Today had an "end of term"feel as far as Gill and I were concerned. We just wanted to reach our tour destination without the inconvenience of turning our pedals thousands of times. Kirsty, on the other hand, was savouring her last touring day, singing as she cycled along. We made another early start setting off at 0540 to beat the sun. By 1030 we thought that it was uncomfortably hot. Long climbs followed by long descents made the going tougher. We couldn't find a place opern for breakfast until we had covered over 30 miles. As we eat our usual coffee, buns croissants and yoghurt, a Bulgarian man at the same table outside the shop tucked into his tomatoes, gherkins and tinned meat.
By the time we crawled into Dobric for lunch, each turn of the pedals seemed like a considerable effort. After a relaxing drink, a lovely meal and a sit in the shade to while away the heat of the day, we were sufficiently recovered to take on the last 30 miles. The last stretch of road was red on the map. We thought this may be OK on a Sunday afternoon but it was still a bit of a knuckle clenching experience. The final few kilometres were steeply downhill into Varna. I had to descend very gingerly as my rear brake cable had frayed and then snapped ealier in the day so I was relying on just one brake.
Varna looks like a lively, fun place for us to spend the day before we catch the night bus into Istanbul. Especially captivating are the uplit birds that circle constantly around the cathedral.
In the short time that we have spent in Bulgaria, the 3 meals 2 hotels and the people we have managed to communicate with have all been fantastic. The Bulgarians seem a bit more reserved than the Romanians but many of them still wave as we pass or hoot their horns as they pass us.
Barry
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