WILD FARM

Gorno Pole, Bulgaria

Too muddy, too cold, too much snow...the late spring rules out some of the walking ideas in Bulgaria's country side. Discussing my wishes with cool outdoor travel agency ZigZag in Sofia, the destination becomes clear: "You like beautiful landscapes? And see some wildlife? Traditional villages too? Oh, and you like good food and wine?" Apparently the answer is Divata Ferma, Wild Farm, in the village of Gorno Pole in the Eastern Rhodopes mountains of Bulgaria.

From Plovdiv I take a bus to Haskovo where my asking for a bus to Gorno Pole first gets answered by a lot of head nodding (phew, they know what I am talking about!!) to then only remember that nodding means NO! So I keep on asking until I receive enthusiastic shaking of the head, a reassuring yes...? Whoa, what an incredibly confusing Bulgarian custom, the opposite of most of the world. The head shaking has to be accompanied by 'Da' for me to believe it really means yes.

And yes it is! The bus leaves at 14.30, destination Gorno Pole. We zigzag our way through villages trying to avoid the majority of potholes. We pass cart-pulling horses adorned with red and white tassles, storks nests on telephone poles, dilapidated stone villages, women with flowery headscarves and harem pants, rock dotted fields, un-understandable folk music through the speakers (except the familiar "Hoppaaa!!!") and then we are there. The directions from Betti say: first house on the right. Sure enough, this is Wild Farm, a certified organic cattle farm (in fact the only one in Bulgaria) in a fairytale setting. White horses run around the village to the soundtrack of cowbells. The farm's 500 cows graze freely in the surrounding hills. And me... I am enjoying the organic homegrown dinner: honey and meat and veggies from the farm. And homemade cheese and wine and rakia as well.

The next morning I go on a walkabout with the wonderful biologist guide Tsveto. Up and down through the green hills, breaking here and there to watch the resident vultures and storks, hitchhiking to the tahini 'factory and outdoor tasting room' in Borislavtsi. Tsveto tells me about the challenging work of those working for protection of nature here in Bulgaria. Then we eat homemade banitsa in the birding visitor centre and walk down to the river. A heart-warming day.