14-Nov-2002 -- After our failed attempt at 41N 29E, I decided that a much easier target would be 42N 23E.
We (myself, my sister Lacey, my best friend Brandon, and our friends Jacquie and Samara) had been traveling by car around Bulgaria, starting in Varna, then onto Shumen, Veliko TÅrnovo, Kotel, Trjavna, Plovdiv, Kjustendil, Rila Monastery, Blagoevgrad, and ultimately, Sofia.
We got to Blagoevgrad early on the afternoon of November 13th, we spent the afternoon wandering around the very nice downtown, and the evening bar hopping. The town is the home to a large number of university students, including a few hundred at the American University of Bulgaria.
Brandon and I had decided to attempt the Confluence the following morning, before everyone else got up and we continued on to Sofia. Our traveling companions decided to stay in bed. Somehow we managed to get up, despite being a bit hungover, and we hit the road just after 7 am.
We knew from Mapblast, that the point was only a few hundred meters from the road, so we took the GPS which read 8.03 km from our hotel, and headed west. This area of the country is, like much of Bulgaria, quite hilly and often very beautiful. This part of the world has been inhabited for thousands of years, yet has lost little of its natural grandeur - undoubtedly because despite its long history, this country has only some 8 million habitants.
The point itself was in the tiny town of Selishte, and as we drove closer to the point, we turned right, then another quick right and we were within 100 m without even leaving the road. The point itself was just up the hill. We parked next to a house (which you can see in the panoramic view) and went up the hill. We shot a few shots in the dawn light, and headed back to the car.