Planinitza 2019

On Saturday, a day before Orthodox Easter, we hiked along our favorite trail in Cherna Gora mountain, from the village of Planinitza to Tumba peak and back.

The day started hot and sunny, with few scattered clouds high in the sky.

The trail is easy and very pleasant, winding along the hills of the low Cherna Gora mountain.

Spring is gradually coming to the mountains, covering the hills with grass and flowers and the trees in blossom.

As we reached the peak, the sky to the west covered in darker clouds and we saw rain and thunderstorms in the distance, moving towards us.

Iris reichenbachii, a species native to the Balkan countries

We spent very little time on the peak, just a quick snack and we headed back to get away from the coming storm

Initially, it seemed that the storm was headed to the north, while we moved to the east

but gradually the clouds surrounded us from all sides

The sky darkened and we could hear thunders above

Luckily, we were only about 2 km away from the village, when the storm caught up with us - the whole nine yards - heavy rain, hail and thunders. It's been two days since and our hiking shoes are still drying :)