Of wild men and horses

Kapka Kassabova roams the Pirin highlands in southwestern Bulgaria, a once-peopled wilderness

_{All photos by Kapka Kassabova}

Kosta is a legend with his horses, but Pirin being an alpine massif, it’s hard to catch him. He has a phone but there’s no coverage where he roams. He’s from the western flanks of Pirin, and like his horses and cows, his territory is vast. For that reason, few people get to see him at all.

Emin sees him, from time to time. Emin too owns a herd of wild horses, on the eastern flanks of Pirin. Though you can’t own wild horses, they own you. You criss-cross your side of the mountain to make sure they’re alive. This is one of Europe’s last wildernesses. Last week Emin and I trekked to the glacial lakes where his twenty « bandits » graze among chamois and clouds. They ran to him and the earth shook.« On the west side of that pass are Kosta’s horses. But you can’t see them. »