Challenge Progress

We’re halfway through the trip already, so here’s an update on our challenges...

Visit three Balkan countries: We have actually visited 4! After flying into Sofia, Bulgaria, we made our way to Niš, Serbia, and then on to Podgorica, Montenegro. We also rafted down the Tara River, which marks the border between Montenegro and Bosnia, and so we had a cheeky (soft) drink in Bosnia in the middle of the rafting journey at the rafting bar!

Travel on four different modes of transport: So far, we have travelled by plane, coach, minibus, raft, speedboat, car, and we’ve still got a train to go! We’ve definitely smashed this challenge!

Try a food you didn’t know existed: We’ve all been trying lots of different foods, especially little pastries and much of the food at the Waterfall Rafting Center, and we’ll have a better update on this challenge at the end of the trip.

Take part in an environmental project: We’ve taken part in the Isle of Man’s ‘3 pieces of plastic’ challenge everyday and completed a #2minutebeachclean at the beach in Tivat.

Help a Balkan charity: We are hoping to assist the Red Cross in Sofia by donating first aid supplies - stay tuned over the next few days for an update!

Sleep in an unusual place: We have booked to stay at a Neolithic village called Chavdar, outside Sofia. There aren’t any modern facilities, so we’ll have an update when we return to civilisation!

Go on a tour: We went on a submarine and blue cave tour on a speedboat in which we visited the Lady of the rock and was caught in a huge thunderstorm with torrential rain! We saw a U-boat bunker and took shelter there whilst the rain passed. Unfortunately we did not get to visit the blue cave due to the rain and so we didn’t get to have a swim in the end! We will also be going on a tour of Rila monastery in Bulgaria - so two tours instead of one!

Promote international Girlguiding experiences through a blog and social media: A daily Instagram post is uploaded about the day including pictures of our plastic pick ups, and a blog post explains the day in detail. We have also been using Instagram stories and Twitter on our travels. Follow us @balkansnwe2019 on both Instagram and Twitter!

On your return, complete a presentation about your trip: The final challenge, this will be completed at the Region International event at our HQ in Preston in October.

Due to communication issues, we had to cancel our initial challenge of meeting up with a Scout or Guide group on our trip. However, Sod’s Law worked it’s wonders and we met a lovely Serbian scout group in Tivat - a group who had come from Niš, the city we visited in Serbia!