A Saturday in Borovets

A Saturday in Borovets

George Georgiev

The spring is on its way now and most of the people are on a shopping therapy during the weekend, because March is the sale month, when the new spring and summer collections come at the market. Although my girlfriend is recently on me for I have to renovate my wardrobe, I was not on her suggestion to fool me around the shops the whole Saturday. Instead of this I putted my snowboard equipment on, pushed the peeled board into the car and made my way to Borovets. %RIMG1After an hour drive I was in front of Rila Hotel and provided myself with a lift pass. My snowboard skills are similar to my nuclear physics knowledges so I chose the Sitnyakovo slope, because it is not crowded with people. The piste wasn’t definately overcrowded, but the slope was a little bit steeper than I could overcome. On top of that I was depressed by the presence of a group of British snowboarders. They assessed the piste as its true worth. Of course we became friends soon and we exchanged experience. Actually they passed on me their skills. But the best part of all was a girl from the snowboarders' company, who came to be a photographer. So we took out our cameras to frame the magnificent view. I wanted to try other slopes in Borovets, so I said “good bye” to my new friends and went down. %LIMG2When I was in front of Rila hotel again, a downhill competition for children was taking place at that moment. I was astonished by the young kids, who were "flying" on the training piste and I thought to myself that I may be started with the winter sports a little bit later. Anyway, most important for me is to have fun, so I took the Gondola lift to Yastrebets. It was my first time to climb up the peak and I needed a certain time to become aware of the situation. I was lost in astonishment by the white beauty that surrounded me. The marvelous peaks of Rila rose in front of me and when I turned back I saw the white peaks of Vitosha Mountain in the distance. I guess Samokov, Pancharevo and Sofia were somewhere in the lowlands but at that moment everything was wrapped in clouds and I was standing proudly above them. If I have to be honest, there were several hundred skiers and snowboarders around me but as if they weren’t there at the moment. %RIMG3I sailed with the board as I followed a special trajectory which I had traced in my mind preliminary. It included the most sloping parts of the tracks. While I was relaxing, I watched some daredevils who showed confidently that there was no place they couldn’t pass through and the marked routes were simply unnecessary. At last I took my way to the Apres Ski Bars, while limping slightly, but I had to get some food and of course drink the beer, I was so thirsty for. After this late lunch I was sitting on the bench blissfully and the sun was shining on me. I thought that at this moment I wasn’t thinking of anything. %LIMG4May be this is the state of mind which the Buddhists have called “Nirvana” or may be this is the best way to relax. I can’t give an expert opinion but the feeling was great. Meanwhile, I was having a chat in Bulgarian, English and Russian with different people from the tables around. All of them have the same expression of joint satisfaction. After the long break I took the lift down. Then I managed to enter the car as I pulled my slightly paintfull legs in, and took the way back to Sofia. %RIMG5In the evening I was sitting on the coach in front of the Tv set, with the remote control in my hand and with the lovely memories from this day in my mind. I had treated myself with contusion ointment and thus could feel the meaning of the phrase “sweet pain” completely. But this exact feeling was the one that made me repeat the great adventure next week as well. See previous photo report here!