Ravda, Bulgaria

After another excellent evening in Istanbul spent at a bar watching Fenerbahce take down Galatasary in the Super Kopa in a penalty kick shootout (no goals in the run of play!#@?), we boarded a very comfortable MetroTurizm coach at Bayrampasa bus terminal in the morning and rambled over the Balkans to Bulgaria. The crew (driver and attendant) allowed us to travel the extra 30 km from Burgas, our ticketed destination, to Ravda at no extra charge, and they dropped us off on the shoulder of the highway, pointing us toward a supermarket a couple of hundred yards away.

After texting Nate that we'd arrived, we started walking toward the Black Sea, and he met us halfway on foot.  Chuck hauled his mighty carry-on on his shoulder while I tested the rollers of my American Tourister on uneven pavement.  Arriving at the waterfront we were immediately dumbstruck by the splendor of Nate's newly completed luxury seafront condo building, for which he is in the early phases of selling units.  The ground floor commercial space features the Milagro Bar with free wifi by the sea. Stunning!

Nate's rustic yet impeccable cottage is just a few houses down the seafront, and after depositing our baggage, greeting his wife and son, and changing into bathing suits, we headed barefoot to the beach for a swim.  The shoreline is fairly rocky and the afternoon breeze stirs up a respectable chop, so the entry into the open water was a bit challenging, particularly when your legs are stiff from riding in a bus all day.  Nonetheless, once out in the open the water was clean and warm, and the swimming just fine. There were no wave runners or pleasure craft of any kind in sight. We completed a roughly 2km lap along the jetties and seawalls, ogling beautiful large white jellyfish (non-stinging) whose ancestors apparently caught a ride here from the North Atlantic on tankers. The experience was almost like snorkeling.  Nate introduced me to a product called Sea Drops that you rub into your goggles lenses to prevent fogging - works like a charm.

Dinner was wood-grilled local fish (sardines, striper, and sea bream) and some of Mila's delicious fixings, including gazpacho, roasted red peppers, vegetable casserole, and potatos.  Simple and elegant, the entire evening, both cooking and consuming, was spent outside, and there are no bugs.

I might have downed a little too much of the local "Savoy" gin, but I fell asleep quickly to the lapping waves, slept well, and awoke early to watch a magnificent sunrise on the sea from the third floor balcony.  Paradise.