Getting to Varna

Selling her wares has been for a few years by the look

A church at Last outside hotel room window

Main street Varna

Leaving Istanbul for some where unknown  lost Bus ticket so that was a great start ripped by Taxi Driver same all over the World parasites of the tourist as he knows where u are u dont

Any how was stilled chilled and eventualy got on Bus and headed off on the milk run to Varna in Bulgaria .Not one english speaker on the bus so sign language and limited arabic and my one Russian word Niet and off we went.

Raining all the way  as we climbed into the mountains eveloped in heavy fog dont know how the bus driver culd see i could not .Quiet a different feeling listening to Slims lights on the hill through the Ipod going over a turkish mountain pass into Bulgaria.

The border was a slow and tedius affair taking nearly 2 hrs to get through with f3 stiops 2 passport looks sniffer dogs and a stamp on the page and I was in contentinetal Europe??

As we decended into the Bulgarian Country side through the fog and mist with odd delapitdated house and pot holes to be proud of in the road .The stark yet beautiful landscape of forest and the odd cleared area finaly broke out into our first real village of broken rooves washing hanging in the fog on make shift lines amongst the trees in the house yard ,walls broken and covered with plastic sheet, windows boarded up moss and lichen growing on the walls that stood ,gutters broken and then the odd new tin roof ,smoke slowly rising held to a meander due to the mist from the chimneys ,The clasic soviet square cement apartments you see in the old cold war spy films an odd satilite dish hanging from the balconies and the glow of a naked light bulb in a kitchen window.People pushing carts of ??? along the road and then a flower vedor providing the only colour and hope that was obvious.

The bus continued on its way through the country side and as we got further in the towns slowly had more areas of hope.

You wonder why Europe does not get its own house in order before worrying about every one elses when it has its own ridiculously poor. But like every where i have been where people are poor they are to a degree happy and above all friendly. Expecting so little from life just to be alive to them is a blessing and the odd hot meal a real treat. They have no expectation of material wealth or the problems aassociated with keeping it .Life is just so simple stay warm find some food .

Varna is on the Black Sea and a modern town that has beneifited from the tourist trade with a lot of Europeans visiting in summer for the beaches ,casinos,girls and cheap shopping.

As we drove up the coast the amount of unfinished appartment blocks and villas was incredible .Just stopped due to no money after the GBC .

Fresh produce was every where on the foot paths mostly grown in Hot houses, fodd was really good and cheap and of wonderful tastes and smells.

Be aware when travelling here though to get to another country is quite hard and needs some patience particularly if you need to be some where by a date .Dont expecy it to happen with a bus  or train that seem to run when they feel like it not for those who want to use it but hey the locals know all this .All are very helpful but lack the full explanation you have to work that out yourself.