Sept. 2 – 3 ….Back to Bulgaria and the Black Sea

We left bright and early as we had a long drive ahead of us to Kosharitsa, a development near Sunny Beach on the Black Sea . Keith and Janice, who owned the condo in Yastrebets, also owned this one in Kosharitsa, and we were just hoping that it was a little bigger than the other one.

We had packed a lunch and, since we couldn't find anyplace decent to stop, we ended up having our gourmet picnic lunch on a little stretch of grass next to a gas station. Luckily, we all have a good sense of humor and viewed it as just another funny photo op.

After eight hours or so of driving, we arrived at Kosharistsa and, thank heavens, it was a little larger than Yastrebets with an actual bedroom and a sofa bed in the living room. In addition, the complex, had a swimming pool and tennis court, much to the delight of Pam and Miles. We settled in, giving them the bedroom, then went to dinner at the local wooden restaurant that Janice had recommended. It was another find, with fabulous food, huge portions and really cheap prices. We were, definitely, going back for breakfast .

The next morning, Pam and Miles went to play tennis and then we drove to Sunny Beach, about 10 minutes from the condo.  On the way we stopped and had a huge breakfast at our new favorite restaurant. Sunny Beach is one of the most prominent tourist destination on the Black Sea and....What a scene!!! It looked like Las Vegas and Venice Beach and any other tacky town with gaudy, big hotels, all on steroids. We finally found a place to park and walked up the wooden path to one of the crowded beaches so Miles, who is a water addict, could take a swim. The beaches were expansive and very nice but packed with people, many of them large women who were in bathing attire that I wouldn’t be caught dead in.

Immediately to the south of Sunny Beach, and in complete contrast, is the ancient, fortified town of Nessebar. It is often referred to as the "Pearl of the Black Sea" and that’s where we spent the afternoon. On several occasions, Nessebar has found itself on the frontier of a threatened empire, and as such, this is a city-museum with more than three millennia of ever-changing history . The ancient part of the town is situated on a peninsula (previously an island) that’s connected to the mainland by a narrow man-made isthmus. While driving over this passageway, there is a lovely, Old Windmill that is in excellent condition. Although there is virtually no information about the history of the windmill, it's though to be from the Bulgatrian revival period from the 17th to the 19th century. 

It was a pleasure to get away from the glitz of Sunny Beach and wander through the narrow streets lined with an abundance of historic buildings. There was no end to the wonderful little shops and, had we not wanted to keep our luggage at a minimum, as we would be traveling for another two plus months, I could have gotten into big trouble as there were so many beautiful things being sold. I love to collect little bowls from each area that we visit and I did find a sweet one that wouldn’t take up much space in our luggage and we also found a great shirt for Bill.  

The streets were filled with restaurants and we chose one, overlooking the water, to have lunch. I must say that the food in both Bulgaria and Romania had been unexpectedly fabulous and our meal here was no exception. Miles ordered this very unusual guacamole (of all things) that was mixed with bits of salmon and capers. Sounds weird but it was delicious…we’re going to try making it when we get home.

After lunch, we did a little more exploring of Nessebar then went back to Kosharitsa to relax a bit. We went out for pizza a little later on, at another restaurant close to the condo, and true to form…great food, lots of it and cheap.