Back to the beach

Trip Start Apr 01, 2008
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Trip End Oct 05, 2008


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Flag of Bulgaria  , Varna,
Thursday, September 11, 2008

The train from Sofia to Varna took about eight hours. During the journey I asked if the lady next to me could watch my bag while I went to the bathroom. She shook her head sideways, which I interpreted as "No". I explained I would just be gone for a second and she shook her head again. Then the guy next to me explained that shaking the head sideways in Bulgaria actually means "yes" while an up-down nod means "no"--exactly the opposite of us; strange, but kind of fun. Except later this got confusing because some Bulgarians who have travelled or have lots of interaction with foreigners know that they do things differently, so they nod/shake their head the western way, so you can never be quite sure....
Upon arrival at the train station I was tired, hungry at it was late so I hopped in a cab to the hostel. The taxi driver turned on the meter but I instantly recognized the rate was much too high compared with an earlier ride in Sofia. I called him on it and he turned the meter off and agreed to a flat fee, though even this ended up being a bit too high I found out later bbq
bbq
 . Oh well.
Dropped my bags off at the hostel and caught a ride out to the "legendary" Varna bars on the boardwalk. Unfortunately I guess they were legendary the week before and now they were just empty. There were only a few people there and when I tried to talk to some local girls they just brushed me off. I guess they were sick of tourists.
The next day the weather was not very nice so I just relaxed around the hostel. Finally, mid-afternoon, the sun broke through the clouds and I headed down to golden sands beach. Golden sands is a strip of resorts, casinos, bars and other tourist traps but it is also one of the nicest strips of beach on the Black Sea coast. On my way back to the car I ran into Ben, Phoebe and Chloe who I had previously met in Istanbul. I invited them back to the hostel for a bbq we were having later that night.
The BBQ at the hostel was fantastic. They cooked mountains of food on mesquite coals. Every time a plate was finished, another was brought out; the food was so good I couldnt stop eating. Washed down all the great food with several pints of the local brew beer communista--a fitting name for a beer from a former soviet country.
After dinner the hostel owner, Daniel, mixed up a batch of his infamous "red stuff"--a concoction similar to sangria but stronger. The first batch was good, but unfortunately the second batch was accidentally mixed with salt instead of sugar which made it undrinkable. Nevertheless, the first batch was enough to get the entire hostel involved in a headstand competition which ended with more than a couple bruises and me breaking a toe.
I was supposed to leave the next day, but I was enjoying the beach and I didnt want to admit that summer was coming to an end. I figured that Varna would probably be my last beach stop of the trip and most likely my last beach days of the year. So I extended my stay for another two nights and went to the beach every day. One thing that was strange about the beaches was that they face the east, so the sun would always be behind in the afternoon; I am used to west coast beaches where the sun sets over the ocean in the afternoon/evening.
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