Bulgarian Property Investments

So Lada's Just Go & Go Do They???

Well from what I had been told Lada's just kept going and going for years and years. Yes they may rattle, struggle to get above 80 km/hr and be about as luxurious as a tank but they were supposed to be reliable!

But not mine.....

Only a year after buying it something went wrong with the gear box and it kept slipping out of gear. An oil change seemed to sort out the problem but of course the oil was not under guarantee.

Then yesterday I came back to the car in the centre of town to find that that battery was completely dead. I left it an hour and went for lunch. When I came back the lights and radio would work but it just ticked over loudly and would not actually start.

So I had to be taken by tow truck to a garage (50 Levs) and then be told that the battery was knackered and so I needed a new one - another 160 levs plus 30 levs fitting.

Of course as is usual in Bulgaria, it was not so simple as just rolling up at a garage, getting a new battery fitted and off you go. No....I had to go with the mechanic to the shop, buy a battery, come back, have it fitted, drive to the other side of the city to get the battery guarantee book stamped (yes this one actually comes with a guarantee as original one, even though only 15 months old did not!) and then drive back to garage to pay mechanic.

Three hours later my Lada is finally working again but for a new car, it has cost me a lot of time and money and I am sure there is more to come at the next service as the hand brake light on the dashboard never goes off and at low speeds the car makes an awful whining noise.

Rachel

posted by TheTravelBug @ 10:47 AM 1 comments

First BBQ of 2008

Last weekend we headed up to Magleesh to the river and after leaving the car close to the first small waterfall, we trekked up the side of the river for 10 to 15 minutes, crossing a rather precarious old wooden bridge. We came across a small clearing where there was a natural spring for drinking water and decided to set up the BBQ here.

The area is incredibly beautiful and would be an ideal place to go in the summer to camp, have BBQs, paddle in the river and swim in the natural pools. Sheer rock faces rise up at either side of the river.

There is another larger waterfall a few kilometres further up the river. But we decided to leave that for another exploration trip! Once the sun went behind the mountains it started to get decidedly chilly so we packed up, drank the last of the beer and headed home.

posted by TheTravelBug @ 2:26 PM 0 comments