As any traveller knows,
Sometimes the way you wish it was
Just ain't the way it goes...
Negotin (Serbia) - Shumen (Bulgaria)
And so we made it to Bulgaria, another "hard" border-crossing, which we arrived at by 7am, and had to go looking for the border police as I don't think they expected anyone that early.
Things immediately felt more run-down; not a EuroVelo sign in sight, and all signposts were in Bulgarian with little or no translation of names, so it was a bit of a lottery to pick the right road. People were more than willing to point us in the right direction though, as if they didn't want us stopping in these depressing towns they lived in.
My first thought upon entering Bulgaria was, "how is this a country in the EU?" It seemed more 3rd world than some 3rd countries I've seen.
One image that has stayed with me is of a half finished, half falling down 3-storey brick building without windows or doors, and would-be balconies without railings, just straight drop offs.
Derelict, I thought, until a skinny dog came out and halfheartedly barked at us, and above, a level higher, through an opening appeared a very old, very bent, peasant woman. She hobbled to the edge of the balcony to see what the disturbance was.
(Obviously not much goes on here normally).
We raised our hands in greeting, unsure if she could even see properly, and hoping she knew where the edge of the balcony was. She raised her head, which was resting on her chest, to a jaunty angle, lifted a hand and gave us a toothless grin.
It was quite horrific to imagine her living there.
Nothing improved much over the next few days; the roads were bad, the towns continued to feel derelict and depressed, and the temperature was rising to a "red" weather warning. The hills didn't help matters either, but the traffic continued to amuse us...
We contemplated crossing the Danube to the Romanian side, where it was flatter, but there are very few places to cross, and the map showed there was even less infrastructure over there, making the chances of finding a room impossible. As we were finishing riding by about 10am, when temperatures were already reaching the high 30's, putting up the tent to shelter in was not an option for us.
Also, realising now we actually might make it to the Black Sea, it made more sense to head for Varna than Constanta because of the flight issues.
And so, we decided to head for Sofia, the capital, and fit in one more "Steve's City Bike Tours".
True to form, he got us around all the main sites; including the Alexander Nevsky cathedral and the beautifully decorated Russian church, all in very good time. Sofia is very small for a capital, and pleasantly calm and quiet.
And of course,there were lots more derelict buildings...
It was a great shame that during our stay it was like living in an oven. Most of the time was spent lying down, sweating, underneath the mini-fan we were forced to buy.
As it was impossible to do much we decided to hop on a train. This was no mean feat; a bone-shaking, hot and sticky ride with stern, grumpy conductors who told us where to put the bikes, then told us off later because we'd left them there. Luckily it was all in Bulgarian!
Steve was most impressed to learn from the driver that the engine, which is electric, was from 1972, and still going strong...
It was quite amazing we managed to get off at the right station, as there was no such thing as an announcement, and station names were often only in Bulgarian. Also we've noticed that the Bulgarians have the same habit as the Indians - they waggle their heads instead of nodding when they answer in the affirmative, making things a tad confusing...
We felt more exhausted than we had after any cycle day, and our headaches lasted well into the evening.
And so to the final stretch. We are the pioneering the "Stevie Velo 1" route, unchartered territory other than what we can decipher from the map.
At least the heatwave appears to be over...!
No comments:
Post a Comment