I feel refreshed

Before Bulgaria I was beginning to feel a bit exhausted from everything.  I was beginning to feel like I could never walk into another museum again.  However, since Bulgaria doesn’t have any museums that I really needed to go to, I used this time to relax a bit and recharge.  Now I am ready for Egypt!

 

Bulgaria is beautiful.  It reminded me a lot of home.  The area is green and mountainous and the people are very helpful and kind.  The first day Maria and I decided to go explore the city for a few hours before I had to go on a trip in the afternoon.  At one point we pulled out a map to find where we were and immediately a man comes up to us and starts speaking very quickly in a language we did not understand (later on we found out that he thought we were Russian).  After making very confused faces at him we said English and he adjusts his language and asks if we need any help.  He gives us directions and then stands and talks to us for a few minutes.  He asks us about our ship and the crew which we have grown quite used to, then he goes on his way.  We continue our walk and we had not walked very far before he comes walking up to us again.  He explains that last year he graduated from maritime school recently and that he was looking for a job.  He had been on his way to hand in some paperwork to some office, but they were closed.  He was very interested in working on our ship, so we gave him the only information we could on the ship and the company and to prove he was who he said he was, he showed us his passport which says he works on ships.  He then asked if he could walk with us a bit and we agreed.  He took us to an amazing pizza place.  They gave you a huge piece of pizza for only 1.5 Lev.  You had to put the spices on it to get the full experience, though.  When we were done he took us to the shopping areas and explained to us where to go and not go to shop.  When we got to a phone store he had to go into we said goodbye because it was time to head back to the ship.  We instructed him to get facebook and add us as friends and he instructed us to get Skype and add him.  Then we headed on our way, getting only a little turned around.

 

In the afternoon a large group of us piled onto a few buses and went to a public building of some sort.  When there the Mayor, Depute Mayor and a few people from an organization to prevent human trafficking talked to us.  The explained what they were doing in Bulgaria to prevent this from happening to the young women and although it got a bit dry at times, it was really interesting.  There were students there who answered some of our questions about what they do and how they help in this cause.  After we took the bus back to the ship and Courtney and I went out to dinner in town.  We returned to the ship so she could get on a trip and I went to shower and get dressed to go back out that night.  Alex, Emily and I went out later that night to a bar on the beach and they drank while I buried both mine and Emily’s feet in the sand under a big pile of sand.  After destroying the pile I made, we walked along the ocean before going back to the ship and going to bed.

 

The next day Alex, Emily and I went to the beach to spend the day.  We rented an umbrella and went swimming and relaxed.  I also went parasailing!  I had been wanting to for so long and since the price was so reasonable I decided I needed to do it.  Emily and Alex wouldn’t do it with me, though so I went alone.  Two other SASers were also on the same boat as me, but I had never met either of them before.  It was so beautiful and I hated to come back down.  The decent was the most worrisome part because we had to land on the back of the moving boat.  I was able to land on my feet, though and all was well.  Shortly after I got back to our umbrella it was time for us to head back to the ship.  It was Kaitlyn’s birthday so we had a nice birthday dinner and cake and were going to go out that night.  Between things, I did have time to call Nano and wish him a happy birthday.  That night a group of us went out to a bar to celebrate Kaitlyn’s birthday.  It was a lot of fun and I had a delicious caramel milk shake that was unlike any shake I’ve ever had.  I started to feel a bit dizzy while I was sitting there though, so they walked me back to the ship early and I proceeded to pass out on my bed immediately after hitting it and woke up a few hours later realizing I was still in a dress.  I’m pretty sure that this was just a mix of lack of sleep, dehydration and too much sun since I felt fine the next morning.

 

The third day I went on my trip with SAS to look at Bulgaria’s ancient roots.  Our first stop on this journey was in Madara to see some caves and a really cool and huge carving on the side of a cliff of a man on a horse with a dog and a lion with him.  It was really neat to see.  Our next stop was at a stud horse farm.  First thing we did was get off the bus and get on a few horse-drawn carts and they brought us to a riding arena.  At the arena we had the chance to ride a horse (it was sort of like a pony ride).  Luckily when I got on the horse they realized I could ride and handed me the reins and let me steer myself around the ring.  I’m jealous of Katie though…she convinced them to let her take the horse for a trot around the ring.  They fed us some weird cheese that no one liked except me and then we got back on the bus to drive about 2 minutes to the barn.  While we were here they gave a “horse demonstration”.  Possibly the lamest horse demonstration I’ve ever seen, but they were nice looking horses for Arabians (which are a big deal in Bulgaria, apparently).  When we left here we went to a small museum to see a treasury and spent approximately 20 minutes there and then left for lunch.

 

Lunch may have been the highlight of the entire trip.  We ate at and ethnological museum which was more of a living museum than anything else.  We walked through these big wooden doors on this tiny street and it opened into a beautiful garden with a stone pathway to a wooden house.  As soon as we opened the door a bagpipe started playing and these old women were standing down the path smiling at us.  One of the women handed us some herb (I can’t remember what it was) for luck and gave us these tiny bottles of gin tied to a string to go around our necks.  Then they led us to a few tables with a roof overhead to sit and look out at the garden.  As we were eating the women danced for us and put on a skit which none of us understood entirely, but it was very cute anyways.  They also sat there and knit, crocheted and spun yarn while we ate.  The food was delicious.  First course was salad with some really good cheese and fresh tomatoes and cucumber, yogurt, garlic and dill soup (I wasn’t crazy about this).  Second course was chicken kabob striped from the stick with some tasty potatoes.  Then before desert they taught us how to make the desert and gave us the recipe.  Also, they took two people from our group to dress up and act out a traditional wedding.  We danced with the women and celebrated.  It was a lot of fun.  Then desert was some filo dough with I can’t remember what all else, but it was so tasty.  After dinner we walked around in the house and saw what each room would have looked like and we looked at what they had made.  It was a great experience.  As we were leaving they all sang for us again and said goodbye.  We got back on the bus and headed back to the ship.  That night we just watched a movie and hung out.

 

The last day Emily and I went exploring around the beach over at Golden Sands, but didn’t find anything to do, so took a taxi back to Varna to do a little shopping since she had worn a hole through her shoes and I still had a little Lev left (Bulgarian currency).  I ended up getting some really awesomely comfortable pants and she got some pretty fantastic gladiator shoes.  We eventually took a leisurely walk back to the ship so we had plenty of time before we had to be there, took a shower and hung out for a bit before dinner.  After I finished my paper last night we did have time for some Firefly before sleep!

 

Today I had classes as usual for at sea days and we watched as we went through the Bosporus and passed Istanbul which so many of us miss so much.  Today I found out that my Faith and Doubt professor may be leaving the voyage when we get to Egypt because of a death in the family.  She is such an incredible teacher, it would be so sad to see her go.  She said she was still deciding, but Dean Mike told her other class she was definitely leaving, so I’m not sure what’s going to happen.  I’m happy her husband is here with her.  Tomorrow we have classes again and then we’re in Egypt.  I should go now and get some reading done and maybe write another paper before my hot chocolate date with Katie.  Pictures are soon to come.  I will probably use it to procrastinate a bit.  I still have plenty of time though, so don’t worry.  Enjoy your night