Day 183 – 30. October 2013

After a good night in the tent we slowly got up and ready to cross the border to Turkey.

After about 50 km I reached the border. I meet with Marcin and together we passed the Bulgarian side without any delay.

At  the Turkish side you have to pass three points. First they check your passport then you need to show your car insurance and last is the customs.

I was through in only 5 minutes. I got a stamp in my passport and the customs were not interested in my stuff.

Marchin was right behind me and was almost as fast. But he had to purchase a visa, so we went to another building to buy one for 15€. I asked if I also needed a visa, but as a German citizen you need none.

Border-crossing this time was fast and easy.

So I am in Turkey now. Probably for a long time, because it is a big country.

While I was cycling, a police car passed by and over their speakers the said: “Hello, my friend”. So I hope I will meet many friendly people and also some exotic animals.

After the border I had to go 40km to the town of Edrine, where we had our hotel.

The hotel was in the middle of the town which, unlike Golden Sands or Sunny Beach, was very busy.

Day 183: 95,93 km  all: 6350 km

Day 182 – 29. October 2013

I think the summer is back! Again excellent weather with up to  25°C.

I left Sunny Beach to go through Burgas and then further to the south-west.

A few km behind Burgas I met two very nice cyclists from Ukraine. They were from Odessa and on the way around the Black Sea.

We talked for a while and if I ever go to Odessa again I have a place to stay.

Because of the good weather Marcin and I decided to sleep in the tent. After more than 100 km cycling we found a very nice place not far from the road at a little creek.

 

First I took a warm shower. Before we met, Marcin was at a gas station and filled up my 10l water-bag with hot water.  I attached it to a tree and had a perfect shower. What a support!

After we put the tent up and cooked some food, we collected firewood and started a fire.

We had some small drops of vodka and finally went to bed in the tent. The temperature inside the tent was about 10°C, so no problem for our sleeping bags.

Day 182: 106,67 km  all: 6254 km

Day 180-181 – 27.-28. October 2013

Today I started at 8 am. Due to the change from summer to winter time, it was basically the same starting time as always.

It was already 17°C. When I descended to Varna the thick fog was very cold. About 7°C.

After I climbed out of the valley the weather was excellent for the rest of the day.

Somewhere along the road I saw this sign:

Road-sign in German in the middle of Bulgaria !!

At the end of the day I reached Sunny Beach. There are almost  800 hotels in different qualities and sizes. It is funny but it was hard to find any accommodation. Almost every hotel is closed after the season and it is a big, deserted place.

We found an apartment hotel and got a discount price for two nights.

The second day we walked around on the beach and in the ghost town.

Day 180: 112,32 km  all: 6148 km

Day 178-179 – 25.-26 October 2013

Today was a very short cycling day. I went only 40 km to Golden Sands.

Shortly after the start at 11 am reached my 6000km point. Marcin and I made a nice number out of old irigation pipes and had fun taking some pictures.

Cycling always close to the coastline I reached Blachik. I went to the harbor but only one sailboat was ready to set sail.

After Blachik I had to climb ups hill and followed the road to Golden Sands. There are manny hotels in this area, but almost all are closed for the winter. Marcin managed to find a nice room with a view to the sea.

Because the room was fine and the weather great, we decided to stay two nights here.

The next day we walked along the beach for hours and marcin even went swimming.

Day 178: 41,68 km  all: 6035 km

Day 177 – 24. October 2013

I left Constanta in the morning and was heading to the border of Bulgaria. It was 60 km away and I cycled in perfect weather.

They have some funny names for their towns here:

In the afternoon at about 3 pm, we crossed the border with no delay or problems. The border officers were even curious about my trip.

Bulgaria was not very different from Romania. The same houses, people look the same for me and some of them also use horses for pulling the wagons.

The only big difference I noticed right away was the missing of dogs. The last wild dogs we saw at the border and after that not a one for the next 40 km.

In Romania dogs are everywhere. In the cities, villages and also in the countryside far away from any settlement.

In Bulagria I only saw them in cites and bigger villages. But only very few and most of them have a registration mark in the ear.

40 km past the border in the town Kavarna we stayed in a nice little hotel. As usual we were the only customers.

Day 177: 109,10 km  all: 5994 km