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Early start this morning wasn't quite so early by the time we got going, but we drove over the wide Danube again and over the border into Bulgaria. We drove into the mountains and ended up getting to Veliko Tarnovo sooner than anticipated, which meant we had a whole 4 hours to look around this amazing town on the clifftops. Bulgaria is much cheaper than Romania! We walked up to the remains of the fortress for a great view of the town and a weird church that had very modern paintings inside. Because we had so long in one place and it felt a bit warmer and more different, it really felt like holidays!

At about 5 we headed further up the road to the monastery of Daynovo, where we stayed in dorm rooms. Was a beautiful place in a gorge by a river, and it was nice to sleep in a bed for the first time in 2 weeks even if it was a bit more like a hammock, it was so bendy!

We ate very cheap meals in the restaurant there and drank cheap beer.

At 11pm, the bells of the church rang to call the people to mass at midnight, where they lit candles and walked around the church 3 times to absolve their sins. A few people from the group got to join in with the locals and monks in this - most of us were already tucked up in bed.

Next morning we slept in a little then saw some caves that are near the monastery before heading off today. Bulgaria is a beautiful country, nice forests, mountains and flat plains. The people here also know how to use rubbish bins, which made it nicer than Romania. We camped tonight just short of the Turkish border at an abandoned farm. Much warmer night tonight.