Pirin

It's early in the morning and I'm having breakfast.
Only this time it's on the edge of a 300 meters high wall of marble. My feet hang over the abyss and the food tastes like never before. I'm on top of Sinanitsa peak (2516m). It's one of the most spectacular peaks in the Pirin Mountains.
My route starts the day before from Sofia. After 3 hour drive I reach hut Vihren just above the town of Bansko. It is cloudy, but not raining so I head for hut Sinanitsa. One hour and a half hiking uphill, I finally get to the Banderitsa gate where I see a group of retired people.
"We are waiting you for 30 minutes." smiles an old man. "Now, take a picture of us, with the Strajite ridge in the background."
I take the picture and we chit-chat for 10 minutes before we start walking together. Only this time is mostly downhill or level ground. In 20 minutes the track gets very close to the ridge and my companions leave their backpacks on the track.
"Come with us to see the Georgievski lakes. They're on the other side of the ridge." says Stefan.
"He's been in Pirin 43 times and knows every stone around here." says Momchil, who is 70 and is the oldest in the group.
We enjoy the sight of the lakes for a while and continue. It starts raining and goes on for two hours. We advance slowly, but I like the pacing as I'm not really in a hurry to get anywhere.
Soon, we see the Sinanitsa circus, the peak and the hut. The rain is over. In no time I get hold of a smoking cup of tea.
I spend the rest of the afternoon watching the clouds break against the mountain slopes. Later in the evening, a thunder storm starts in the west. It's almost too far to hear, but the lightning bolts create flashing images of eternal beauty. A local group plays on accordion until late in the night and sings folk songs of love and bravery. The songs seem to fit the place very naturally. I fall asleep.
The noises of the last people leaving the common bedroom wake me up. Its 7:30am. I get up and have a cup of coffee. I gather all my stuff and say farewell to the rest of the crowd. Our paths diverge and I'm alone again.
The track to the peak is barely visible and circles around the Sinanitsa lake for 15 minutes then goes straight up. I get to see the peak only once and the view of the marble pinnacle is breathtaking. In little more than an hour, I reach the summit. I get some food and sit on the edge with my feet in the abyss. My plan is to hike back to hut Vihren then drive to Sofia in the same day. However, that is not important now.
It's early in the morning and I'm having breakfast.