The end of a most bizarre day......in life you don't often pay for 2 lots of accommodation for a night, but tonight we did........it also doesn't usually require travelling 450 km to get to a place that is just 322 km away but , again, we did and I can pretty much say that at no point were we lost.
So............ We are now lying on our bed at a 4* all inclusive Bulgarian Hotel...however......how things can but change, 2 hours ago we had paid a tenner and parked up in our first.....and only....but as it turns our.........not !...campsite
So the woman accepts our 26 Lev (10 quid) and we find a flattish spot....C and I check the beach out but the place is proper grim, the campsite is OK( ish) and all will be fine but it has only just opened for the season ( for tourists !!!!) and its resident campers are dominant in number and seem not to 'A' require any toilet facilities' and B ' ........mainline red wine on a 24/7 basis
The photo captures everything .......we have done our pre-reading and do know that Bulgarian camping is not up there as the 'thing they do'......the camp-site shop has not yet opened and the toilet ( singular) is utter filte
S is wavering and it is time to be with her............................
........................................We had spent 10 days in Romania and after a 4 hour ferry back up the Danube we were back in the van and on the road south to Mamaia
The ferry experience is not typical of the Dover-Calais, Malaig - Armadale, Newcastle- Amsterdam norm.....its 7 am and we install ourselves, in the outside bit........It is the 'fast' ferry but the river is so high and so chocker with debris that it crawls along weaving erratically and madly across the vast Danube avoiding massive tree trunks, protecting its 2 large engines .....all boats have also been slowed in pace as the wash at speed is really affecting the flooded houses which are on a knife edge to ruin.....
There is a group of some 10 Romanian blokes who are sat with us and from 7 am to 11 am they chain smoke and drink 'Bucegi' ( Romanian beer) from the 3 litre 'sconomy' bottle ..after bottle, after bottle... S and I are well tired so when one of the group takes ' on ' Charlie we are more than grateful....he feeds him crisps and plays 'peek-a-boo' for much longer than is necessary.
Mamaia - Romania - Black Sea resort......70 miles driven south and we camp at what is Romania's St. Tropez......the beach is pretty damn good but it is early in season; a few Porsche Cayenne, Audi A7, BMW 7 series are knocking about and a few party to the early hours..
next day.......Off to Bulgaria.and a 320 Km 6 hour drive.........we travel south and all comes to a halt at a massive bridge over the Romanian Constanta-Bucharest Canal.....it is shut and will be for 2 hours. chaos abounds around the approach road.......... No warnings, no signs, nothing to indicate what you should do.....there is a French geezer there in a camper van and he is resigned to wait.........I am not.
so we head off in land and with the petrol gauge well into the red we finally find a garage just 7 km from the border to Bulgaria......phew!
Romania to Bulgaria border post....another 20 minute wait.......the border post is a museum to what it once was, now hugely overgrown with vegeatatian , multi channels ( 6+) of entry have ( over time) been reduced to a single line of traffic and a few 'Officials' who still attempt to flex their muscle....this 'muscle' is directed not at UK travellers or at Bulgarians entering but to all others......a Polish Transit van gets the full works as does any Romanian.....what they are looking for and what they find it is hard to know but they do still command an edge as they barked at me for my 'vehicle registration document'.
First impressions.......Bulgaria is seems a bit more more scruffy than Romania - simple stuff .........less 'Scythers' by the road side, no white lines in the road, road sufaces pretty horrible...
After the 'bridge closure' diversion we still have 320 km to go in Bulgaria to get to our goal.......we 'Lidl' and partake of 'Go Grill' ....it is the 'Macky Dees' of BG !!!( pretty good too and not a chicken nugget in sight) ... and then drive like maniacs to get to out campsite.
so back to where I started this write up and back to the campsite....a real horror....S was not up for it and I was glad of it.
6 pm and we set off to look again.....the campsite woman is not up for a refund stating ' the boss has already taken the money' but we are past the stage of caring and leave anyway!
We try a route to an area that we could clearly see had campers on it ......the road had collapsed in many places and was shocking........after putting the van through roads and tracks it was not fit for we arrived at a massive, huge, Gypsy camp.......not not good...U turn needed and done
I asked at petrol stations and then finally we met 3 top young Bugarian blokes in a 'Landy;'...they were top sport, loved the van and we then followed them for 10 miles and they led us a campsite.........it was the very very very worst spot of our 2 weeks( worse than the one we had rejected an hour before) ......I got out of the van,.. shared ' Manchester United' stories and let them move on knowing that we would do so to....
10 hours on the road...campsites that were poor in comparison to what we had seen to date......orders of magnitude worse than what I can vaguely recall from the 1970's in the UK
HOTEL HOTEL HOTEL.....we 3 were are all calling for... however it is not quite over .....we take the 'Van' though more axle deep mud again and find ourselves out on a pot holed track and my god ....those fantastic hospitable Bulgarian lads in the Landrover have pulled over by a bar for a drink and they have just clocked our escape from the 'Campsite.......I just have to pull over and attempt to explain .........
I give him the 'no toilets' line ( which is more than true) and he is fantastic.......in his pigeon English.....he declares smiling ' Camping in Bulgaria is not so good, but lots of fun ' ....I jump out , shake his and his mates hands and give them some cash for a round of drinks.......they know the score and are grateful as they head into the bar.......
10 minutes down the road and we stop at a Hotel........S has negotiated a 4 * all inclusive deal at a hotel resort for £55 .......it is 8 pm, we are knackered, but what a result....
Top night with a Full Bulgarian wedding in full flow, then bed and then up ....beach, pool.....etc
we stay the night and go for another night ...pool, 3 meals a day plus all drinks, a perfect beach with beach bar AND they have also done our laundry..... .....top value, all inc....... .
It also has given us opportunity to get Visa's for Turkey.....we didn't know we needed them until we met 'Jay'( Biker) some 2 weeks ago in Slovakia.......so now we have paid our £20 each and have an E-visa and tomorrow will drive over to Turkey..... I have always always wanted to visit Gallipolli and the 1st world war areas and it is now in our sights.
Day 22 Sulina ( Ro) to Mamaia ( Ro) 113 km Total 3767 Km
Day 23 Mamaia ( Ro) to Arkutino, nr. Kiten ( BG) 444 Km Total 4211 Km
Day 24 Arkutino ( BG) 0 km Total 4211 km
The photo captures everything .......we have done our pre-reading and do know that Bulgarian camping is not up there as the 'thing they do'......the camp-site shop has not yet opened and the toilet ( singular) is utter filte
S is wavering and it is time to be with her............................
........................................We had spent 10 days in Romania and after a 4 hour ferry back up the Danube we were back in the van and on the road south to Mamaia
The ferry experience is not typical of the Dover-Calais, Malaig - Armadale, Newcastle- Amsterdam norm.....its 7 am and we install ourselves, in the outside bit........It is the 'fast' ferry but the river is so high and so chocker with debris that it crawls along weaving erratically and madly across the vast Danube avoiding massive tree trunks, protecting its 2 large engines .....all boats have also been slowed in pace as the wash at speed is really affecting the flooded houses which are on a knife edge to ruin.....
Mamaia - Romania - Black Sea resort......70 miles driven south and we camp at what is Romania's St. Tropez......the beach is pretty damn good but it is early in season; a few Porsche Cayenne, Audi A7, BMW 7 series are knocking about and a few party to the early hours..
next day.......Off to Bulgaria.and a 320 Km 6 hour drive.........we travel south and all comes to a halt at a massive bridge over the Romanian Constanta-Bucharest Canal.....it is shut and will be for 2 hours. chaos abounds around the approach road.......... No warnings, no signs, nothing to indicate what you should do.....there is a French geezer there in a camper van and he is resigned to wait.........I am not.
so we head off in land and with the petrol gauge well into the red we finally find a garage just 7 km from the border to Bulgaria......phew!
Romania to Bulgaria border post....another 20 minute wait.......the border post is a museum to what it once was, now hugely overgrown with vegeatatian , multi channels ( 6+) of entry have ( over time) been reduced to a single line of traffic and a few 'Officials' who still attempt to flex their muscle....this 'muscle' is directed not at UK travellers or at Bulgarians entering but to all others......a Polish Transit van gets the full works as does any Romanian.....what they are looking for and what they find it is hard to know but they do still command an edge as they barked at me for my 'vehicle registration document'.
First impressions.......Bulgaria is seems a bit more more scruffy than Romania - simple stuff .........less 'Scythers' by the road side, no white lines in the road, road sufaces pretty horrible...
After the 'bridge closure' diversion we still have 320 km to go in Bulgaria to get to our goal.......we 'Lidl' and partake of 'Go Grill' ....it is the 'Macky Dees' of BG !!!( pretty good too and not a chicken nugget in sight) ... and then drive like maniacs to get to out campsite.
so back to where I started this write up and back to the campsite....a real horror....S was not up for it and I was glad of it.
6 pm and we set off to look again.....the campsite woman is not up for a refund stating ' the boss has already taken the money' but we are past the stage of caring and leave anyway!
We try a route to an area that we could clearly see had campers on it ......the road had collapsed in many places and was shocking........after putting the van through roads and tracks it was not fit for we arrived at a massive, huge, Gypsy camp.......not not good...U turn needed and done
I asked at petrol stations and then finally we met 3 top young Bugarian blokes in a 'Landy;'...they were top sport, loved the van and we then followed them for 10 miles and they led us a campsite.........it was the very very very worst spot of our 2 weeks( worse than the one we had rejected an hour before) ......I got out of the van,.. shared ' Manchester United' stories and let them move on knowing that we would do so to....
10 hours on the road...campsites that were poor in comparison to what we had seen to date......orders of magnitude worse than what I can vaguely recall from the 1970's in the UK
HOTEL HOTEL HOTEL.....we 3 were are all calling for... however it is not quite over .....we take the 'Van' though more axle deep mud again and find ourselves out on a pot holed track and my god ....those fantastic hospitable Bulgarian lads in the Landrover have pulled over by a bar for a drink and they have just clocked our escape from the 'Campsite.......I just have to pull over and attempt to explain .........
I give him the 'no toilets' line ( which is more than true) and he is fantastic.......in his pigeon English.....he declares smiling ' Camping in Bulgaria is not so good, but lots of fun ' ....I jump out , shake his and his mates hands and give them some cash for a round of drinks.......they know the score and are grateful as they head into the bar.......
10 minutes down the road and we stop at a Hotel........S has negotiated a 4 * all inclusive deal at a hotel resort for £55 .......it is 8 pm, we are knackered, but what a result....
It also has given us opportunity to get Visa's for Turkey.....we didn't know we needed them until we met 'Jay'( Biker) some 2 weeks ago in Slovakia.......so now we have paid our £20 each and have an E-visa and tomorrow will drive over to Turkey..... I have always always wanted to visit Gallipolli and the 1st world war areas and it is now in our sights.
Day 22 Sulina ( Ro) to Mamaia ( Ro) 113 km Total 3767 Km
Day 23 Mamaia ( Ro) to Arkutino, nr. Kiten ( BG) 444 Km Total 4211 Km
Day 24 Arkutino ( BG) 0 km Total 4211 km
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