A Change of Plan

August 23, 2009

We decided to give Constanta a miss, after all we found ourselves way ahead of schedule and figured we should try and make Istanbul our final destination. So instead of heading north we said goodbye to the Danube , our companion of 1000 plus miles, and headed for the Bulgarian coast at Varna. It was a bit unerving leaving the Danube as I realised my navigational skills would be tested somewhat more than that of having to follow a river. There was also the small problem of not having any roadmaps for a journey accross Bulgaria and into Turkey. Remarkably fate played its hand as we bumped into a Swiss guy cycling the other way, the first cyclist we had seen for days and we were able to swap maps and gleen some advice from him for the journey ahead.

We finally saw the sea again after a hairy descent from the hills around Varna. we were dying to have a dip, so booked into a cheap hotel and headed for the beach. We soon realised the swim would have to wait after seeing the packed beach, without an inch of spare space to sit. Being from Jersey and used to sharing the beach with at most a couple of people walking their dogs, we found the whole situation unacceptable and headed for the neerest bar, the swim would have to wait for another day. Next day we found a lovely resort about 40 miles down the coast, still pretty unspoilt and not too commercialised where we spent a lazy half day swimming and relaxing.

The next 3 days were spent goinng up and over the mountains that act as a natural border between Bulgaria and Turkey. the scenery was really stunning though some of the hills were exhausting not least because of the really hot weather which seems to have been following us around the continent. We had been taking extra bottles of water with us strapped to the back of my bike, only to find that on one occaission the sunlight had refracted through the bottle and like a magnifying glass it had burnt a hole through my back saddle bag and into my tent. So that practice has had to stop, We tend to get enough water now by stopping often to buy melons from the locals, which we devour along the way. We finally crossed the border into Turkey on the 21st of August , the day before Ramadan starts, I am hoping theyre not too strict on the fasting bit as the hills in Turkey require the burning of few calories and anyone who knows me will know that being skinny has never suited me. We really enjoyed cycling through Bulgaria and loved the place the people and the food (Shopska salad mmm!) but we are really looking forward to Turkey. We have decided to head down to the Gallipoli Penninsula for a few days to look around that historic part of the world before catching the ferry to Istanbul, partly because We have been warned by many sources to not even attempt to enter Istanbul by bicycle.