Day 203, 23 January 2013, Bansko, Bulgaria. We went on our longest outing in 5 days today. Walked all the way to town, and back, in order to buy ski passes for tomorrow and Friday. We also checked on the fitness of our ski guide for tomorrow and it seems rumours of his knee sickness were somewhat exaggerated. Thus the fearsome threesome will be back in force tomorrow. We've finally been here long enough for the food spruikers to ease up the pressure. It's not that they ignore us. They just don't waste as much breath trying to lure us in. Electricals get the chance for a rest tomorrow. Time to charge the books, phone, iPad, etc. On the subject of electricity, one of the things that is really obvious here (right after you stop noticing streets and pavements that look bombed and the general ghetto like nature of some areas...) is light. Or the lack thereof. Electricity in Bulgaria is expensive. Beer, fags, girls (in my Borat voice...) "Not so much". There are many homes still using coal and wood for heat and so many lights are not on during the evening it sometimes feels like the suburb has lost power. To demonstrate the difference between the west and the east, even now, take a look at today's photo - the Black Sea is the dark shape that looks a bit like Australia. Bulgaria is to the left and down from there. The very bright light in the top right is Moscow. We've just spent time picking the places we have been and have yet to go... See how you go with your geography. Meanwhile we're going to plug our lives in and drain the national grid. Sweet Dreams. (And if Bulgaria gets a black out tonight, it wasn't us and you can't prove a thing.)