Alexander Phonoff

In Sofia last night, we finally met up with a man we had been referring to as "Alexander Phonoff", because he had said "sure! come stay" but then proved impossible to track down. He found us by the stadium, we bought some beers & went into a park which was formally a zoo, where a bunch of his friends began to congregate with backpacks full of climbing gear. Apparently the plan was to go to these two large trees in the middle of the big park & string a zip line between them. The precision & patience of the setup reminded me of the stealthy rigging for Philippe Petite's Twin Towers tightroping (in "Man on Wire"). The rides on this lasted many hours & many beers, long long after dark, after Olaf & Grainne had wandered back to their hostels, & after I had fallen asleep in the park. I woke up & they were doing progressively crazier things, & suddenly a guy & girl zipping together caming crashing down from the high tree. Everyone was okay, but he went to the hospital to have his purple finger xrayed, & I imagine she'll be a bit bruised today. It took another hour to pack up the rigging & then it was a long ride home.

We took a taxi way out to the old communistic bloc he's lived in for 11 years, since he moved here with his parents & now as an adult with his cousins. It's a crazy world out there, today in the extreme heat it felt more Indian than European. Okay, then, we're going to find Mr Quill in Vratsa today, keep in touch. Wish you were here. Live long & prosper.