We had spent the night on the large car park at Lithotopos, at the foot of the dammed Lake Kerkini in northern Greece. There were new toilets and a tap, and we had it all to ourselves except for the great variety of bird-life. We watched pelicans, grebe, gulls, egrets, pygmy cormorants, storks and all kinds of heron and, at dusk, a total of 7 bitterns strutting on the huge waterlily patch right below our window. Margaret once earned a free 'Rough Guide' book for describing Kerkini in 'Rough News', but we're glad it hasn't attracted any more tourists!

It was about 20 miles easy drive on quiet lanes via Iraklia village to the Bulgarian border. Before crossing, we rang to check our health cover for Eastern Europe had been arranged with Endsleigh Insurance and that our Vodafone mobile contract had been renewed. We entered Bulgaria easily in 30 minutes, paying €2 disinfectant tax to drive through a trough of dirty water, then €2 road tax (plus another €5 on leaving the country, based on mileage driven). Our only problem was that our 'Green Card' from Comfort Insurance was wrongly dated, expiring on 12.08 (already past) instead of 12.09 – we hadn't checked the document carefully enough. This was solved by purchasing one day's insurance cover at the border (€10) to allow us to enter. Later, we rang Comfort to check they had the right date and asked them to email us a new Green Card.

Highway E79 took us all the way to the capital city, Sofia, bypassing the towns of Blagoevgrad and Dupnica. All we saw of them was a skyline of workers' tower-block flats and grim industry. The road was good, with plenty of filling stations, cafes and TIR-truckstops, though the driving habits were as bad as in Greece. The route was straightforward until roadworks closed the last section and we were diverted to Padomir on E871, a much rougher road, eventually joining the Sofia Ring Road.

This was suddenly hectic, with trams, cobblestones and traffic in every direction, so we avoided the centre by taking the Ring Road anticlockwise. We passed a McDonalds that we couldn't get into and continued, looking out for TIR-Parking (this being the lorry route from Turkey through Eastern Europe).

An excellent Motel/TIR-Park appeared at last, just off the busy Ring Road on our left. For a small fee (Euros accepted) we had a safe place for the night, tucked between the lorries, and the use of the very good Motel showers. We were surprised to see we'd climbed a total of 4,200 ft in the course of a hilly day. Sofia is Europe's highest capital, up at 2,000 ft.

We continued round the Sofia Ring Road, buying diesel by credit card at a very modern Shell station/shop/café. At about 52 pence per litre, it wasn't much cheaper than in Greece (55p). Passing the A1 (Plovdiv) turning, we took the A2-E79 towards Pleven and Ruse – an excellent new dual carriageway with short tunnels through the hills at the western edge of the Balkan Mountains.

Turning off via Botevgrad, Mezdra and Montana, we headed north-west for Vidin. Lovely stretches of wooded hills lay between the grey towns of factories and dire concrete flats. Another sad sight was the line of very young, dusky prostitutes along the roadsides approaching each city. They wore very little (typically mini-skirts and bikini tops, or even topless) and several waved and tried to smile.

From Montana the Transit Route signs diverted us onto a minor road via Smimenski rejoining E79 after an extra 10 km. Then we took a planned detour up to Belogradchik, to see the rock formations and fortress and check out a campsite in our Caravan Club book. To our amazement, the empty campsite in the woods, 1 km before the village approaching from the south-west, was open and run by a very friendly woman who spoke some French. We parked in front of her cottage (which doubled as Reception/Bar), with tap and hook-up and the use of a toilet. A lone cyclist joined us later and took a hut.

We had climbed a total of 5,300 ft and the evening was pleasingly cooler up here, dropping to below 70 degrees F after hot, sunny days.

In Belogradchik we changed some Euros into Leva (about 2 to the Euro, 3 to the Pound) and found an internet place, full of small lads playing games. We could at least read and answer our emails but there were no printers or disk drives, so we could neither save nor print the new Green Card which Comfort Insurance had sent. At the Post Office, with the help of 3 smiling ladies and their Bulgarian/English phrase book, we managed over several hours to exchange faxes with Comfort Insurance and finally got a new Green Card (although it wasn't green) with the correct dates.

The rough Bulgarian roads had rattled the motorhome and Barry had to replace the catch on a cupboard door and refix a photo on the wall. We also replaced the water filter on the cold tap, so clogged with silt after our time in Greece that the water barely trickled through!

Madame Velko (the campsite manager) was extremely generous and gave us tomatoes, cucumber and grapes from her garden, as well as some barbecued sausages. She was caring for her grand-daughter, Vivienne, whose mother was in hospital in Sofia for an eye operation, so we provided some paper and pens for the little girl. When we also gave her some chocolate, Madame retaliated with half a water-melon for us! Her kindness was such that she was annoyed to see Margaret walking back from the baker's in a downpour, insisting we should have asked to use her car!

It was rumoured that the ferry across the Danube from Vidin (our intended route to Romania) might not be running as the river was very low. We tried to check this out, first at the Library (no help), then with the Police (who knew nothing), then at a Tourist booth. Here the helpful lass, Milena, rang the Vidin Municipality and reported that the ferry left Vidin every day at 6 am, going to and fro.

One morning we climbed 1,200 ft up from the village, past an abandoned mosque and minaret from the Ottoman days, to explore Belogradchik Fortress – a walk of 4 miles return. The hilltop castle (with small entry fee) was originally built by the Romans in the first century BC, though most of what remains was rebuilt by the Turks in the first half of the 19th century. The views of the Belogradchiski Skali rock formations (including the Madona) were amazing.

It was only 30 miles to Vidin, according to the sign. Just 10 miles downhill to the E79, then 20 miles to the Feribot which crosses the Danube to Calafat in Romania. Simple, except that it took all morning at a crawl and totalled 45 miles!

The first 10 miles went well, joining E79 at Bela, but 3 miles later in Dimovo the Vidin traffic was again diverted along a minor cart-track, heading east and then north-east to join road 11 at Arcar – our first sight of the Danube. The lane was in a terrible condition, with pot-holes and craters, but did show us the simple life in rural Bulgaria among poor villagers and wandering geese and turkeys, though the storks' nests were now empty. After Arcar we rejoined E79 briefly to Dunavci, then the highway was closed again in both directions and we entered Vidin on a back-road.

The ferry-port is 3 miles north of the city centre and we found a new guarded TIR-Park/Restaurant on the left, just before the International Customs. After parking and lunching here, we left the motorhome and cycled into and around Vidin. We rode in through the riverside park, past the substantial Bala Vida Fortress (a medieval castle on a Roman site, rebuilt by the Turks in the 17th century).

Dinner at the TIR-Park Restaurant cost a total of 8 leva (€4) for a good meal of soup, toast, pork roulade and mashed potato, and our host was pleased that we didn't want change from a €5 note! The Security Guard asked 5 leva, for which he guaranteed a peaceful night.

Leaving the lorry park before 9 am, we had to pay an extra €5 Bulgarian Road Tax before clearing Passport Control and joining a few trucks to wait at the port (a passenger ferry crosses from the riverboat terminal in the centre of Vidin, but doesn't take vehicles).

We finally boarded the ferry (actually 2 barges lashed together) at 10.45 am, for the 30 minute trip across the Danube, costing us €56 one-way. We chatted with the Bulgarian occupants of an Irish-registered car – Stefan, his wife and son, returning to Wicklow (where they live and work) after a holiday visiting home. Another long and fascinating talk was with the 4 tough-looking cycle-tourists, who turned out to be from Glasgow!

On the Romanian side, at Calafat, we had a half-hour wait before being checked in and charged €12 for road tax. Then, with the help of our GPS rather than any road signs (and hindered by assorted ruffians begging for Euros), we hit the E79 road for Craiova. After passing the Glaswegians (who stopped for no-one), we paused to lunch in a layby in Giubega, where Barry noticed a flat tyre (rear nearside). By coincidence (?) we had just passed 2 Vulcanisare, one on each side of the road in the last village! We got the leaking valve replaced quickly at the first one we tried, without any need of language or local currency, for €10.

In Craiova we found an ATM to draw money (50,000 Romanian Lei to the Pound!), then continued on E574 to Pitesti, where there was nowhere to camp or park. After another 35 miles, through countryside that became more hilly and scenic, we reached the old Roman Camp town of Cimpulung, up at 2,258 ft, where the Lukoil filling station provided us with cheap diesel (Motorina) and a parking place for the night.

To follow this journey into Romania, click here.