Bulgaria from West to East ~ Chapter 2 : reaching the Black Sea

After this first solo part of my trip, I decide to meet up with my friend Ella on the Bulgarian coast, halfway between my location and hers in Romania. We meet up one evening at the foot of Varna’s station, its bright red colour highlighted by the setting sun. As soon as we arrive, we meet Denis ; he is cheerful, welcomes us, and recommends us a place to eat. After dining there, it is already dark and we look for a place to sleep.

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We wake up in Galata, under an arbour full of grapes that filter the scorching sun. The sea draws us in, and we set off in search of a passageway to climb down the cliffs. The beach is wild, and big trees provide shade on the white sand strewn with pretty shells. The water is crystal clear, and as we swim, we encounter a few jellyfish. We meet Valentino, with whom we are happy to chat in Spanish. As evening falls, we head to Varna. We stroll through the Sea Garden before finding some hot thermal baths nestled on the beach. We bathe there, sometimes in the hot sulphurous water, sometimes in the dark chilly sea. There, we meet Goudan, who is travelling around the world in a van. He offers us dinner and, as our last bus has already gone, he offers to take us home in his van.

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This morning, we pick grapes for Goudan and head to Varna. At the entrance to the Sea Garden, a man stands there every day blowing bubbles ; he makes the place enchanting and amuses the children. A group of people gather around him and start dancing lively traditional dances. Today, the centre is bustling because it is Independence Day ; we get on a cinema-bus showing a documentary, and once again bump into Denis by chance. On the way out, we meet a mysterious guy who loves exploring cities and making maps ; he talks to us passionately about Sofia and convinces us to go back there. Next to us is a table where we can taste homemade jams and lyutenitsa ; we try them and meet Tatyana, who speaks to us in perfect French. She is a film director and is in Varna for a film festival. The closing ceremony will take place the next day, so we will go to see it and support her.

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The journey gives us no respite, and that night we fall sick ; but we laugh it off and spend the day quietly. We drink tea on the promenade, where we bump into a friend I met in Rila and her family, with whom we spend some time. In the evening, we go to the film festival, where we attend the ceremony and then watch two absolutely beautiful and moving Bulgarian films. When night falls, the train takes us away from the coast, the smell of salt and the sound of the waves.

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We wake up in Sofia, where we spend time at the university and in libraries, where we enjoy looking at books, archives and exhibitions. At the national library, a woman even gives us a tour of the place and talks to us passionately about Bulgarian culture. Thanks to her, we attend a literature night in the evening, where performers read European books translated into Bulgarian at several venues across the city. We play a game to see how many words we can recognise, and we have a magical time even though we don’t understand everything, as the performances are very successful.

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Our journey ends amid the smells of the market and the sounds of the city ; I return to Vegetarium with my head full of memories and a desire to discover even more about Bulgaria, which has welcomed me with kindness and hospitality.

Maya