Aaah, small towns

After having spent some time in large cities over the last couple of weeks we were relieved to be heading out into smaller towns around Bulgaria.
We first visited Rila Monastery, not really a town but a handful of hotels around the monastery to cater to both pilgrims and tourists alike. We arrived fairly late in the day and decided to leave the monastery till morning although from the outside it looked huge and quite impressive. We instead spent the evening wandering around looking up into the mountains the monastery is set in and feeling just how cold the weather up at higher altitudes is starting to get.
The following morning we grabbed breakfast at the very popular bakery which sold nothing but yoghurt, bread and donuts. The place was packed possibly because it is the only place to grab anything and it is directly opposite the entry to the monastery.
We then headed to the monastery and were lucky enough to be some of the only tourist there although the place was packed with locals there for the morning service. Everyone had sprigs of herbs to take into church, a few had brought bread to pass out at the entrance and the place was buzzing. Well maybe not buzzing but ringing as the monks inside the church kept up a chant all morning which was magic. We ended up spending some time looking around and we even saw a farmer bring (drag) a lamb in to be blessed by one of the monks. We in fact spent an awful lot of time out the front of the monastery as well as it is very poorly served by public transport and the bus did not come till two. So we got to observe the comings and goings for several hours including the police directing traffic, the mob looking people parked out the front doing who knows what and the fast moving nun running around distributing food to a beggar and a group of elderly pilgrims.
Once the bus came we began our journey to Melnik which included catching two other buses and was only successful due to very good luck with connections. Arriving in Melnik was strange as it was a town we had talked about visiting for ages and yet we weren't too sure what to expect. With a population of 240 but a roaring tourist trade due to the wine produced there Melnik was wonderfully quiet when we visited. We spent a day and a half eating delicious food and sampling Ok wines (even arguing with a cellar owner about Australian wines - he started it) and checking out the ruins spread around the town. The town is only 20 km north of the Greek border and boy did it feel like we were in a totally different region. Much dryer, the food is soooo much better and donkeys have replaced horses.
After all the wine we decided it was time for some fresh mountain air and headed onwards again.

Photos: The main street in Melnik, View of Melnik, The mass moved outside the church for a while, The church inside the monastery walls, The monastery and the mountains.