Well this weekend my friend Ned (pictured) and I were going to go camping and hiking in the mountains near the town of Bansko. It was going to be pretty cold, around freezing at night, but we both agreed that that would be part of the fun. When I told my Bulgarian fiends that I was going to be doing this they generally told me not to do it because I would freeze to death. I have lots of wonter camping experience however and new what to expect. We were both well prepared with clothing and food so it would not have been dangerous at all. When Ned and I got to Bansko we looked for a bus that would take us to the camp where we were planning on staying. Unfortunately the buses didn't run anymore because it is so late in the year. No problem, we knew that there would be cabs around and would take one of those. We asked a cab driver about how far the camp was, he said about 18 km. When we asked how much he would charge to take us to the camp, called Vikrin btw, he said 30 lev, about $21. This is way to much for a cab ride. To put it in perspective a bus ticket from Gotse Delchev to Sofia, about 250 km away and a 4 hour ride, is 24 lev round trip. The 30 lev was ONE WAY for 18 km! We asked some other cab drivers and they all essentially gave us the same price. After expressing our displeasure at cab drivers in Bulgaria using some very colorfull metaphors and language, and one or two hand gestures, we decided not to go. So all be for-warned. Bulgarian cab drivers in the city of Bansko are a bunch of crooks and thiefs who should have stomachs removed with a rusty scissors through their eye balls.... Maybe I am under stating it a little but you get the idea.
