Bulgaria – 8 August 2008

Zdrasti to a country that very nearly wasn't to be! We arrived at the border just as the last glimmers of daylight disappeared, hoping to get a visa at the border as many other countries citizens do. This was to save the R2500 it costs each family of 4 for visas and to ‘test' the system. After an hour of a rather scary border official giving us the run around and threatening that we would have to drive the 125km return to Bucharest for a visa, he finally softened and allowed us 24 hours to transit the country. In the dark we continued from Ruse , bush camping somewhere near Razgrad off the main road. Dan opted to spend the night under the stars, pleased that he had caviar for the first time and anxious that he might be sharing his space with the many dogs wondering around. The next day, our only day in this beautiful country with so much potential was like a whirlwind – yet we felt as though we had quite a taste of the country, except fort the Bulgarian yogurt!

This country that uses the impossible Cyrillic alphabet is a mix of mainly Thracians and Slavs that migrated here in the 5 th century AD. The first Bulgarian was formed in 681 and the culture survived despite the Byzantines arrival in 1014 and the Ottoman Rule from 1396 for the next 500 years. Russia stepped in around 1878 and the country embraced communism after WW2 until 1989 when it first tasted democracy.

Driving south via Shumen , we just had to see the Black Sea and the town of Nesebar was our choice. Set on a small rocky isthmus and surrounded by beaches, Nesebar flaunts its centuries back to when Thracians settled here in 3000BC. It is packed with tourists and all kinds of shops with beautiful alleyways and views amidst Roman ruins and Byzantine inspired churches. Our 2 hours just wasn't enough! With the clock ticking we were off via Burgas and the scenic coastal route to Tsavero where we had a late lunch and our last view of the Black Sea . The kids had to wet their feet, but Dane and Troy ended up soaked to their necks! With under an hour to spare we arrived at the border at Derekoy, but not before more lush stunning mountain scenery and timeless villages. We had learnt another lesson on bureaucracy and were rather sad to have rushed this country, despite the savings on visa costs! Nearly 500km and the odd site was just too hectic – never again! Chao to Bulgaria !