I did not like the sound I heard outside my window that morning - it was the sound of rain. Nothing too heavy, but unmistakable rainfall greeted me that morning. And not just a wet morning, also a mountain pass was waiting for me on that Saturday.

Despite the weather, I was in the saddle by 7:30, made a few more photos of the buildinga of the small town.

What about the environment...?

It was getting dark again pretty early and I started looking for some sort of accommodation. This area was not really touristy, so the selection was rather bleak. The most viable option was a winery, called Zaara Estate Winery, which seemed to have rooms. I called, but alas, they were sold out. I did not hang up, explained the lady on the phone that I had a tent and that if they let me, I would pitch my tent in their garden and even pay for it. She told me she would ask her boss and call me back. Yes, the phone did ring a few minutes later and I had gotten green light from her manager to come - and that no payment was necessary. At that point, I was about 15 kilometers from the winery and based on the flat terrain I had been riding on till then, I told I would arrive in some 45 minutes. Little did I know that the road would veer uphill, so in the increasing darkness, I was now on an incline, which became steeper and steeper as I got closer to the place of destination. The last four kilometers were quite a struggle, I was tired, it was cold and dark, with dogs barking in the background. It was then that I spotted some light high up on a hill, oh no, that is where I was headed to. Especially the last few hundred meters proved to be a real challenge, as the winery was up a very steep private road, which forked off the main road - but eventually I made it.

It was a very pretty place, too bad they did not have a room, would have been nice to creep inside a cozy bed after a warm shower, but then I did have a warm sleeping bag - so I pitched my tent in the yard, washed my face and hands a bit and entered an upscale restaurant, with live music.

I ordered a potato soup, chicken with avocado as main course, a shopska salad, a beer, then a wine - it was quite a fine dinner, served by friendly waiters.

After dinner, I chatted with the night manager for a while, washed up a bit, then I exited into the freezing October air, high up on a hill, curling up in my sleeping bag.

That day I rode some 125 kilometers and made an altitude gain of 1,600 meters, here is the map.