Bulgaria

So I have been very busy these last few weeks and terrible about updating my blog! So sorry to everyone that follows it and has been looking for updates on my whereabouts. We are currently sailing back across the Atlantic Ocean on our way back to the United States. But before I talk about that, I want to go back and tell you about the last few ports I visited, starting with Bulgaria.

When I first found out we were going to Bulgaria, I wasn’t too excited. I knew nothing about it except that it was in Eastern Europe, and that honestly scared me a little bit. Nobody really knew what to do in Bulgaria, so we just decided to not make any plans and see what happened. When we arrived in Varna, I wasn’t too surprised to see that we were the only large ship in the port. Apparently Varna, Bulgaria is not a place of interest to most cruise liners (not the most desirable coastal city). But we all decided to just embrace where we were and make the best of it. Our ship was actually docked in a great location, and the beach was about a 5-minute walk from the gangway to our ship.

The first day, I spent my time laying on the beach and enjoying some free time to just relax. The beaches weren’t the best, but they were still very nice. (There were some beaches that we heard about a little further up the coast that were supposed to be amazing and have golden sand, but we never made it up there.) After relaxing on the beach all day, we headed back to the ship for dinner (we had been told to be careful eating the food in Bulgaria so we wouldn’t get sick). So after dinner, we ventured out to see what kind of nightlife Varna had. We first went to the beach where there were beach bars that lined the sand. After that, we headed down to an area that had a couple nightclubs. We went to a club called Extravaganza and I had a great time dancing! I stayed up until the sun rose the next morning and it was amazing! (Except I was completely exhausted the next day!) The great thing about this trip is being able to do things like that and not have to worry about anything else. I know I won’t ever be able to do things like stay up all night walking along the beaches on the Black Sea again, so I’m glad I embraced it while I had the chance.

The next day, I decided to go to the beach and then wander the city a little bit. We found a frozen yogurt place in the city center and I was so excited to have something that reminded me of home. That evening we went to the beach bars again and just hung out and sat on the beach with lots of other people socializing.

Our third day, we had a trip planned through Semester at Sea. We took a bus up to the city of Balchik, where we got a guided tour of the Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful and I got many amazing pictures that I will post as soon as I get the opportunity. After visiting Balchik, we went to a little town called Kaliakra, where we walked out on a peninsula and got some amazing pictures. After that, our whole group went to a traditional Bulgarian dinner and show. It was…interesting to say the least. The food was definitely different and nothing I was too fond of, but I’m glad I tried it. But the real highlight of the night was the show…it started with a more traditional dance show, but then things got strange when a giant slinky crept out onto the stage. Yes, really, a giant slinky, probably about 8 feet tall. The slinky proceeded to dance and change shapes for about 5 minutes. It was definitely like nothing I have seen before…not really sure if that is a normal thing in Bulgaria? Somehow I don’t think so! The show ended with a fire dance where a girl walked across burning coals and danced, which was pretty crazy to see!

The last day, we spent our time wandering around Varna. We saw the Cathedral, which was absolutely beautiful and then went to the Grand Mall to do some shopping. Overall, Bulgaria was a fun port, but not really somewhere I would care to return to. I am glad I went though, because it was just so different than everywhere else, and honestly, when would I ever get the chance to go somewhere like Bulgaria again?