Varna to Aheloy. 14 July.

We breakfasted in our room, having purchased muesli and milk yesterday. Though included in the room rate, hotel breakfasts of meat and cheese do not do the job of setting us up for a day of cycling.Less than a week to go; 5 cycling days and one more rest day. The end is in sight! It will be strange to get back into normal life again after weeks of being in our own community. We will miss some of the people whom we have come to know really well, spending all day every day for seven weeks together with them. Sun up as usual nice and early, light by 5am. Yet another sunny day with cloudless sky.

We left Varna at 7.45 in convoy. Over a large bridge then up a 12k hill for starters. Rejoined Highway 9 on which we then stayed all day. It was a lovely road surface to ride on. A hilly day, lunch was at 60ks and then a 26km climb! We climbed a total of 1400 metres today. Most of the day was through forest area. There was an accident between two cars before lunch which we came upon.We went into Nessebar which is an up and coming tourist area with huge numbers of new developments. It is also the site of a 5th century Roman and Greek port, but gelato stalls have taken over. However we had a lovely break sitting on a floating dock at a restaurant having a cold drink and sharing a pizza. We were with Manon and Graeme and Nicole all day.

The whole coastline is being developed with hundreds of apartment blocks as tourism increases to Bulgaria and the Black Sea. We then travelled on to our hotel about 11ks up the highway. We were very happy to find a pool at the hotel at which we could swim and relax. Then after dinner a musical entertainment began. So there was dancing and singing until late. The music was excellent and we had a great time, John and Jos even sang a number or two. All in all a great day. We travelled 111ks in 5hours 57 mins, averaging 18.8.

Varna. Rest day.

The hotel beds were comfy, but with only two sheets and no under blankets, any rolling over revealed the mattress below! Usual hotel breakfast, then went for a coffee and email check, and a wander through the shops. Bought a silver pendant, there are some lovely pieces around. We bought some fruit from the market for lunch, came back and had a rest for a couple of hours. Then went for an iced coffee and sent yesterday's blog. There was a clarinet player in the mall playing lovely relaxing music. An elderly chap with a repertoire of about six songs, he was there all afternoon yesterday also. We could also hear him from our hotel room. At 4pm we went to Alan's room to watch the Tour de France. Then Liz had a massage at five, after which we went for dinner at a little cafe nearby -one of many - with Jos and Alan. Following a short walk to the beach, it was time for bed. Yet another warm, sunny day! Apart from the thunderstorm shower we have not had any rain since leaving Germany. Certainly makes for a different lifestyle, with hundreds of people of all ages out promenading in the very pleasant evening air.

Shumen to Varna. 12 July.

We had the usual hotel breakfast, lots of cheese, cold meats, sausages and scrambled eggs, along with pastries. No muesli or cereal though. The hotel was clean, a bit tired, but had a lovely pair of circular staircases leading to the restaurant. We saw little of Shumen itself except on arrival and departure. Lots of grey concrete buildings, many apartment blocks. Left in convoy at 7.40am. We went to the Highway 2 and carried on from where we had turned off yesterday. It was a pleasant ride through fields on rolling hills. Mainly open countryside with endless sunflower and wheat fields. Road surfaces generally good, but some patches of rough with very big potholes.

Went through a few little villages, people out doing their chores. Some wheat harvesting being done by large harvesters with the donkey and cart going along nearby - one cart even had the genuine steel-belted wooden wheels. Just before lunch at 52ks we started our first real hill, with lunch stop being near the top. Lunch was shrimp with crab meat for on our usual dry white bread. The filling was tasty. After lunch we met a few real hills. One was 4 kilometers and quite a rough surface up and down. By then it was getting quite hot, but we had a sea breeze in our faces i.e. A headwind. We rode with Manon and Graeme. The road had a few large hills, one long steep one just approaching Varna. The last 20ks were hard work up hill in the heat and wind. Only glimpsed the Black Sea with 10ks to go, and that was downhill.

Arriving in Varna we travelled in to the Centrum along 4lane roads. Our hotel is right at the edge of the pedestrian shopping area, a 5 minute walk to the beach. We are in the 6th floor with views of sea and city. Friends are on the 13th floor with wonderful views of the sea. It was hot (36) by now so we unpacked and walked to the beach, which was crowded with all sorts of shapes and sizes lying in the sun. Then strolled along the streets to look at the shops. Had some food at a Happy Restaurant, where they also had wireless Internet. So caught up on emails there.

Varna is a resort on the Black Sea, it was used by the elite early in the last century. There are lots of shops for tourists, fake up-market goods and all. The water in the sea is warm, and clean once you get past the rubbish on the shore. Jos and I lay on the beach for a while and then had a dip.We went in a group for dinner, to a Bulgarian restaurant. Had a delicious meal, the waiter took control and brought us various dishes to share. Great company and great food! Travelled 102ks in 4.45 hours. Averaged 21.5kms.

Ruce to Shumen. 11 July.

Left our camp at 7.30am. Delightful ride for the first 60ks through sunflower and wheat fields. The views were really lovely, the roads reasonably good with patches of potholes, to which we have become accustomed! Reasonably easy gradient today, over undulating hills, we still climbed 1450metres. Found a coffee shop at 40ks, a cost of .60 cents NZ per cup!

Lunch at 60ks, then a long climb of about 4ks through beautiful countryside. It went up and up and up!It got hotter, until it reached around 34 degrees. We rode with Graeme and Manon. In the Bulgarian countryside agriculture is mechanized and so there are not the peasant farmers in the fields. It was a lovely view over large fields to the mountains in the distance. The people were all very friendly, waving and calling encouragement to us. There were still a number of farmers transporting hay by horse or donkey and cart. Bulgaria is tidier than Romania, though there is still a lot of rubbish on the sides of the road. Houses seem to have tidier yards. We passed through a number of small villages, there were not a lot of shops on the streets though. We arrived in Shumen at 4.30pm, and when we asked a taxi driver for directions to the hotel he said he would show us. He put on his hazard lights and led us through the streets. We gave him a donation for his services!

Showered for the first time in two days! Did our washing in the bath as usual and strung the line across the bedroom. Then we relaxed before dinner and watched the Tour de France. Dinner was at 7.30 in the car park. Relaxed in the hotel before heading to bed at 10pm. Distance today was 130ks, 6hours 43 mins. 19.3 average.

Bucharest to Ruce. 10 July.

Early start as breakfast was at 6.30. Then we assembled at 7.30 outside the front of the hotel. We left with the same police escort as we arrived. So the first ten ks were through the city with traffic being stopped to let us through. We were travelling at 14km per hour through areas of apartment blocks which slowly gave way to countryside. Once out of the city the pace improved. The road was narrow and bumpy for the first ten ks, then it turned into a lovely four-lane highway with a wide shoulder on which to ride. We rode along until lunch stop beside a field of sunflowers at 55ks, around 10.30 am. The route was through corn and wheat and sunflower fields. It was in the low 30s.After lunch it was 10ks to the border. We changed our remaining leis and passed through into Bulgaria. Leaving Romania we went into the Green Zone across the Danube on a very long high bridge. The Danube is the border between Romania and Bulgaria. So we had a customs stop - again EU passport holders are waved through while NZ passport holders have to be checked and stamped.

Took photos at the Welcome to Bulgaria sign, then rode into the country. The road was still rough for the first few ks, past the city of Ruce. The Bulgarian language is cryllic, so not very easy to follow the road signs. From the road, Ruce was a city of ugly apartment blocks. We rode up a newly constructed, not yet in use road and went on a bit too far so after crossing an almost completed bridge we had to to over to the existing road and go back to the turnoff. That achieved, we carried on to our destination. At a petrol station we used the replacement ATM card and got out cash - it was sent to Bucharest by Luus to replace the card Jos had stolen when he had his wallet pickpocketed in Vienna.

So we have some lev currency - 1 lev = NZ$1.10. We carried on to where we had been told our campsite was, only to find that it was changed due to there being truck drivers and construction workers staying there; the owner said it would be too rough tonight!! So we all waited for around an hour until we got word of a new campsite. We then had to cycle about 15ks to the site; it is beside a murky lake with a fresh spring water tap about 500m from the tent site. We were able to use the ice-cold water to clean ourselves in. There is one toilet - a disgusting squat one- and again the episode shows the lack of real planning by the tour company. We are told that this is an expedition, but there is a difference between having an adventure and having inadequate facilities for 45 people. There is, fortunately, a lovely restaurant nearby which serves food, coffee and ice cream. We went there after dinner for some desert. Dinner was meat, beans and cabbage.
Finished off the evening with the second talent show, starring Janice, John, Philip, Lady Al and Bill, Garis, Kurt and Stewart. Like the first show, it was a very enjoyable concert in a very pleasant evening. Bed at 10 to the sound of barking dogs and locals sitting in their cars near the lake listening to music. Thought we might have left the dogs behind in Romania, but they continued to bark near and far for most of the night. Today's distance was 104ks in 5 hours 11, ave. 20.1.

Bucharest. Rest day. 9 July.

We had a wonderful sleep, very quiet - no barking dogs or roaring lions or snoring humans or plumbing noises! Breakfasted and ready, assembled in the hotel with others to go to the Palace of the People, the Romanian Parliament building. It is the second largest building in the works, after the Pentagon. When we came out there was a thunderstorm happening, so had to stay undercover until the torrential rain stopped.

Afterwards, with Jos, caught a taxi to "Revolution Square". Finally, after being declined at many banks, we found one which would exchange our American Express traveller's cheques. It was a branch of the bank in Timisoara where we were also successful, the UniCredit Tiriac Bank. The young tellers in both branches spoke perfect English and were very friendly. Note if travelling through Europe that travellers cheques are not easiest to use!

Had a coffee at a cafe with free wifi, so caught up on emails, then dodged the rain in another thunderstorm to find somewhere for lunch. It was 3pm when we found a pizza restaurant, where we shared a large pizza. We went back to the hotel and watched the Tour de France. Jos, Carl and Rita, Janice and Allan joined us. Then we went for dinner at the hotel restaurant. Bucharest is a city undergoing change. There is a lot of EU money being poured onto Romania, for a wide variety of projects. There are a lot of buildings built during the time of Chachescue, when he had half the central city demolished to build his administration buildings.

There are also large numbers of apartment blocks. Lots of park areas and squares, grass is not well maintained though. Many water fountains in the central city. In another decade the whole of Romania will be much improved.

Dragodana to Bucharest. 8 July.

Slept in as we did not have to pack tents. We both slept well, especially considering our unusual bedroom. There were dogs barking during the night, and usual night time sounds from 20 people in one space. The couches we slept on were very comfortable. Breakfast was at 6.30 but there was no hurry to get on the road as we did not have far to go (70ks) before lunch. It was 17 degrees when we set out.

Rejoined Highway 7 by returning to Gaesti over the very rough road. Then it was all day on this relatively straight and very flat road. Once out of Gaesti the trucks disappeared, and the road was much quieter. It became a pleasure to ride again. Passed the usual Romanian sights; horses, cows, hens and ducks on the side if the road, horse-drawn carts in the road. People waved and called out to us. We stopped for a drink at a cafe-type place after 25ks. Then we continued on to Chitilla at 70ks where we had lunch and then all the group waited until noon to carry on a further 2ks to a tram stop where we waited for a policeman on a motorcycle to arrive a few minutes later.

It was now 36 degrees. It is Day 9 in Romania and we have reached the capital. We arrived in
style - an eight kilometre police-escorted ride to our hotel!! We were led in by the police motorcycle, and with our cyclist "outriders" to assist stopping traffic we rode slowly through the ventral city streets with people looking at us to try and see why we were so special. Anyway, it was a very easy trip through what is considered a crazy city.


We arrived at the Hotel Ibis by the Peoples Palace around 1.30pm. Usual showering and washing clothes routine, the caught a taxi to the centre of town to go to a bank and supermarket, and wander around. Came back to the hotel for a rest, then went with Jos, Carl and Rita, Maureen and Glen by taxi to a game restaurant. The menu was interesting - choices of hare, wild boar, venison and bear stew - there was even bear paw available. We stayed traditional with hare and beef stew, which were very tasty. Back to the hotel and bed.

Todays ride was 80kms in 3hours 38 averaging 22kph. We have also passed the 3000 kilometre mark!