Camping is "in-tents"
ROMANIA | Wednesday, 9 July 2008 | Views [718] | Comments [3]
I realize its been a while since I've posted, we've been bumming around
on a few beaches here on the coast of the Black Sea in Romania and
there is not a whole lot to report. This portion of our trip is to be a
slight vacation from any real sights and from spending. A draft beer is
80 cents on the beach (compare that to 8$ in Ireland and 5$ in Miami)
We were in Constanta, specifically spending most of out time in the
resort area Mamia, and we are now in Vama Veche
which is south of Constanta. In Constanta we were staying with the
family of one of Dennis' friends from home. They were extremely nice
and were very hospitable people. The mother of the family cooked us
huge breakfasts and dinners everyday, and if we were home for lunch I'm
sure there would have been lunch too. It got to a point where we would
be quiet when we got up because "Breakfast is ready!", as we would be
told every morning, might be a little before we were actually
physically and mentally up to the task (when meals are this large two a
day will do, we didn't eat lunch the whole time we were there). We
spent everyday at the beach resort area of Mamaia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamaia), its quite built up and reminds
me of a smaller Miami, the residents I told this to were very happy to
here this. The resort area is filled with tourists from all around
Europe, el Presidente
Bush even came here to meet the President of Romania instead of the
capital city Bucharest. Which having seen both I can say was a good
move, Bucharest, we felt, was a hole, and the residents of Romania seem
to agree. I think I took one picture there, of the 2nd
largest (not tallest) building in the world, our Pentagon is the
largest. The building was built by their former dictator to please his
ego, unfortunately the building is much to large to use and maintain so
portions of it are unused and in disrepair. Meh, it was just a stopping over point and seeing something like that makes you appreciate what you have a lot more.
Getting back to current location, Vama Veche,
it is as the our host in Constanta explained a "Wild" Beach. The word
applies in every sense. Want to camp on the beach? No problem, just
pitch your tent (and we did). Want to cook w/ a fire on the beach? No
problem, light it up (and we did). Have a beer on the beach? No
problem, buy one from the bar on the beach or go buy a 3 liter bottle
of beer for 3$ 20ft from the beach (and we did). Want to wear nothing
at all on the beach? No problem, strip down. (and we did NOT). The very
fact of our shorts go below our knees is enough for most Europeans to
know we're American (which is apparently a rare thing here). We're
currently at a hotel (24$ a night, a block from the beach!) as last
night we were unfortunately out on the beach, in our tents, for one of
the worst storms the area has seen in a while (a truck was blown off
the road and into a building). Speaking of which, the first rule of
camping on the beach is to know where your rain cover is and how to put
it on in the dark, in the wind, and right side up. Second rule,
everything that doesn't get along with water (documents, passport,
electronics) goes in one of the 40 or so plastic ziplock
bags you "may" have "acquired" from airport security in "London" :)
Third rule, if the tent isn't cutting it, open an umbrella, yes,
inside, it works, I got a good two more hours of sleep doing this. The
hotel we are in is nice and clean but a bit small. It has one odd
feature that I have not seen anywhere else. The sink in the bathroom
has one of those heads that people have in their kitchens that you can
pull out and its on a hose so you can use it as a sprayer. Well...
that's the shower. Essentially the sink and toilet are in one huge
shower that they call the bathroom. Alas, it works out fine and there
is plenty of hot water, something not to assumed when taking a shower
here. We used a public shower the other day and it had two settings,
cold and so cold it takes your breath away.
We are departing tomorrow for Varna, Bulgaria by bus...we think. We still need to work out some of the details but its only 4pm here so no biggie. Ciao!
-fjd
