Picture was taken by me at Krinetz Dam, Banksco, Bulgaria.
Thirty-four days ago I gleefully wrote a freewrite post about my upcoming trip to the Ski resort town of Bansko in Bulgaria.
Full of vim and vigour I was assured that the universe had decided to shower me in a downpour of good Karma as I had been offered an opportunity to stay at a friend's apartment, rent-free and look after their dog which she assured me was more like a cat, very affable, and needed little attention.
Off to Bulgaria for 26 Days on a Paid Vacation Looking After my Mate's Dog
So, as I mentioned in the post linked above, I proceeded to book a ridiculously cheap Ryanair return to Sofia Bulgaria, shifted into the travel mindset, and away I flew on a disconcertingly rattling airbus.
Unfortunately, the canine Shangri-La my friend had described was not to be.
What actually happened was within two days of staying in my friend's apartment the dog had unequivocally let me know that I was not welcome in its territory. Bliss (the dog's name) kept alternating between cowering in the corner growling occasionally, to walking to her bed and peeking suspiciously over the side of the couch at me.
The next morning when I confidently approached her to put her lead on and take her for a walk she bit me and continued to growl.
This left me and my friend with a problem. I draw the line at being bitten so I had to tell her she needed to cancel her work away or find someone else to look after the dog. I thought she'd be pretty pissed off, but we've known each other for over 20 years, and she is a lovely and caring friend. So, being able to change her work dates due to the nature of her work, it was all sorted out in a very adult and calm manner.
A picture of a rural scene of a shepherd I took on my final day while returning from my hike into the forest.
She was convinced the universe would sort it all out, and I should just chill out and the problem would resolve itself...
But I was perfectly chilled, I just wasn't prepared to be left to look after a dog that wouldn't let me near it... she would have returned to an apartment covered in dog shit and a thoroughly miserable friend 😂
I have been bitten by dogs before, her dog Bliss had not broken the flesh but rather left bruise marks and I know what that means in dog language - "I'm warning you, human, don't come near me."
Anyway, I persevered for my friend's sake trying some psychological techniques for three more days, attempting to acclimatize the dog to me. We went on walks together where I held the lead while my friend walked beside us, giving the dog treats of deli meats when it was behaving well... all that good dog whisperer stuff.
The countryside was truly beautiful, the town quiet as it was just at the end of the snowboard/ski season, and the mountains majestic. Believe me, every part of me wanted to befriend this dog and take it on adventures up into the wooded mountain trails.
But Bliss, the dog, had different ideas. In a last ditched attempt to see if I could convince Bliss that I was friendly and her new temporary career my friend decided to try a sneaky trick. As she had a kickboxing class she had to be at on the 4th morning, we agreed to wander up towards the grassy area where Bliss was used to doing her morning business, and as we approached it my friend would just turn around and quickly walk away.
Bliss pulled and dragged on her lead as my friend made her escape, and after a few minutes of staring mournfully into the distance looked up at me with mistrusting eyes as if to say "Ok, you'll have to do."
We walked along for a while, while I tried to talk to Bliss in a measured way neither aggressive nor passive, trying what little dog psychology I understand. But this wily little mutt had other ideas. We went on quite a long walk and as we reached the tree line the ground started to become boggy due to the start of the snowmelt.
We actually reached near to the treeline on the left of the picture above, but a fence from one of the spar resorts blocked the way on one side and there was a small muddy stream the other way I could see to cross. But I was convinced if I spent enough time with Bliss taking her up into the forest wildness she might warm to me.
So I tried to step across a muddy gap where the small stream seemed to have disappeared below ground. As I stepped widely over the muddy patch Bliss tugged hard on the lead, a glint of mischief in her eyes, and I went flying forward landing on my chest. At the same time, although I kept a tight hold of her lead and took most of the impact with my elbows/chest, Bliss rolled and twisted several times, actually managing to slip out of her collar.
At which point I couldn't see her for dust. I got up and wandered around the common calling her name for a while before stopping to think.
'Ok, this is a rescue dog that obviously has trust issues and sees my friend as her owner or the pack leader or whatever dogs think. Where will it have gone? Of course, it will have gone back to its territory, the place I have so rudely invaded, my friend's apartment.'
So I took the long walk back to her place, worrying all the time that I'd basically lost my friend’s dog to the mountain wilderness of Banksco as there is a substantial population of street dogs in the town, which is a problem in general in Bulgaria as a country where people often abandon their dogs.
As I approached the apartment who should I see skulking and giving me the stink eye but Bliss, the dog that completely outsmarted me and nearly caused me to injure my back.
I have to give Bliss credit; she was a smart, stubborn, and mischievous dog. She completely tricked me that day 😂
I sent my friend a message on Signal but the next 40 minutes were spent with her very friendly neighbours trying to help me entice Bliss into the apartment with doggy treats etc, but she literally wouldn't enter the building with me there. My friend's next-door neighbour, a young lady called Pip tried her hardest with me out of sight and even that didn't work.
Eventually, she left me with a bag of dog biscuits which I used to keep Bliss around the carpark area until my friend returned from her kickboxing class. After I told her the story of how one man had been outsmarted by a wily dog, she seemed to accept that we had given it our best try.
Her words to me "Bliss has just done every naughty trick in her book of tricks that she has done to me over the last year, but all at once on you. So sorry about that, give me her lead and collar, you go get a cuppa tea and I'll find her and get her collar back on... I might be some time."
Around three hours later she returned and said, "Ok this isn't going to work, I'll stay with my boyfriend who Bliss is used to and you stay here."
But my friend is at a critical stage of editing her final draft of her first novel and I knew I was in the way staying in her apartment. After we had a nice evening together where I cooked a meal and we had a good catch up, I basically broached the subject that I thought it was time for me to jump a cheap Ryanair flight home within the next few days as the problem with the dog was all about me being in her apartment which it saw as its safe place, its territory.
I was also rapidly running out of money so it made sense.
Despite these somewhat crazy and daft situations where I was outsmarted, bitten and rejected by Ms Bliss the aptly named dog 😂 I did have many enjoyable days with my friend and her fella who was a diamond geezer originally from Essex in the UK.
Pictures of them are limited and particularly I have cropped out her fella who prefers to remain completely anonymous online.
Here are a selection of pictures of some of the great times, a picture of the town and the fish restaurant at Krinetz Dam where you could get a whole trout, a beer and coffee for less than £5.
The restaurant at Krinetz Dam, Banksco, known locally as 'the fishy'.
Food was super cheap there, and I completely recommend it as a destination for a cheap holiday. It was cheaper to eat out than buy food from the shops and make your own food!
Me scoffing my face with the best tasting trout I've ever had at 'the fishy' restaurant at Krinetz Dam, Banksco.
I shall be returning soon, perhaps in the late spring sunshine, but this time renting my own apartment (which is also very cheap) so that I can maybe make friends with Bliss on her own terms 🐶
View from our table at 'the fishy' across Krinetz Dam, Banksco.
And get up into those mountains hiking and being among the wildlife which I did manage to do twice while there this time but would love to make full-day hikes to the top of the local mountain Pirin with my friend, and then perhaps jump the gondolier down to the town 😉
Banksco Old Town
And thus concludes the sorry tale of how one man was outsmarted by a dog.
Thanks for reading the second part of my travel adventure.
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