Kavarna's bay

Today started too early, and, because I needed a partial rest day and time to work on the last two days web pages, ended before noon. Yordan woke me before 7 AM and I rushed to clean up and get everything packed away in my bags so that Yordan and his father could get to work on time. It worked well, except that I forgot to put water in my water bottles. We were out of the apartment before 7.

I rode into Varna, got water and a sort of breakfast, decided that Varna at rush hour was just to busy for me, and rode back out to head up the coast. I was planning to ride the main road, E87, up the coast, but, despite getting directions at a service station, I couldn't find it. I ended up riding a much longer and hillier, route. That wasn't all bad since, after a hard climb up to the top of a ridge/plateau north of Varna, I rode rode a very nice, and very peaceful road that runs along the top for about 10 km, then got on the old road to Albena, and got to to E87 a few miles before Albena.

A road to Albena

The Albena Beach and Resort as seen from Balchik, a town 9 km north

I guess Albena's beach is spectacular, but I'll never know for sure because the whole area is fenced off Albena is a RESORT with high fences and guards at the gate. I don't know how the guards would have reacted if I rode up on my loaded bike. Given that I'm from the US and that really impresses folks around here, they might have let me in. I don't know because the whole setup really turned me off. I rode on - or really up, since it was uphill all the way - to Balchik. It was closed ;-} - maybe it was too early - but at least it was public.

My first, up close, view of the black Sea, shortly after Albena's miles of fencing ended.
I know that there is some sort of public beach down there because a large group of school aged kids,
accompanied by a few adults, came walking up a path below me in bathing suits

Since Balchik was closed, I rode on to Kavarna. Coming into Kavarna, I saw an interesting looking hotel, *** Hotel and Restaurant Paris, and stopped to eat. Lunch was good, and reasonably priced, so I decided to check out the hotel part. Wow. This is the best deal I've had in Bulgaria. It is so good I have a hard time believing it. 40 Lev - 20 E - with breakfast - for a very nice room with wired internet and air conditioning that works. An it has a neat little balcony - no view of the Back Sea from this room - with a double clothes line that I used to dry my clothes. Life is good!