Bulgaria - Fellow travellers Jason & Julie

J & J at CVT? Julie & Jason at Camping Veliko Tarnovo

Julie & Jason and pooch Charlie

One of the joys of motorhoming is that you every now and then come across people with whom you click. There's no recipe or textbook that says how, you just know after a while that here is someone you can sit down with and have a chat over a drink or two. You swap stories, you exchange information and sometimes you just sit and chill and the conversation flows freely.
They stayed for two nights at Camping VT and on the first evening it just so happened that we sat down at the same table for drinks and eats which lasted until 22:30, shortly before closing time.
On the second evening Joan and I thought to ask them over to our pitch for sundowners and snacks. The Weber bbq was duly lit and on went chicken wings regularly basted with olive oil to brown it. Julie brought over a mature Camembert which was warmed on the fire until soft and melted for Balkan style bread to be dipped into. Local beer and wine miraculously made an appearance and before you knew it we could even have made Keith Floyd (English Chef) envious.

Jason and Julie are well travelled and seasoned motorhomers who have published a paperback on their travels in Morocco. Click the link below:-

A Monkey Ate My Breakfast

The Hymer motorhome they use is known as Dave and their dog, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, is known as Charlie. They keep a very up to date Blog on their travels, which can be seen here:-

Our Tour

Below a final wave from Julie as Jason steers Dave towards the exit gates of Camping VT in Bulgaria.

Cheers guys!

Bulgaria - Camping VT (4)

We had the good fortune of being invited to see the Sound and Light show pertaining to the Tsarevets. This is a medieval stronghold on the outskirts of Veliko Tarnovo, the former capital of Bulgaria.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsarevets

The music is timed to a kaleidoscope of lasers, lights and bells that is played out on houses, trees and the imposing old fortress and is watched from a terrace in the city. In a straight line I would guess the distance to be about 1200m to the building gracing the top of the Tsarevets hill.

The pictures were all taken 'hand held' without the use of my tripod - an accessory which was sorely missed. This will explain the 'shaky' look of the pictures.

During the visit of a tour group there was also the opportunity to go for a walk around the local village Dragishevo, which is 1km from our campsite. It is typical of a backwater village in rural Bulgaria, with a police station, two bars, a small hardware store and a town hall.
The town hall to me, was the find of the day. It can seat probably 300 people if extra chairs are brought in, but the feature which had us all talking was the heating system. Very simple and probably effective, but also capable of setting the whole place on fire. Certainly not something I've seen before in a town hall. Then again I've not travelled much in the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe.

Town Hall dated 1894

Heating system next to the stage

Same heating system at the back of the hall

On a cold winter's night it must have made for a cosy fire side chat with whomever sat nearest the wood burning stoves. The sound system operator probably attends events in summer clothes, with those furthest away in coats. All very interesting.
We also came across this scene, depicted on the picture below, showing the changing Bulgaria, from old style values to the consumer orientated lifestyle of modern society. Whether 'modern' is necessarily good is open to debate of course. It shows a middle aged man doing hard manual work in laying a new pavement whilst in the background a young lad has just got out of a car making his way to the terraced cafe. Also in the picture is a passing group of tourists taking in the scene as nonchalantly as possible, however the contrast has not gone unnoticed. Then there is the yellow reflective jacket draped over the paving stones to act as warning for the pavement works ....

Pavement works

A few more pictures taken in the village ....

Gazebo with national flag and grape pergola

Charabanc of sorts parked up on the roadside

Black ribbon for a deceased member of the community

The somewhat neglected square opposite the town hall

BMW's at the cafe and a farmer on his tractor

A colourful entrance to a private home

After the village walk, back at the ranch:-
Twice weekly there are organised pool exercises at Camping Veliko Tarnovo which is well attended by the British expat community. A sparkling pool in beautiful countryside!

Water aerobics at Camping Veliko Tarnovo

Bulgaria - Camping VT (3)

Yesteryear looking at the future through the eyes of today 

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."

And he said: 

Your children are not your children. 
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. 

They come through you but not from you, 
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts. 
For they have their own thoughts. 

You may house their bodies but not their souls, 
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. 

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. 
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. 

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. 
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. 

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; 
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

"The Prophet" - Kahlil Gibran.

Bulgaria - Camping VT (2)

And then the rain came ....

It may be a country where day time temps reaches 40C on a good day, but thus far we have had more rain than shine in June, which has not helped me in getting rid of my T-shirt tan. Most evenings at 7pm the thunderclouds build up in the east, then the wind picks up and minutes later it buckets down. On many an afternoon we have joked how nice it is to be reminded of British weather.

Several tour groups have come and gone during our first few weeks, Dutch, German and currently British. They comprise anything between 10 and 20+ caravans and motorhomes and it all quickly lends a festive atmosphere to the campsite. Being tour groups they will take up an area and stay together, in so doing creating a mini village of campers.

And then the rain came ....

One of the highlights of the recent past was the music and song provided by the local village songsters. The all female song group was from Dragishevo, the village just up the road from Camping VT (Veliko Tarnovo). Dressed in traditional costume, the music and song gave the performance a very local cultural feel. The harmonising, very ably assisted by the accordion player, was most enjoyable with the Bulgarian landscape giving it a feel of real authenticity.

A visiting tour group listening to music and song

Traditional Bulgarian dress

Deserving of a medal was this lady!

Dutch TV crew recording for Kanaal 1

And then the rain came ....

A unique visit in some ways to Camping VT, was that of Paul and Kathleen from Antwerpen (Antwerp) in Belgium. They are cycling from Belgium to Singapore - yes you read that correctly. The distance approximates about 10,000+ km in a straight line, by bicycle it could be much further. However, it's not the distance, but the discipline the mind needs, to undertake this journey. The pair has put aside 12 months to complete the journey and then plan to travel back to Belgium by ship. Quite mind boggling and not for the unadventurous and squeamish.

Paul and Kathleen leaving Camping VT

A final wave

We had wonderful conversations between the four of us during their stay at Camping VT and we wish them the very best of good fortune on their journey to Singapore!

And then the rain came ....

The pool, house and cafe at Camping VT - and the dark menacing sky about to open up.

Bulgaria - Camping VT (Veliko Tarnovo) (1)

We have well and truly settled into our new surroundings as seasonal Camp Wardens at Camping Veliko Tarnovo and have tackled what needs doing by the proverbial 'scruff of the neck'. Judging by the photo below it was arduous work (the real work that is) which needed the requisite periods of rest and relaxation - well you know what I mean .... ?! 

The pool needed its annual fill after standing empty over the winter, which means chlorinating and 'vacuuming' the bottom, then the acquisition of the certificate stipulating that the water conforms to health standards.

Testing testing .... and the farmer's tan

Part of our activities (Marius) is lawn mowing on the sit-on mower. At a good pace and starting early enough it can be done in a day, the thing to watch is the sun over the midday hours. Like sun anywhere, you will abuse it at your peril and pay the price, hence a preference to avoid it from noon to about 3pm.

Joan looking at Marius' new toy 

Machine, with the job completed.

All of the past week there has been activity on the farming fields around the campsite. Tractors have been ploughing up the fields in preparation for what I assume to be planting of some crops. This brought out a resident White Stork (Ciconia ciconia), which we think nests somewhere at the nearby lake. It is obviously accustomed to tractors and people as it was unperturbed by all the movement and simply kept looking for worms and insects.

Ploughing before planting

Notice the White Stork on the right

Ciconia ciconia (White Stork)

One of the endearing sights we have seen so far in Bulgaria is the image below of a farmer going about his business in a manner reminiscent of yesteryear, where life was unhurried and the symbiotic relationship between man and beast very visible. On many afternoons we watched this man taking his cow along the disused railway line to graze. He walked with it and guided it to the best bits of greenery along the way. It was a scene of man and beast in perfect harmony. The picture below shows this - have a good look, it is fast disappearing.

Above and below - a way of life seldom seen these days....

.... compared to the more modern day interaction between man and mechanical beast, where the machine necessitates immediate remedial action in order to get it working again. Worlds apart.

There was (is) also the very noticeable input from Joan in the gardening department. There are the four 'firebox' beds as we call them, that needed clearing of weeds. This has been tackled with her known persistence for getting on with the task and the beds have been transformed. She has also taken on maintenance of the flower beds near the ablution block and more pictures will follow.

Before ....

.... and after.

From a photographic point of view Bulgaria has been a joy. More so because after eight years in a city you once again appreciate the joys of nature. Being out in the countryside the weather patterns are very visible, and because we have a view across large tracts of surrounding countryside, any changes are readily noticed.

The rise of the moon

Dusk

After a passing thundershower

Chapter 2 on Camping Veliko Tarnovo to follow.

http://www.campingvelikotarnovo.com/