Last week, Andrea and I met several friends in Sozopal – a quaint Bulgarian town overlooking the Black Sea. Sozopal is divided into Old Town and New Town. We stayed in Old Town, which consists of one, two and three story houses situated on narrow cobblestone streets, twisting this way and that, up the hill away from the beach. Owners of the neatly manicured homes frequently had a room to let, and jars of jam or spiraling shells to sell. And there were fruit stands with cherries, apples, bananas and peaches. And there were corner stores with yogurt, cookies, crackers and milk.
When we found ourselves turned around, strangers whom we called upon for help gave us long and earnest directions, and usually walked with us for a block or two, making sure we were set straight. We looked down their outstretched arms and past their pointing fingers and pretended to understand, even when our big-city Bulgarian vocabulary couldn’t keep up.
We discovered our room, in a house at the top of a bluff, with a balcony view of waves crashing over black rocks. Our room was simple, but comfortable. Two single beds set against perpendicular walls. Book shelves built into the longer wall; they were filled with books with Cyrillic titles. In the corner was a small television which stayed quiet and dark during our time there. It’s too bad we couldn’t sleep in the same bed, but with the real ocean sounds rolling in through the breezy window, we felt forgiving.
A short walk from our door was a pedestrian ramp snaking down the hill along the coast line. The ramp gave strolling visitors an unobstructed view of the coast on the left and an unbroken series of restaurants, all with ocean views, on the right. Menus were propped open against the stone wall, typically in Bulgarian, but if we were lucky, in English too. None of the restaurants were particularly crowded, even though the beach only 500 meters down the hill was packed with loungers. The town of Sozopal has a much greater capacity than its beach, so even in high season a party of 10 can still find a big table with a nice view. The beach is always crowded, but that just makes the people watching better – especially since plenty of Bulgarian babes go topless. : )
As far as beach resorts go, Sozopal is cheap, too. Our simple yet comfortable room cost us about $26 per night. That’s about the same amount we paid in total for our most decedent meal, which included wine and seafood (two people, $26). Our “expensive” meal was good by any standard, although the typical American traveler might find standard fair in Sozopal mediocre. But you get what you pay for.
All in all, Sozopal was the best thing we’ve found in Bulgaria so far. Look out for pictures soon!
