2022 World Tour – Burgas, Bulgaria
Hello from Burgas, my 49th stop on the trip. The next few stops are all within Bulgaria so I’ll abbreviate the story to just the highlights of the city.
About 100km south of Varna is another Black Sea city called Burgas. It seems natural to head down there before going west across Bulgaria to the capital Sofia.
I arrived at the bus station next to the Google shopping mall, and of course I’m more than an hour early. There are cats everywhere, not just here but street cats everywhere in Bulgaria. There are lots of signs all over town for buses to Istanbul which is a 9 hour ride! Travel between Turkey and Bulgaria must be very popular, maybe for people looking for work. I spotted the Noon bus to Burgas by the same company and asked if I could get on with my 1pm ticket if there is room. The driver pointed to a bench and drove away. Sweet. So into the mall I rolled and had a Subway to soothe my feelings of rejection. Back to the bus station I see a small unmarked shuttle bus at the next stop over from where the Noon bus was, and with the help of a nice English-speaking girl it turns out this is indeed my bus. I sat in the jump seat next to the front door as it looked a little crowded further down and settle in for the short ride. After we pull out a guy from the next row behind insists I switch seats with him so he can take pictures during the ride, sure dude. This guy actually made the driver stop and open the door so he could get some pictures of Sunny Beach from the overlooking road. Yes, there’s a town literally called Sunny Beach along the way. Everything along this coast is set up for summer tourists with big hotels, water parks, shopping malls and sunbed-covered beaches.
As we approached the bus station I saw my hotel go by and it was a short 3 block roll to get back there. A slight panic as the front desk girl can’t find my booking but then she found it. The room is great, it overlooks the street with a big glass door and balcony, good bathroom, big comfy bed.
I walked north along the shoreline to the Sea Gardens, then to a grocery store to stock up. The checkout lady was wearing a shirt that said “I’m just a ray of fucking sunshine.” I pointed to it and gave her a thumbs-up and she laughed.
The next morning I put on my bathers and sand shoes and walked to the beach. It’s definitely post-high season with only a few people on the whole beach. Most everything is closed but I found one place with a bar and chairs on the sand where I had a beer and listened to podcasts. Rain started drop by drop and I moved inside when it got heavy – I waited about 15 minutes and then it was finished. The weather app says no rain until 7pm – never trust the weather apps!
I walked through town to the fanciest hotel called Hotel Bulgaria and booked a massage in their spa for tomorrow. I then walked back through town to the pier and had dinner at another Happy restaurant.
The next day I spent the morning editing the next train line drone video, then walked over for my massage. The Russian woman had a very different technique where she would rub back and forth really hard and create heat from the friction.
I needed to get walking so I decided to go to Lake Burgas, the biggest lake in the country, which is just to the west of the city past the docks. I walked for about an hour and came close to the shoreline but it was blocked by a busy 4 lane divided highway, with no breaks in the guardrail to get across. I did manage to get a picture of water through a break in the trees – yay for all of that effort. I decided to get a city bus back, but Google Maps doesn’t have routes for the city and I haven’t passed a bus stop on this long, long stretch of road. I had to walk for another 3km, then cut through to a secondary road that a bus map I found online said should have service. I took the bus back to town, got off and walked to another station to transfer to the town’s big shopping mall. Buses here seem to be pay-for-each-time-you-get-on, even if you’re transferring so a trip across town can really add up. I got “talking” with a chatty old man at the bus stop, with no common language. We worked out Canada, beer, and his brother lives in London. At the mall I had roasted eggplant and salmon risotto at a sit-down restaurant in the food court, then I went to the cinema and watched Jaws. A bit of cringy dialog at the start but the action is still great and Robert Shaw’s acting is magnificent.
Is it worth a visit? Being a Black Sea coastal town, it’s a good summer holiday location. There aren’t that many other interesting things to do or see in the town so be sure to time your trip accordingly.
Next Stop: Plovdiv, Bulgaria
