Land of lazy
This Black Sea resort offers history and beauty – plus Bulgarian value for money
THE old military 4x4 stuttered to a halt at the top of the hill, miles from anywhere and surrounded by thick forest under a blazing sun. As we stared around us at the seemingly infinite wilderness while trying to recall any survival skills training we may have learned (and wishing we had a case of beer), our guide declared: “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”
And with the bash of a hammer, the twist of some mole grips and a few choice swear words from the grease-covered driver, the engine sparked to life and we were saved from a potential walk through the baking wilderness.
Thankfully, and not for the first time, our guide was right.
We were on a thrilling safari through the tree-covered Strandja mountain in Bulgaria – an off-road adventure in a battered Soviet-era vehicle that took in an old charcoal pit, a woodland spot where unique manna honey is hived, a modern castle and a lovely village restaurant.
The honey is made by bees using pollen from the flowers of lime trees. Our guides laid on a tasting session for us and I found it very different to normal honey, much thicker with an almost crunchy texture.
The highlight for us was stopping at a restaurant called the Village Guest House, at the back of a home in Fazanovo.
The lunch and drinks are part of the package and the hospitality of the owner – a former professional wrestler – and his family are well worth the stop-off. Plus, I won a shooting contest among our group (which included Germans, so it was a sort of international match) in the forest and my prize was a bottle of fizzy wine.
This was one of many trips on offer from our hotel in the historic resort of Sozopol on the Black Sea.
Others included a river boat cruise – chilling on deck while enjoying a drink and the scenery – a ride up the Virgin River where you can get close to nature, a visit to nearby Nessebar on a speedboat with a guided tour of the historic town and a chairlift ride up a mountain, stopping at the ancient village of Zheravna.
Nessebar is worth a visit, which you can do anytime from Sozopol without the need of an organised trip. It can be reached by catamaran which takes about 45 minutes, or by a more leisurely boat ride and there are also buses to the town.
It sits on a short peninsula with an ancient fort looking out to sea and a labyrinth of narrow streets lined with bars, restaurants and shops. Burgas, where we flew into with Balkan Holidays, is also a great city. A spot where history – ancient churches, traditional Bulgarian music and dancing etc – combines
Balkan Holidays is offering seven nights’ B&B at the three-star Hotel Selena in Sozopol, Bulgaria, starting from £351pp based on two sharing and departing from Gatwick on June 3, 2018. Transfers are included and