Stakevtsi, while not a wealthy village, really is beautiful. It is nestled snug between two mountains in the Stara Planina range near the Serbian border and is surrounded by small gardens, fields and hundreds of acres of forest. Evidently, when Lelya (aunt) Tota was young, the village was bigger than Belogradchik. Now, however, it consists of a mostly elderly population of about 200 people. It swells on the summer weekends when everyone's families (most who live in Vidin) come to visit their grandparents but is quite isolated during the winters because of the heavy snow and narrow roads.
Anyway, I was introduced to all the neighbors, received bowls of fresh DELICIOUS strawberries which I consumed very rapidly, got to ride on a donkey cart, rode in a converted roto-tiller/ wagon, and ate heartily the whole time. Yes, with all this fresh, home cooked food I'm getting fatter...but it is so tasty! Lelya Tota took me up the mountain road to a hunting lodge (Loven Dom) where we saw some wild boars and the skins and trophies of many local game animals, a trout fish hatchery where I couldn't quite understand why, but they hatch American trout, not local trout, which goes directly to the markets, and finally to a now derelict, but once beautiful summer camp for children and adults. After we picked more wild strawberries, we coasted on down the bumpy road back to the village.
Two fun observations:
Everyone, even the bus driver between Belogradchik and Stakevtsi, uses the engine only to drive up the hills, and turns it off when going down hill. You never hear when a car is coming down the hill! In the bus it was great: no diesel engine roar, no smell, no smoke... awesome! Just turn it on to get enough juice to crest the next hill and then coast from there. Stakevsti is one one road going up the mountain so there if you hear an engine, you know exactly which direction they are going.
Also, in Stakevsti there are no mosquitoes! I don't know how there are mountains but no mosquitoes, but it is true. Of course, there are enough flies to make up for it... :) Vidin, along the Danube, had plenty in the past. They even had to fill in some of the moats within town that had previously been used for transportation, (a little like Venice) because of malaria brought by the mosquitoes.
The best part about this visit was that I was able to go to a rehearsal and performance of the local "grandmothers" choir that still sings traditional Torlashki songs. They were happy to have me, again this random American who happens to appreciate and love their traditional music, there to listen that they taught me one song that I hope my choir in Seattle will sing. In fact, the next day, I got to ride in the bus with the women as they sang, squabbled, gossiped, and talked, to a neighboring village, Chuprene. Here, you had to go down the mountain to the valley, and then up again on the other side. It was a fun trip together but the biggest surprise came when I arrived at the annual "Torlashki Folklore Festival" because they dragged me on stage as the festival was starting to be introduced to the crowd and to say something to the audience. I was MORTIFIED! First, my language skills are not up to public speaking and second, well you all know how I dress to be comfortable and not fashionable...and here I was coming with wrinkled clothes and my usual t-shirt and slacks... (really, I just hadn't had a chance to wash my clothes recently). Anyway, it was embarrassing but the many people seemed to love it. I had random strangers calling out my name to ask me questions about why I was there. The Stakevtsi ladies were quite proud to be hosting their "American guest" :) I can say after that I had a lot of pictures taken of me and filming done for the national tv station. Of course, I didn't see any of what was broadcast if any...
Ok, there is more to write but I'm tired of the computer. Until next time!
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