19th to 23rd June

On Sunday we decided to take the local bus north to a popular resort called Sunny Beach. It was a bus ride away 30Km north of Burgas. We went to the beach, had a swim and spent a little time lying in the sun, along with many, many other people!

We also visited Nessebur, the old town near Sunny Beach, which pre-dated the tourist development.

Human settlement here goes back some 4,000 years. It has been ruled by a variety of empires, Greek, Roman, Ottoman and Soviet Russia.

There are the remains of several small churches, with interesting brick work and decoration.

However,  it was all very busy with tourists and we noticed the prices in both Sunny Beach and Nessebur were considerably higher than elsewhere in Bulgaria.

Monday we visited the tourist information, not open at the weekend, and decided what else we would do whilst here.

The Ethnographic Museum was small, packed with costumes from various parts of Bulgaria. A school group visiting at the same time had a fine time trying out the array of cow / goat bells.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Along the beach in Burgas is an area called the Sea Gardens. A long stretch of park, planted with many trees and with lots of sculptures dotted about. We were greatful for the shade with temperatures over 32C.

 

We cycled along a new cycle path to the end of a long and narrow isthmus. Here the sand was black and we watched several kite surfers whipping along and jumping into the air. Fun to watch.

 

 

 

At one end of the Sea Gardens is an area for sand sculptures.

Like in Ruse, there is an annual competition. However the work was in progress and not open until the beginning of July. But we could see the artists at work from a distance as the sculptures emerged from the blocks of sand.

 

 

Later on, we peddled out in the opposite direction to a bird reserve about 8Km away with a really good observation centre equipped with powerful telescopes and binoculars.

There, a very knowledgeable and helpful guide trained a telescope on birds of interest and gave us binoculars to look through. We saw pelicans, Dalmatian pelicans, cormorants, pygmy cormorants, black winged stilt and Marsh Harrier, as well as some more familiar birds. This area is rich in a very wide variety of birds as they migrate. Following the Black Sea coast and avoiding the mountains, they get channelled through a strip of land about 90 metres wide.

Some 60 years ago the area was badly polluted with oil, but the reeds have filtered the water and it now attracts much wildlife.

 

 

 

Tuesday found us taking a boat trip to Anastasia Island. A small island some 5 Km out in the bay of Burgas. It has been the location of a monastery over the centuries, but in the mid 20th century it was used as a prison.

 

 

 

In the afternoon we took a local bus to  Aquae Calidae, the location of ancient hot springs. There were taps outside where people arrived in cars with bottles and collected the water which was very warm. It comes out of the ground at 41 degrees.

The site is still being excavated, but there have been rich findings there, most of which are in the museum in Sofia.

 

In antiquity, when healed by the waters of the springs, gold rings, jewels and coins would be thrown into the spring in gratitude to the Gods.

It was once the centre of a large city. Over the centuries it had been destroyed during conflict, then rebuilt several times. It was razed to the ground by the Crusaders and then not used for a few hundred years until rebuilt by the Ottomans in the 17th century.

In a reconstruction of a bath house, there was an interesting multimedia show, projected onto the ceiling, telling the story it’s history. Legend has it there were 3 beautiful nymphs that looked after the springs. But they fell in love and were turned to stone by the gods because they were no longer  looking after the healing springs.

Eventually the 3 stones were destroyed and turned to dust by the christan Crusaders as they meted out their revenge against the Bulgarian Empire for re-taking their own territory.

On Wednesday and Thursday we really felt we were kicking our heals. Simon visited the local history snd archaelogical  museums and we found some cool and quiet in an Armenian and a Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

Burgas is lovely, but we really want to be moving on!

16.06.2016

We had a very pleasant stay at Guest House Villa Elma run by Dutchman Martin Boer and his Bulgarian wife  AmeIia.  A pretty garden, comfortable rooms and set in the peaceful village of Nevsha.

Following our hosts’ suggestion  we did not continue on to the coast at Varna as we had originally intended, but turned South to cut through the mountains towards Burgas. Whichever way means hills, but we are hoping this way will mean fewer and lower hills and be the lesser of the two evils!

The main hill was a 2.5 mile climb, which we completed with many stops to catch our breath and drink water. At the top there was a truck stop, which provided Simon with two very welcome cold beers.

The run down was about 2.5 miles, but no records broken today. The surface was not as good and there were a few bends. So the brakes were used more today. The countryside was getting more and more hilly, although fortunately our road had decent gradients, both up and down.

Our accommodation for the night was in a small village beside a reservoir , very peaceful and attractive.

We had some difficulty communcating about food, as the lady at the hotel spoke no English and we have no Bulgarian. Also, despite an extensive menu, a lot of items were not available when we asked for various optionsions.

An extra layer of confusion is added by the fact that here in Bulgaria shaking your head means yes and nodding is no.

As we were near water, we were serenaded by frogs all evening.

Nerd’s Corner

Nevsha to Asparuhovo: 38 miles.

Total distance travelled so far: 2616 miles.

 

Ruse is quite a large city so we felt there was a good chance to purchase a decent quality cycle tyre. A trip to the bike shop that we had been recommended provided us with a new tyre, but not as strong as would have liked. It seems it’s not possible to get the Schwalbe Marathon tyres we started out with in this part of the world.

So we have been in touch again with JD Tandems and have been sorting out new tyres to be sent to Burgas, a town on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. We hope to have the timing right, but if we have to wait …. then being by the sea could be worse!

A visit to the tourist information alerted us to some sand sculptures by the river. So we pedaled down to have a look.

We had planned to go to a monastery built in a rocky outcrop about 8 miles away. It dates from the  14th or 15th centuries during the first Bulgarian Empire.

But it rained very heavily, with thunder and lightning so we decided to wait. Once it had stopped, we set out down the rather potholey country road to get there. We were not disappointed by the place. The monks no longer live in the rocks, but there are a series of small chapels carved out of the rock where people leave their prayers.

 

Every small crevice in the rock has slips of paper pushed into them, with coins. Also pictures left of loved ones.

We set out back towards Ruse with gathering rain clouds and darkening skies. Negotiating the roads was tricky – difficult to tell if the puddle ahead was disguising a pot hole; we found a few were!

We were almost back in Ruse with some rain when the heavens opened, so we sheltered and just watched the rain as the thunder and lightning flashed and crashed around us.

Back at the guest house we found our tent still dry inside and were directed to a restaurant a short walk away.

It was an Italian restaurant, so there was not much in the way of traditional Bulgarian cuisine but it was well prepared and delicious nevertheless. However, pancakes seems to be a popular item for desert, so that was what Diana had.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we head south and leave the Dunav behind as it turns north to its delta and the Black Sea. It has been our companion for almost 7 weeks, almost 1,100 kilometers and 8 countries.