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This is my parent’s house in Podgumer. It's small but quiet and beautiful and the yard is full of trees heavy with fruit - apples mostly, but there is a pear and a plum tree as well, and I don't even know what else.
My dad is getting better, but the process is very slow. He is still confined to a bed, only he is now able to get up and walk to the bathroom, and he still needs help doing that. His balance is greatly affected and his legs have lost much of the muscle. He gets tired very fast and to top it all off, he's twisted his ankle somehow (he does not remember when or how), which prevents him from doing much physiotherapy. Other than that he seems quite well and his mental capacity is all there. We talk quite a bit and it's always fun and he loves to crack jokes and tell stories about this and that (I wonder who that reminds me off)? Mom is always here and cooks every day something different for him, which he loves, though I must say it has been very satisfying for me as well, if not even more. There's nothing like mom's cooking.
My sister is working hard and we spend a lot of time together, mostly running errands. She is super cool and I know that you'll all going to like her very much if you get the chance to meet her, (hands off guys!!!) We get along famously and I wouldn't be able to do shit without her. The real perk of course is just hanging out and cracking up all the time. I come from a fun family and we all laugh a lot, but only when appropriate.
I spent 2-3 days on the Black Sea with some friends of mine and I have to say that it was absolutely fantastic! The weather was perfect and we managed to get some serious beach time. I even got a little tan.
The Black Sea is located on the Eastern part of the country and during the months of May-Sept the weather is warm and balmy, very much like Hawaii only it may get a bit cooler at night, but not much. The coastline is breathtaking and the water is warm and clear (take that SF.) Old Mountain comes down to an end there, so there are some areas, like Varvara where I was, where on one side the sea spreads out as far as you can see and on the other, the mountain is as green and beautiful as anything I've ever seen. It is truly majestic.
Another perk for me was the time of the year. The busy season is between Jun-Aug, September on the other hand is much less crowded and thus, if you know anything about me, much, much better. Varvara is a small, sleepy village, I'd say about a 100 houses, 200 at best, it's down south, close to the Turkish border and it's not as developed as the rest of the coast line for the simple reason that there aren't really any sand beaches, which are plentiful all along the coast. I had some reservations about that too, but they all evaporated as soon as I saw the place. Not only was it beautiful, but also it was much more fun. There were plenty of little pools where we jumped from the rocks and swam under water looking at the coral and some really cool little fish, I think you get the idea.
Another thing that's cool about the place is that it is very sparse and secluded and, apparently, a lot of people there love to sunbathe nude. Not that I was watching. Not even a peek. I swear, it's true, ask anyone you want.
The real fun however, began after the beach when we got to the restaurants. I can't remember if I have ever consumed such quantities of food and mastika - mastika is an Ouzo-like alcohol and very popular during the summer season. The restaurants are built for summer and most of them are all outside, just a roof, a bar, some tables and chairs. Some of them are done in a traditional style - a lot of wood and BG paraphernalia, which I find beautiful, some are done in more of a Jamaica style which, though a little surprising, worked just fine for me.
Other than Mastika I have been indulging in a real fine, Cuban rum, dark and light alike. Unfortunately there's no mint so I couldn't get a Mojito, but I sure loved the real Cuba Libra.
Another interesting find was Fernet Branca. That's right kids, now you really have no excuse to come visit. I told the story about SF bartenders and Fernet and they all loved it until they tasted the Fernet. I thought it was really funny, but I guess you had to be there.
Finally, the highlight of the trip was the Fire Dance. On our last night, there was a big fair with lots of BG dancing, belly dancing and Fire dancing. I did get some pictures and will try to post them. The problem is that my Internet server is so slow it takes about 10 min to upload a freaking photo and often just quits for no apparent reason, but I'll try anyway. Here, there is an old tradition of people dancing on top of searing hot ambers, barefoot. The men are called Nestinari and the women are Nestinarki. After the pros are done the spectators are encouraged to try and dance on the hot ambers as well. Given the amount of Mastika we had all consumed by that time, it didn’t even feel like that big of a challenge. We all ran over the fire and I’m happy to say that no one burnt his or her feet, at least no one would admit to it. It was a blast!
This is it for now, if you have any questions you can either post them here or just email me. Love, G.