Bulgarian Beauty

6fartsinacart
Jun 26, 2017
4 min read

19 June 2017, Monday: Despite last night’s ‘camper going over the edge’ ordeal, we all sleep well. Before we leave, a big forklift’s help is called in to get the camper out of its predicament. After updating the blog we leave for Obzor to meet up with a South African couple doing missionary work in Bulgaria. They currently live three months in South Africa and nine months in Bulgaria throughout the year. Along the way we drive through the busy, touristy town of Nesebăr. Just as we exit the town, Merzy’s fuel light comes on, and with the next town about 30km away, Dad has no choice than to turn back to fill up. Poor Dad has the holiday traffic in Nesebăr pushing him to his limit. 12pm we reach Obzor and meet Oom Jean-Pierre and Tannie Rita. We have lunch together before driving to an isolated spot which they found earlier in the morning. Dad, Emile, Nikita and I are so excited to see proper waves that we can’t resist putting on our cozzies and attempt to body surf the waves. After supper Emile makes us a fire and the last people finally drift off to bed sometime after 11pm.

20 June 2017, Tuesday: This morning Genève joins Emile and Dad for a swim. Just after 11am we say goodbye to our awesome (newly made) friends and move on. We stop next to a river at Dăbravino for lunch. 4pm we stop at a park4night stop north of Varna, but decide to move on to a place recommended by Oom JP and Tannie Rita. 6.45pm we park for the night near Tjulenovo on the cliffs above the sea. We love all these quiet places out of town with God’s beautiful creation all around us. We have no choice but to stand in awe of His beautiful handiwork. As we are watching the fishing boats go to and fro in the sea, we see dolphins following them… in the hope of a treat of a lost fish. We happily watch as they play, some of them jumping out of the water. These dolphins aren’t as lively though as the ones we know in South Africa.

21 June 2017, Wednesday: It’s a lazy morning and as the sun starts heating up, Dad, Emile and Genève go for a snorkel. There are all sorts of things in the sea, among them are jellyfish and snakes. I think I’d rather face the heat than the sea creatures. Nikita sees 2 snakes each coming up to the rocks with a fish in their mouths, but as soon as they see her, they drop the fish and hide. Emile takes Mum, Dad, Genève and I on a nice(?) rock-climbing route to a “cool” human cut-out cave in the cliff below. It’s amazing the places he goes and explore without us knowing. Dangerous too, but although Mum threatens to punish him, we all know that he's her little baby. We don’t have any food for lunch, so at 3pm we leave in search of a shop. We find a mini-market in Kavarna, and after a quick stop continue to a small port past Bălgavero. We all take a dip in the sea to cool down while Emile goes for a cycle. After the people on the beach start to disperse, we move to a more level spot on the pier and Dad takes out the BBQ to cook some meat and Bulgarian sausage for supper.

22 June 2017, Thursday: It’s a lovely morning and we are not the only ones to enjoy it. A newlywed couple come to have their photographs taken close-by. Emile starts drooling as the photographer takes out a drone to assist in the photography. This guy takes photography to the next level. We leave at 9am (are we getting more organised or what? Wink, wink) and stop for lunch next to the road at 1pm. The planted lavender fields along the road are beautiful. In Silistra we stop at Lidl to spend our remaining Bulgarian Lev. At 3pm we cross the border from Bulgaria into Romania, then take the ferry crossing over the Danube River. Upon entering Romania we have to purchase an electronic Rovignieta (road tax) which allows us to travel on Romanian roads for the next month. To all the concerned folk, don’t worry, we intend to use it slightly less than a month. ;) We travel the 9km to Călăraşi where Oom Terence, Tannie Nelia, and their daughter Aimee live. They are the children and granddaughter of our church friends in Kleinmond and have been doing missionary work in Romania for 14 years. They treat us to pizza (two humongous ones) and cold drinks. Yum! After dinner they take us for a walk to the park, which is a different experience to us as EVERYONE is out to enjoy the evening. Around 10pm we are taken to a Canadian friend of theirs who is building a centre for abused/abandoned women and children, called ‘Gateway to Hope, Romania’. Oom Reinhard has a huge property and Merzy feels right at home. We are also welcome to use the bathrooms, kitchen and all facilities at the centre and WE feel right at home. Thank you Oom Reinhard!

Flip-flop.... underwater