$20 bunjee jumping and a jeep safari

DAY 1

Bulgaria was the perfect mid-voyage break. No one knew what they were expecting really because SAS has never stopped in Bulgaria before. We had to tender the first day, which means that our ship was anchored off shore and we had to take tender boats to the port. We got off the ship at 9:45 am and about 8 of us headed to the bridge for bungee jumping! I was pretty sure that I was going to do it, but not 100% positive. We got to the bridge REALLY early, at about 11, because one of the girls saw on a website that it opened at 11. However, the people that run the whole business, adrenaline extreme sports, didn’t show up until 12:30. (which the interport student told us when he called his boss at the travel agency HOWEVER, some people don’t like to listen) We just sat around at the bridge waiting for these guys to show up. Then when they did, it took them about an hour to get everything set up and then another hour for us to get forms signed and to get ready to jump.

I guess now I can let you all know that I changed my mind about bungee jumping when we got to the bridge. It didn’t look so fantastic and I realized how high it really is. It turns out that it was a really good idea for me not to do it because I wouldn’t have liked it anyway AND everyone now has bruises because of the ankle straps and I would have had huge issues with my ankle. So good choice! They would have been carrying me to the ship!

So everyone except Russell and I did the whole thing and they all loved it! Everyone wanted to go again. Nate had a perfect fall. He did exactly what they told him to do. Rachel was looking at the horizon until she fell off then she just about dove which they tell you NOT to do. It was hilarious. She’s fine.

After that we walked back to the beach. We all picked up water bottles for 90 cents! Not US cents, but leva!!! It works out to about 64 US cents and these bottles were huge. First official cheap water of the trip!

The shopping center area was really nice. It’s a bunch of roads/sidewalks that have been closed off to cars with all sorts of restaurants and bars and casinos everywhere. It was really fun walking through there and window shopping. I do want to head back there and check out what kind of deals I can get on awesome European fashion! I saw an Escada store too and flipped out. Moving on. We stopped to get lunch at this one restaurant that was recommended by the tourist center. It definitely wasn’t that great. I was very disappointed with the food, but it was inexpensive and we were all starving so it didn’t really mater. Afterward we went to the beach by walking through a section of the sea garden.

The sea garden is this whole section between the beach and the city of Varna that is just a giant flower garden/park with all sorts of things throughout it like the aquarium and the planetarium and the dolphinarium! We’re doing a day of –ariums tomorrow. Should be fun! Hopefully I get some shopping in too! The gardens were really nice, well the part that we walked through to the beach.

The beach was beautiful. It stretched pretty far and it was SO sandy!! I didn’t go in the water yesterday since we didn’t get to the beach until around 6 and it was cooling off. It has been pretty hot here, but not humid so that is definitely nice. We decided that instead of going back to the ship, we were just going to get some wine and chill on the beach. We had a bottle of red and a bottle of white and just sat around and talked. It was really nice hanging out with everyone for a while without being shoved into a crowded bar or even an outside bar with loud music. Grace’s dad has been on SAS and said that the friends you make here, you make for life, and I definitely see that happened with everyone, or at least some of us! I definitely want to make it up to Vermont to visit Rachel and Nate and Tim are right in Pittsburgh, so that should be easy!

Alright, can’t wait to see what else Bulgaria brings!!!

DAY 2

Today in Bulgaria we all slept in. Everyone needed some recovery time from this whole trip. It’s crazy. Right away we were thrown into classes for 7 days straight and then we were in a port and right after that it was like BAM port, BAM class, BAM port and you never have any time to just relax! Which is ok because you really want to keep going and see everything in the ports. So it was nice to just relax a little. We went to the beach for a few hours after that. It was so nice. The beach is so close to the ship. Every other port we had to walk a distance to the beach or even in Greece we had to go to an island to get a great beach. But here, we just left the port which took 2 minutes and then walk along the sea wall and then here we are, beautiful golden sand beach! The water wasn’t as clear as the Mediterranean, but it was still really nice. Little bit more seaweed than the Medi too, but it’s OK. I think this might be our last port that has a good beach or well, a beach at all. I’m not sure how Egypt and Morocco will be. I know I really won’t be swimming in the water there anyway. Especially after reading this paper I have to write a summary on for Oceanography. NOT the cleanest water.

After chilling on the beach we came back, ate dinner and then went out and got some more wine and went to the beach. It was such a great time just sitting on the beach and thinking “Wow, I’m in Bulgaria”.  It’s breezy and cool at night which is definitely a relief after some of the countries and cities such as Rome. But, we’ll soon be heading to MUCH warmer places!

DAY 3

Today we walked around the town and watched some of the volleyball championships. It was really awesome. All week they had these volleyball courts set up. Apparently it’s the first beach volleyball tournament held in Bulgaria that is recognized by the FIBV. So we were sort of a part of history! We watched the end of the Latvia vs. Brazil match and then went out shopping. We all wanted to stop at McDonalds but didn’t because none of us were hungry. Apparently McDonalds is insane here and wealthy people are really the one people that go there and it’s supposed to be really nice inside. This is really weird for us from the US! I didn’t have a chance to see inside though. The corporate headquarters are here in Bulgaria as well. I had no idea until I found out that it was a trip you could take through SAS, but I am planning on going on a jeep safari!!

We watched the finals of the tournament: Germany versus Brazil. Germany won it 2-1. It was pretty awesome. I forgot that one of my friends from Germany plays beach volleyball! I was really hoping he was there, which would have been awesome, BUT he wasn’t. After that we went out to dinner with Nate for his birthday and then we went out to a club down the beach. It was a really cool place.  The atmosphere of the club was really interesting though. It was kind of open air and it was built around trees which was really amazing. Nate celebrated his 21st in style! Called it an early night to get up nice and early!

DAY 4

Today was AWESOME!!! I bought a ticket for this trip from this girl that decided not to go on it. Which was crazy on her part since it was the best trip I’ve been on so far! Well one of them. It was called Jeep Safari and Picnic and it was fantastic. We were picked up in these awesome old open jeeps. Ours sat 6 so we had one up front, 3 in the middle and then me and nate sat in the very back facing each other. We drove out of Varna into the country of Bulgaria. It was so beautiful!

Our jeep was like 60 years old and definitely had some age issues. It wouldn’t start a few times and then it would keep stalling and he had issues with it not wanting to shift or not wanting to stay in gear. Definitely made the trip more interesting! We drove up to this one lookout where we could see all of the Golden Sands resort and took pictures and such. We got back in the jeeps and went up the paved road a little farther until there was a dirt path that cut off. Off road time!!

It was soo much fun! We drove through puddles and through the woods and fields. The drivers were cutting each other off and then racing across the fields and stuff. Our driver was awesome! I don’t remember what his name was but he was really funny. We took a picture with him after our picnic. Anyway, so we were racing through the fields and then driving through the woods and stuff. We stopped to taste some Rakia which is Bulgaria’s national drink. It’s a type of Brandy. I passed on it, but others bought beer and were drinking it in the back of the jeeps. It was hilarious. Then we hopped back in our jeeps, went off roading some more and then stopped at a random farm where honey was made. It was really good! They gave us samples and were of course selling more beer. Our third stop was this other random place where we shot some bb guns and again had some more beer. We went off-roading a little longer until we reached where our picnic lunch was. We had delicious home made bread, then the Bulgarian salad which was made with white cabbage with a side of a whole tomato and a cucumber. We then had chicken skewers with a baked potato and some sort of roasted pepper. It was all really good.

Some of the jeep drivers played instruments and sang, so they gave us a show and we did some dancing and they sang songs for the people from the different countries that were there with us as well. The line dances I did sort of recognize.We then drove back to Varna on the highway, but the Bulgarian countryside is amazing. It was so nice to just drive around in the open jeep with the cool wind! I needed a sweatshirt! I’m really excited for fall at home now!!! BUT I still have 2 VERY hot countries to make it through first!  There is a jeep safari in Egypt, but I signed up for an overnight Cairo trip. I want to try and get some people together that want to just see about booking it separately from SAS. Hopefully that will work! I would love to do something like this again!

I do have other things to write about now, but I can’t think what they are, TOO exhausted! And I kind of have homework to do….

I LOVE Bulgaria! Oh yeah, I was SO close to Romania… dear Romania, I promise I will be back some time and I will spend loads of time with you…

Saying farewell with some Cappuccino Hookah

So it's my last day in Turkey. It wasn't very eventful. Last night a few of us went to a hookah bar and had apple and cappuccino hookah. It was really relaxing. We've been hanging out with Stephan, the Bulgarian interport student. The good news is Bulgaria is going to be much cooler than Turkey (which is still cooler than any of the other countries we've been to). We are also considering bungee jumping. Apparently it's really cheap in Bulgaria and safe? We'll see.... (sorry mom! at least it's not at tattoo!!!)

Anyway, so this morning we woke up early and went to the bazaar again to finish last minute shopping. I got the usual soccer scarf which I've purchased in each country, except Italy. oops! And 3 other scarves for only $4 USD all together! Which is a really good deal!

We then just came back to the ship and here I am sitting outside enjoying the sights and sounds of this section of Istanbul one last time. I'm actually kind of sad to leave Turkey, but I really do want to come back. There is a lot to do and see in Istanbul and in Turkey. I just had a chance to see the main things and maybe experience Turkey for a bit. IT definitely didn't feel anywhere near as dangerous as Naples was. I was worried about the men being very forward here and we really didn't have that many issues. Maybe in the bazaar they were always shouting things, but those were usually amusing such as "Hey Guys, want a carpet?" or "Hey you are from China!" (Said to my friend who is blond and has blue eyes. oh yeah, totally Chinese). I would have loved to bring back a carpet, but they were SO expensive!! but beautiful!

It was really amusing to talk to some of the shop keepers. They were asking about the program we are on and my roommate was talking to the one guy about it. He said that he would never let his daughter leave for 3 months from home especially for this. She asked about his son and he said oh yeah definitely and then she asked why and he just said "because it's just not done and that is the way it is". They don't trust their daughters. she didn't want to tell him that this was 77% female!!!

So that was definitely interesting. This has really been my favorite port culture wise so far. The history is so interesting and it's really great to experience such a different culture from the rest of Europe. I'm interested to compare this country and Egypt and Morocco. Anyway, I'm off to get some more things done before we have to get back on the ship!!

Handmade rugs, apple tea, Sufis, and Harry Potter

So the last 2 days have been pretty fun! The second day in Turkey, I just hung around the ship recovering from the last month of non-stop going!! Semester at sea really wears you out, but it’s so fantastic! After recovering all day and just hanging out with a few friends, I had an FDP to a Sufi Dervish ceremony. It was really cool. We went to this building with a dome roofed that was an old Turkish bath. IT had tapestries hanging from the wall and was lit by red lights. In the center of the floor was a round stage with colored lights around the outside and a section in the corner where the musicians/singers sat. It definitely was not what I was expecting. There were 4 guys singing/chanting and then 4 guys playing different instruments. They started off with a song where the singers and the musicians all played then one guy chanted a section of the Qua’ran. Then the dancers came out in white skirts and vests and a black robe. The whole ceremony was really interesting. I had never really watched any videos of it except for a few short videos in class. It was really interesting comparing it to catholic religions ceremonies. We even had a chance to talk to one of the dancers at the end and it was great how he explained what the symbolism was in the ceremony. They are taking knowledge from their God and giving it to the people – one of their hands is facing the sky and one looks like it’s dropping something. Learning about everything first hand was really great. Haha again there are just no real words to describe this trip and Turkey in general!

Yesterday I went to the Bazaar from around 9:30-2:00pm. It was so overwhelming! There are over 4000 stores there! I picked up a few gifts and things for my apartment. It’s really fun bargaining with the people selling things. I’m getting a lot better at it. Some of my friends are really good at it and get things for really good prices. You just have to be really sure of yourself and not settle for anything. Most of the time they are making money anyway, so it’s easy to just walk away, usually they yell a better price after you. But there are so many places selling the same thing everywhere, that you can just shop around for the best price and the nicest salesperson. We hung out with this one jeweler yesterday. He was listening to some Reggeaton! It was really fun talking to him and listening to music. We had an authentic Turkish lunch. It was pretty delicious. We got french-fries and they came with mayo and ketchup. The ketchup definitely wasn’t Heinz. It had an interesting tang to it… We then walked around some more and went back to the ship to get ready to see Harry Potter.

The trip to the movie theater wasn’t bad. We took the tram, but it really wasn’t necessary. A few of us walked back to the ship after the movie and it took maybe about 35 minutes. But it was SUCH a nice night outside. Yesterday was really nice. It was overcast and way cooler than it has been, which was definitely a relief. And it’s only going to get hotter… and hotter… and I’m going to have to cover more and more. Fun stuff!! Anyway, we went to the theater, got our tickets, which were cheaper than seeing a movie at home (I’m beginning to see a trend in this in Europe.. tickets are far less expensive.. but that may be because they all have subtitles.. or the US just likes to overcharge for movie tickets). Regardless, we were early and so we walked around, bought some Turkish delight and then got some authentic Turkish ice cream. Don’t think I’m going to attempt that again. It has marshmallow in it to keep it harder and stay on the cone. It is the weirdest consistency ever and expands in your stomach when you’ve finished eating it. So it feels like you ate way more than you actually did. An experience certainly…

The movie was OK. They left out a LOT. I’m not going to say anymore though, just in case you haven’t seen it yet.  We headed back to the ship and now here I am! Everyone went to the bazaar again this morning or to see the mosques and such. I wanted to avoid spending money, so I refrained from the bazaar and since my tour the first day was soo good, I have seen all of the mosques and the historical sites. This isn’t really a great city for wandering around alone, but everyone will be back soon and I have some papers to write! Woo hoo! Good thing they are interesting papers to write and not lab reports!

Tomorrow I might hit up the bazaar for some last minute things. We’re going to a hookah bar tonight to just chill near the ship. It’s going to be fun I’m definitely looking forward to it!!!!

I really love Turkey and am going to need to come back here!! I want to make it to Cappadocia eventually and to visit the Asian side of the city/country. Probably my favorite country so far. I do love Croatia and felt very at home there, but I don’t think I had the authentic Croatia experience there and I know I’m going back there. Turkey just has so much history and such huge cultural differences. It’s so great!!!

Anyway, off to stop procrastinating!

There is nothing like waking up to the site of Istanbul

I woke up this morning at 7:00 to see us pulling into Istanbul. It was a little hazy, so I didn’t get a GREAT view of the city, but it was still pretty awesome. From the deck, you would see the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. They tower over the old town! It was a great experience.

I had my city orientation today. I don’t know if I just misread the description of the trip or completely forgot what we were doing, but the whole thing was a surprise! We left the port and drove around the newer part of the European side of the city. The tour guide pointed out the soccer stadium for the Istanbul team where he used to play soccer! It was really exciting that he was once on the team for Istanbul. We then headed to the old part of the city on the European side of Istanbul. It’s so weird that Istanbul is on two different continents. I had no idea. The population is also between 15 and 20 million people! Anyway, we drove around the city walls a little bit and had a photo opportunity before heading to the Mosque of the Prince. It was a smaller mosque with only 2 minarets but it was really gorgeous inside and very simple. We had to cover our shoulders and our hair and everything above our ankles. We took our shoes off before going in.

After visiting that mosque and eating our delicious (not so much) boxed lunches from the ship, we headed into the heart of the old city and visited the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, and the Cistern Basilica.

The Hagia Sofia was mind blowing. It is a museum now, so we could enter without covering our arms and taking off our shoes, etc. It is amazing to think about how long it’s been standing there. It’s been rebuilt 3 times. There are still pillars around from the second building and one pillar from the first. It was undergoing renovation on the inside to restore all of the mosaics from when Constantine first ruled Constantinople under Christian rule. Since it is against Muslim religion to use faces and icons, they were covered over when it became a mosque. They are now trying to restore all of these original mosaics. Some of them are visible. It was also really interesting to see the places where kings and sultans were coronated. It’s mind blowing to just think about the ceremonies and the defending of the crown that went down in this very place thousands of years ago. Our tour guy pointed out where the empress stood on the 2nd floor (since women weren’t allowed on the ground floor) and watched the ceremonies from between two pillars. Another interesting thing about this place was that the larger pillars (there are 8 of them all together) on the right and left of the altar section are from one of the original 7 wonders of the world – the temple of Artemis. Isn’t that awesome!!! SO much history in one place!

The Blue Mosque was also pretty breathtaking. It is just across the gardens from the Hagia Sofia. It’s the only mosque with 6 minarets. We covered our arms and took off of our shoes and headed inside. The patterns and designs were SO ornate and it was really gorgeous that most of it was in blue and white tile around the gallery. There were a lot of people in there both tourists and those praying. I didn’t know that mosques were also used for business of state and government things. They were used for that more than they were for praying now since you can pray and still talk to Allah from anywhere.

The hippodrome was pretty interesting. There wasn’t really much to see, but it was cool learning about the history of the pieces and to see them. There are 2 other towers like this one – one in NYC and one in London. The thing that surprised me the most on this whole trip was the Cistern Basilica. Our tour guide told us we were going to the underground waterway. So we were all thinking… awesome… the sewers.. it’s going to stink. Not the case. It was AMAZING! Think the chamber of secrets…only with red lighting, more water/pillars/open space, 2 heads of medusa, and it’s in Turkey not England. It was really overwhelming at first when you walk down the stairs and this huge underground area full of over 300 pillars pops up before your eyes. Apparently it was used to store water in case of shortage. The water is really low now, but there are fish in there (to keep the mosquitoes away!). I definitely recommend checking this out if you go to Istanbul. I saw a picture of it earlier in the independent travel suggestions and I just quickly overlooked it, but it’s definitely a must see!!

So my trip was very successful. I got a lot of sight seeing done. Tomorrow, since everything is closed, It’s paper time. Hooray! And then the 3rd day, we’re going to go to the bazaar. The 4th day I think we’re going to take a ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul. My friend is going to Cappadocia the next 2 days. JEALOUS! (Check it out on google, it’s an awesome place, and it’s mentioned in my top 15 unusual hotels of the world) The 5th day will just be more bazaar visiting and then getting ready to head to Bulgaria. It is suggested to take a ferry up the Bosphorus, but our boat is going to do that trip anyway.

Turkey is great and I’m really excited about my next few days here!!!!