Ride south to Bulgaria

Today we move from Romania’s Black Sea Riviera down to Bulgaria’s.  Specifically, Varna.  I had prebooked Mercado Sud’s service online for their only service today at 1000.

I ordered a cheap ride on Bolt rideshare around 0900 and got to the bus station where we had a short wait before boarding the van around 0930.  It was stifling inside waiting for some stragglers but it cooled down when the aircon was turned on for the trip.

Departing about 10 mins late half-full, we took the coastal route south and got to the border at 1125.  Passports of non-locals were taken by an officer whereas locals could cross with just their identity cards.  The driver collected and returned our passports about 10 mins later and I was surprised that we had also been stamped into Bulgaria!  That’s one of the easiest land crossings I’ve ever done and we didn’t even have to leave our seats!

On both sides of the border, there were many sunflower plantations on the right- hand side of the vehicle but hardly any on the left.   It started getting more mountainous.

From Balchik onwards, it started getting more and more touristy.  When we got to Golden Sands, the place was full of high-rise resorts.  Unfortunately, narrow roads and passenger drop-offs in the area slowed us down.

We got dropped off in front of Varna’s cathedral at 1350.  While the ticket had indicated an arrival of 1230, I knew it wasn’t possible as that would only reflect non-stop driving time.

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Walking time to the hotel was about 11 mins and taxi time was similar.  We decided to do the downhill walk and search for an ATM and a light lunch along the way.

Fortunately, we found both and made it to the Citadel Guesthouse through plenty of roadworks through which I had to carry my bag.  It was made worse as we had bought milk and water along the way.  The cherry-on-top was the three-storeys staircase to get to our home for three nights.

We rested till around 1600 before exploring our area.  We’re next to Varna’s huge Sea Garden or Primorski Park which led downhill to the beaches.  Beach clubs and restaurants lined the entire length, as did beach umbrellas and cabanas. All these make Varna a very pleasant city for having some easy days.

We chose a spot at random and sat down for a beer before heading inland to the pedestrian mall for dinner.