it is truly amazing for the waterfalls and scenery, for us the more spectacular part of the road (63) is south of Geiranger, between Geiranger and Hwy 15. In any case, we are constantly asked what our “favorite place” is out of everywhere we’ve been. It’s nearly impossible to narrow it down to one place, because there are so many influences: natural beauty, local people, local foods, history, etc. So we always have to answer with those caveats. But without a doubt, the top place we’ve been so far in terms of jaw-dropping scenery is Norway.

You might say “Where is the Going to the Sun Road?” or “What about the Blue Ridge Parkway?” Those are without a doubt great rides, and definitely belong on someone’s list. They reside a bit further down our list. I’m sure they will move up when I get old and go back to riding a large street-only touring land yacht and can enjoy being in the long line of RVs and Harleys. For now, at 63 years old, that’s not my style.
And as popular as Route 66 is for the European crowd, I will not include it in this list, yet, as we simply haven’t been motivated enough to do it.

Also, the Bolivian “Death Road” didn’t make this list because at the end of the day it is way over-hyped. However, if you are already near LaPaz and want to check the box, there’s about a mile or so of it that is pretty scenic and where all those edge-of-the-cliff photos are taken. The rest is just a generic dirt road.

There’s still a lot of world we haven’t explored, so obviously our list isn’t complete. We’re still looking forward to the ‘stans, India, Nepal, Mongolia, China, South Vietnam, New Zealand, Australia, and more on upcoming travels, and when we get there, we’ll be sure to update this post.

Reflections On The Past Year, and a Morocco Video

October 21, 2024

It’s hard to believe it’s been more than a year since we returned from our second season in Europe. We had planned to continue east, through Turkey, Georgia, and beyond, but some bad news had us changing plans and delaying our travels for a bit.

In June of last year, we came home for a surprise 90th birthday party for Diana’s mom. In a funny twist, the surprise was on us: Diana’s parents had taken a trip of their own, and weren’t going to be home on her birthday!

While we were back in Texas, Diana scheduled some regular doctor visits, and that’s when we found out she had Stage Zero breast cancer. At that point we decided to put a hold on our travels while we scheduled surgery and treatment. I flew back to Bulgaria in July, rode the bike back through Romania, Hungary, and Austria to Germany, made arrangements to ship the bike home, and flew back to be with Diana.

Fast forward to today: Diana just celebrated her one year anniversary of being cancer free. She’s doing great, and while we are still home and relaxing here (and hosting other travelers as they pass through), we haven’t stopped discussing our future travels. Even though I was feeling a bit “worn out” by years of travel across 66 countries, Diana didn’t get to go along with me on my first trip through South America and Africa, so even after all she’s been through in the last year — or perhaps because of it — she’s still itching to go. I’m getting there…a year home has helped rejuvenate my wanderlust, so perhaps we will hit the road again before long. There’s still a lot of world we haven’t seen.

Meanwhile, I realized that I had never posted our Morocco video to the blog. So, to clear that up…here it is: