My Big Bus Adventure from Armenia to Bulgaria and Back Part II

After my Peace Corps colleague and friend Elaine and I had spent several unforgettable days in Istanbul, Turkey, we decided to take a bus heading north, to Sofia, Bulgaria. Elaine had a friend who was temporarily living in Bulgaria doing photography and we knew that Peace Corps had a presence there. We were hoping to meet other Peace Corps Volunteers and, perhaps, score a cheap place to stay. Of course, in Bulgaria circa 1996, most places were still pretty cheap.

Felt up twice!

Anyway, we went to the bus station in Istanbul to purchase tickets to Sofia. While Istanbul's bus station is large and pretty dirty, it's a lot more efficient than the one in Yerevan is. Before we went to the office where a bus company that went to Sofia was, I decided to go to the restroom. Unfortunately, I ran into a large, rather bold Turkish man who took the liberty of grabbing my right breast as I headed for the ladies room. I remember smacking his hand away and giving him one of my most evil looks that I'm sure would have killed him if looks had that power. It didn't occur to me to be scared.

After I visited the ladies room, Elaine and I had a light meal, then went to wait for our bus. A little Turkish man served us tea in the "salon". I was feeling pretty grimy, so I decided to change clothes before we started our journey. I went into a small bathroom with a new set of clothes; unfortunately, the door didn't lock. As I was changing, the door flew open. There was another strange little Turkish guy who declared me to be "sexy" and wanted me to go with him. I was still pretty angry about the first guy who felt me up, so I yelled at him. He jumped and skittered off. After I was finished changing, I went back to my seat in the salon. The perverted man sat in the salon, looking at me with pleading eyes and giving me the "shh" gesture with his finger. I was so mad I just stared him down.

The bus driver handed us little white cards from the Bulgarian government and told us not to lose them. We later found out why these cards were so important.

The journey begins...

Finally, we were onboard the bus and heading north. I was impressed by how clean and nice the Turkish bus was. An employee of the bus company handed out hot towels, drinks, and snacks. The ride was pleasant and there was even a toilet onboard. As the sun began to sink, we reached the border with Bulgaria. This is where things began to get rather tense.

First off, there were two or three ladies on the bus who didn't have the appropriate paperwork to get into Bulgaria. They were sent back to Turkey. Next, a very irate Bulgarian border guard started searching peoples' bags, including mine. He was screaming at me in Bulgarian and I didn't have a clue what he was saying. One of the Turkish bus drivers smiled reassuringly at me and, with his hands, mimicked how a rapidly beating heart would feel. I guess the Bulgarian border guard didn't find what he was looking for, because he dismissed me with a disgusted hand signal. I repacked my bag and got back on the bus.

Once we were past the Bulgarian border patrol, things were more low key. Elaine was once again dozing in the window seat, while I was wide awake. It was chilly on the bus. Luckily, I had purchased a very cool wrap from a street vendor in Istanbul. I don't know why I bought it, since it was not cold when we were in Turkey. But it did come in handy during our trip. We were able to use it as a sort of blanket. I still have that wrap and have gotten many compliments on it.

Sofia, Bulgaria, first thing in the morning... No means yes.

We were dropped off near the Sofia bus station. It was very early in the morning and we didn't yet have any Bulgarian money. We went into a bar that was open at the crack of dawn. Elaine asked the barman if she could buy cup of coffee. He shook his head. This was our first exposure to the Bulgarian practice of opposite head signals. Shaking the head means yes, while nodding means no. We were not aware of this at first, so Elaine thought there was no coffee to be purchased. But then the barman made her a cup of joe and we sat down to get our bearings.

I was feeling really cranky. Elaine is generally unflappable, but even she was getting annoyed with my crotchety demeanor. She told me to lighten up as she somehow scored the phone number of a local Peace Corps Volunteer. I'm not sure how she did this. Maybe she called the local Peace Corps office. But somehow, she managed to hook us up with a guy named John, who was one of the very few Peace Corps Volunteers who lived in Sofia. He met us and took us to his apartment, where we dropped our bags. Then, he and several of his Peace Corps pals gave us a tour around Sofia.

Perspectives of a Peace Corps Volunteer

It was very interesting to be in Sofia in the mid 1990s. For one thing, it was clearly in much better shape than Yerevan, Armenia was. John lived in a nice apartment and had an adorable pet cat he named Stigabey. I spelled the name phonetically, since the cat's name was translated in Bulgarian to mean "Stop it!"

When we met John, he explained why those little white cards the Turkish bus company had given us were so important. Apparently, in Bulgaria, there's a law that requires foreigners to register with the local police or the hotel and get the little card stamped for as long as they would be in country. Those who didn't comply risked being arrested and/or fined. John was kind enough to take us to the police station and get our cards stamped for the entire time we'd be in Bulgaria.

Apparently, John's apartment was also the local crash pad for Volunteers. It was a weekend night and a bunch of other Volunteers later showed up from the regions. They took Elaine and me on the town and we went to a bunch of different bars, most of which are a blur to me. I do remember going to the Yalta Club and seeing several very scantily clad women who drew appreciative stares from John's Peace Corps friends.

Once again, I was shocked by how much nicer Bulgaria was. Everyone seemed to have power and running water. There were clean German built trams in the city that were easy to use and not too crowded. Yes, at the time of our visit, Bulgaria was dealing with massive inflation, but it was easy to see that the country was otherwise in relatively good shape, even though everywhere I looked, there were ads for Lucky Strike cigarettes and Coca Cola.

Somehow, John agreed to host me and Elaine for a few days. We spent our time wandering Sofia, checking out the people and the sights. At the time, Sofia had one McDonald's restaurant, which came in handy for me when I wandered too far away from the central area. I got in a taxi and asked the driver to take me to McDonald's. He knew exactly where to go and I was soon back in familiar surroundings.

One day, we took a ski lift to the top of Mount Vitosha, and hiked the beautiful trails surrounding the outskirts of Sofia. This was one of my favorite activities in Sofia, since Vitosha was so pretty and green and it was cool at the top of the mountain. In the mornings, Elaine and I would look on in surprise as men sat in bars and drank some of Bulgaria's potent beer for breakfast. We also saw quite a few gypsies with dancing bears. I recently heard that the dancing bears are no longer allowed in Sofia. That's a good thing.

Elaine decided to go visit her friend who was working in Blagovgrad for a couple of days. I stayed in Sofia and crashed at John's apartment. I spent the days people watching and wandering around the city, then met John when he was done working. I had a feeling he was a little "put out" by my presence, but I appreciated his hospitality anyway. John was very nice to put up with me and. before we left, I bought him a basket full of goodies for his cat.

When Elaine came back from Blagovgrad, we decided to head east again. The Bulgarian Volunteers had told us about a cute little town called Sozopol, right on the Black Sea coast. They also told us about locals who actively seek out foreign travelers and put them up in their houses. With that little bit of information, Elaine and I headed for the train station for an overnight trip to Burgas, a big coastal town. From there, we would catch a minivan to Sozopol and hopefully catch some rays.

So long to Sofia... In Part III, I'm going to write about wonderful Sozopol!