If adventures are in your blood but you need information from the horse’s mouth or you lack the courage or the inspiration for a wild voyage to faraway places, then the Travelers’ Club is the place for you. It is popular in Facebook, but the good news is that it is not a virtual but a very real place where you can meet kindred souls on the lookout for adventure. In fact it is the first such club in Bulgaria. As you can imagine, the idea came to someone who is passionate about travel – in this case to two people – Margy and Sasho. The idea came to them while they were cycling across Morocco. “We were just having a cup of Moroccan tea at a caffé in the middle of the desert and saying to each other how nice it would be if there was a place in Sofia where we could meet and share our interest in travel with other people,” Margy says. So, after two years of travels around the world, the two returned to Bulgaria and set about making their dream come true. Eighteen months ago the Travelers’ Club appeared in a quiet street in the centre of Sofia. Its logo bids you welcome at the door – a loveable donkey.

Our idea is to motivate people to travel and to show them it is not difficult,” Margy says further. “Another one of our aims is to nurture a respect for the mountain, and to be useful in providing information. Here we have a big library, thanks to friends who bring books. We frequently get asked: “I am leaving for Nepal, do you know anyone who has been there?” And if we ourselves haven’t, we arrange a meeting with someone who has and who can provide useful information.”

The club itself is a cozy place – you won’t find traditional furniture here. Instead of chairs there are straw-filled sacks where you can make yourself at home. The tables are small and wooden and are frequently used as desks during training.

“Our main activity is the presentations by travelers we invite to the club,” Margy explains. “It is always very pleasant – the club is small and can accommodate no more than 34, it is very homey. Another one of our activities are the first aid courses. This was the first thing we did even before we had the club itself – at Malyovitsa chalet we organized a weekend first aid course for mountain hikers and travelers. It is very important to know how to react in the event of accidents. We also organize first aid lectures in the event of avalanches in the mountain and give instructions what to do in the mountain in winter, how to choose an itinerary. In the summer we organized meteorology lectures and invited different experts – paragliders, mountain guides or meteorologists.”

There has been a great deal of interest in the events organized by the club since the very beginning. And this from young, but also older enthusiasts, people with all kinds of professions. “We’ve had programmers who are fed up with their work. There are two kinds: they either chuck the whole thing and decide to become full-time travelers or take a long leave and just go off to some point on the globe. Margy herself gave up her profession of accountant to become a mountain guide and skiing instructor. Every winter Margy and Sasho work as skiing instructors in the Austrian Alps.

“Our first crazy experience was the month we spent in Turkey where we hitchhiked around the country and climbed all sorts of mountains. We slept wherever nightfall found us. After that we hitchhiked around Gibraltar where we found a job and worked two consecutive summers. Then we traveled around Portugal and Spain and did volunteer work at different farms. The second year we were in Gibraltar we bicycled around Morocco. We have also traveled around the Balkans, we regularly go to the Alps where we work and try to get to know them.”

As to her favourite places in Bulgaria, Margy says: “I love Beglika dam and the locality called Chatuma. Every year I go to children’s camps there organized by Baikaria NGO. Another one of my favourite places is Malyovitsa peak in Mount Rila. It is a second home to me because there we can ski, climb or just take a break, but always in the company of friends.”

English version: Milena Daynova