So there we were whizzing down a steep hill with sharp hairpin bends at exilerating speed in Sweet Pea, an arm each waving haplessly out of the window. Great excitement. It was just like an illustration in a children’s storybook. This was the life. A very different driving experience to Route 66 along which we had recently travelled. And then strangely everything stopped!
I woke up! We might be in the UK now but my sleeping head was obviously back with Sweet Pea this morning.
What a different type of holiday this was, made especially so by our historic cars; organiser and patient counsellor Neil; the calm and untiring Toncho, who I am sure worked in the dead of night as the cars were always spic and span the following morning; and our fun loving travelling companions Pauline, David, Suzanne and John.
But what of the Bulgaria experience? The food was always plentiful and we particularly liked the traditional Shopska salads with colours to reflect the national flag including cucumber, flavourful tomatoes (I had forgotten how tasty they can be), onions, olives, grated carrot, and a topping of tasty white cheese. I must try that recipe at home. Also moreish was the unusual crispy, but not fatty, cornflake-covered fried chicken pieces.
The people were friendly, although I soon realised that no ALWAYS means no. Don’t try to bargain. Flexibility does not seem to be a characteristic they enjoy. But I never got to grips with the head shaking and nodding which had the opposite meaning to our tradition. We found this in the more rural areas than the cities. The shaking of the head when ordering food was particularly odd. “Do you have cornflake-covered chicken legs,” got a shake of the head, but no alternative suggestion made, until I realised that the shake of the head was a ‘yes’. Mind you, if someone asked me if I had cornflake-covered chicken legs I think I would be a little surprised, if not offended.
And then there’s the driving. Well what can I say? I had my foot on the floor as if to action the brake downhill on many occasions even though I was not driving. Then there was the procedure. Fuel on, choke out and back in IMMEDIATELY commanded the Smooth Talking Neil. What about the gears? Ah reversed H set-up for this 2-stroke engine, and to get to first you MUST go into second first… or was that first second?
And NEVER forget lights on… it’s the law.
Some intrigued passers-by asked if we had air conditioning in this hot weather. We said yes, we just open the windows.
We learned a new hand jester: holding one’s hand out of the window and clenching and opening our fingers like a duck’s beak. What was the purpose of that? Well, to tell the Trabie driver behind that he still had his non-automatic indicators on. Strange thing that all females on the trip decided not to drive the Trabies… there must be a reason for that.
I shall also not forget my coordinates, especially when I go to the supermarket in future. These details, provided at least twice daily by STN took us precisely to our next port of call and not a short distance away as some maps can direct.
And how useful was WhatsApp (mobile data is all part of many UK packages in the EU) to alert our fellow travellers, not only that we had broken down (the car that is and not ourselves) but we could also send our coordinates to our rescue team – STN and Toncho.
I shall also not forget Sweet Pea’s wonky steering wheel, fitted quirkily at an angle, which managed to hide the blinking (interpret that how you wish) indicator light. But on the plus side John has built up his muscles like Rambo, having pulled the powerless steering wheel around the hairpin bends of Bulgaria for 600 kilometres (we’re metric in Bulgaria, but some 400 miles in English).
And we will surely not forget the laughs and jokes from our fellow travellers and STN; as well as our mechanic-on-call Toncho’s lower body sticking out from underneath our car on a daily basis.
So we say our fond farewells to such a different and memorable experience of a trip. Which leaves me thinking. Perhaps I should have tried out that reverse H gearbox, even for just one trip around the car park. Maybe on another occasion.
Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022
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