The next day we decide not to hike with all our luggage to the next hut on the way into the heart of the mountains; it’s too heavy and now Uwe reports pain in his joints, while I’m fine again. We choose a lake in the area as our destination and hike there without luggage. On the way we let our drone rise and meet both another lake and the weird bird from the day before. Of course, this doesn’t let us move on without a confusing monologue.

We make our way back to Bansko and find new accommodation via the network. We opt for a simple and inexpensive luxury hotel with a swimming pool and sauna to revive our freshly battered bones. We were also able to lure our new friend Uli over and watch a match from the European Football Championship 2020 together with him in a traditional Bulgarian restaurant. 

Our first idea is to take public transport to Melnik, the end of the Pirin crossing. It turns out to be so complicated and time-consuming that we are rescheduling.

We start the trip to Sofia again to rent a car there and be self-sufficient again. So, back to the central bus station in Bansko …