Maiden Cliff

An early spring sunny Sunday morning and a phone call from friends with an offer for a mountain walk in our favorite Rhodope Mountain. This time the suggestion is for a place, called Maiden Cliff. The legend tells of a girl who jumped from this rock (and this is where comes the name of the rock) to avoid becoming a victim of the Turks. There are several places in Bulgaria that have the same name and the common between them is exactly this legend. So if you ever happen to be in a place, called Maiden Cliff, you’d know where it comes from.

After a quick research in internet how to get there and some rapidly prepared sandwiched we were already on the road. Our first destination and departure point was the village of Hrabrino, 15 km southwest of Plovdiv. We were supposed to walk about an hour and we read that we have to follow the white-yellow marking and the signs to hut Zdravets. In the middle of the village, where we parked the car we asked the locals and they explained us better how to reach the path that will lead us to the rocks. At first sight, everything was clear.

A view to the village somewhere on the way

We were walking south, along the river, actually upstream of the river until we reached the first point that we had to decide left or right. The problem was that there was no marking and half of us have remembered right, the others - left. Following the logic we took the left path as this was the direction we had to keep – a little bit to the east and up. But after that we lost the marking. Anyway, we were sure this is the correct path and we followed it for a long time. In about 40 minutes walking, and after a long time we have already lost the path, we saw the chapel we were told it’s on our way. When we finally reached it through some bushes and branches on our way, we realized that we have taken the wrong path. Luckily, following the direction, we managed to find the place. 

In front of the chapel "St. Virgin Mary"

Close to the chapel there is a fountain with cold mountain water and here our both guides exclaimed in one voice: “We’ve been here!” They were so surprised to realize it!  They explained that a friend of theirs took them to the same place a month ago and the departure point was not Hrabrino village but Izvor village, they just didn’t remember the rock name... And there, at the chapel both ways connect in one. At the beginning they felt a little bit screwed up but the place really worth it to be seen, so soon they were happy again.

Taking the path right of the fountain, keeping south west direction and following a cart road, in about 5-10 minutes we reached the rocks. 
And here it came the view, the freedom feeling, the peace, the greatness…In silence we just stood watching and deep breathing. The sun and the wind contributed to the majestic feeling. The river passes down forming wonderful canyon. In late spring probably would be greener and even more beautiful, well, we can always come back. So spectacular views that it was hard to decide which pictures to share (more pictures at the end of the itinerary).

In about an hour resting and collecting moments we went on our way back, this time we took the right path, which by the way seemed to be steeper than our invented path. But the way is going down along the river, all the time and from time to time appeared beautiful landscapes.

Here are some tips for the tourists:

Starting from Hrabrino - go upstream of the river, the direction is south west. There is a marking white-yellow and signs to hut Zdravets. In the beginning you go along a cart road. In about 5 minutes you reach a point where the way goes left and right, take the right way by the river and in 3-4 meters you’ll see the marking again. If you take the left one, you’ll lose the marking immediately. After some 200-300 meters you’ll see a yellow-orange fence and just before it, the path goes left. Then you can’t miss it if you follow the marking. The way to the chapel is steep but it’s not impossible even for kids or old people. After the chapel you take the cart road on the right and soon the rocks appear. The whole way takes about 45-60 minutes.

Starting from Izvor (Izvor is located about 4-5 km east of Hrabrino) – you park in the center, where there is only a square and the famous building from the past communist time that used to be a shop, restaurant and hotel together, the so-called “HoReMag”. Go up the street that passes by the building and maybe you can ask the locals, but the tip here is that your way passes by the cemetery which is above the village. Our friends told us that it’s about 20 minutes walking and the way is very easy. You’ll see the chapel on your right and you should continue straight to reach the cliffs.

If you happen to make this journey, don't hesitate to ask me for more details.
And the rest of the photos:

The North Greek Beaches - Kryoneri Camping

Kageles Beach

As a Bulgarian, I have the privilege to live very close to Greece. Few times of my life I had chances to visit the biggest cities - Athens and Thessaloniki (and some areas around Olympus Mountain) and finally this summer was time to explore some little hidden gems in North Greece.

We left Plovdiv early in the morning and after 2 hours we crossed the border near Zlatograd. The road from Greek side was really narrow and it was hard to drive with more than 40-50 km/ hour but the view in Rodopi Mountain was amazing. We passed through several villages and actually I didn't find much difference between Bulgarian and Greek Rodopi people and houses architecture. Even they say that many people there know Bulgarian language but we didn't stop to check it. Soon we were in Xanthi and after crossing the city we took the way to Lagos, just right at the Aegean Sea. Another option is to take the highway to Komotini and then turn straight down to Xilagani (as we did on our way back).
                             

Whatever you decide, take a map or GPS or at least remember the name of the nearest village of your final destination!

The water road

I don't know what happened to our mobiles but we had no connection and we realized we had a printed map from Google maps, not good zoomed, so we didn't have the names of the villages, only their locations. Anyway, with my perfect orientation we didn't get lost but we had to stop at many places, get out of the car and make some strange movements and looks around to decide which direction to take.
It was really pleasant journey as almost all the time we were driving by the seaside and through some little villages with small white houses and many flowers in front of them. At once we stopped as the road was crossing a river. There was no bridge...Literally, the river goes over the road and there is a sign: "Be careful, slippery ground!" Overcoming this obstacle, soon we found our camping - Kryoneri Camping.

The camping is situated in Kryoneri village, 30 km south from Komitini, only 600-700 m far from the nearest beach. The area is so quiet...no more than 5 cars a day were going on the road in front of the camping. At the end of June is still not very high season so it was not crowded at all - there were 6 tents and 1 camper. Toilets and baths are very clean, the area for the tents is green and has a good shade over it. There is a kitchen with 4 sinks and 4 ovens; there is a fridge; there are washing machines; there is a barbecue; there is a playground for children and all those things could be used for free.

In the camping

The camping owners are 2 sisters and their father. All of them are very kind and smiling. One of the evenings the father prepared for us delicious octopus (half was grilled, the other half was boiled). We invited them with us for the dinner and had a wonderful conversation. One of the sisters, Ioanna, told us about the festival they organize at the end of June. She also gave us some ideas of what to do around and where to go. Really charming people.
They also have a restaurant that offers different meals at normal prices and a little shop for the most necessary things. If you still are missing something, there are shops in the nearby villages, only 5 km far from the camping - Proskinites and Maroneia.
I should not forget to mention that is very cheap - per night we were paying 11 EUR which includes 2 people, 1 tent and 1 car. But you'll check the prices in their website.

For the 3 days that we stayed at the camping, we managed to spend our time at two of the beaches - the one in Kryoneri and the other one - Kageles (about 10 km east of the camping). As many of the Greek beaches, these ones were also stony but it doesn't make them look any  worse than a normal sandy beach. The view above Kageles beach was wonderful - red rocks on the side and Samohtraki island in the distance. The beach is small and a nice cafe is offering refreshing drinks. Also you can take some mattresses and other inflatable equipment to use in the water for free. It goes without saying that the water is crystal blue and cool.

You can continue exploring the area by car (and at some moments on foot) as there are archaeological Byzantine excavations. Unfortunately we didn't find much information but it seems people are working on them. Of course, we found the best time to explore the area (2-3 pm) and it was so hot that we didn't want to walk much but I bet that this would be a pleasant walk along the olive trees, the charming villas and the beautiful flowers on the road.
People told us that the area is very suitable for fishing too and lots of boats goes into the sea every morning for different kind of fish.

See more photos in facebook.

I stay with so many positive emotions that for sure I will go back, We really wanted to be in September but we couldn't. Finally, the loooong terming project of the road Komotini (Greece) - Kardzhali (Bulgaria) is over and I hope that next year we could visit that part of Greece for only few hours!
If you live close, or if you plan to visit Greece anyway, just drop in that region, it's off the beaten path but you'll love it!

Another trick of having a cheap trip

As experienced travellers we all know the reservation systems of booking.com, venere.com, hostelworld.com, hotelbook.com and many more others world known or local websites. And each of us checks his favorite ones when he is looking for a good offer. They are all useful and give us good prices but most of the time we have to book early to get the best deals. And sometimes I'm really pissed off when I see "only 1 room is left" and it happens more then 3 months before the journey! Of course I'll keep using them but I have discovered another option that already started working for me.


You have probably heard or even many of you have used the famous lately websites for group buying (read some tips and information about it). The first one in Bulgaria started working over one year ago and now there are more that 50 for our small country. I've bought vouchers for restaurants, massages, hairdressers, hotels, dancing lessons and so on and it saved me money. What I soon realised is that we can buy coupons from other country's deal websites and use them for our vacations. And it's actually pretty cheap. What I bought few days ago from Romanian website was weekend for two, including breakfasts and dinners, sauna, one hour riding a pony, in the Carpathians, near Brasov, in a 3 star hotel for 45 EUR which means 11.25 EUR per bed for HB! Even in a hostel there are no such prices. Then I had a look in some other European websites and many offers came up like: 65 EUR for 4 people, 2 nights in an apartment near Rijeka, in Croatia.; 20 EUR for 4 in a mountain resort in Serbia and so on. Here you can find more that 1600 websites for group shopping all over the World.


Sure, there are some inconveniences and the biggest one is that buying from another country's website means different language and we need translation. If we don't know the language, goodle translate do a great job but we have to be very careful about what the voucher includes, terms and period of use, payment ways, reservations and so on. My advice is always connect to the accommodating hotel (or villa) before buying the voucher and check for availability.


Go discover the World now!

Beaches and forest together - the middle part of the Black Sea coast

The temperature is 4 degrees outside but I'm thinking of the seaside. I am imagining being at the beach, the weather is hot, there are no umbrellas or anything I can hide but I have a hat and a cold beer in my hand. This is one of those deserted beaches between the rocks which are incised into the sea...and that picture reminds me to some beautiful places at the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. I will continue my trip south of Varna.

Blue blue sea...

The "port" of Kanchia river just 200m far from its firth

The route is not going beside the coast beacuse of the rocks but it passes through little villages and amazing forest. The only thing is that it is very busy as this ian important way connecting the two biggest seaside cities - Varna and Burgas. We don't drive fast so that we could enjoy the journey. Our first stop is the firth of Kamchia river, this crazy river is being comforted and calmly flows into the Black Sea. Unique dense forests in the biosphere reserve in conjunction with the vast dunes of the protected area make this corner of the Black Sea coast between Varna and Burgas in a great place for relaxation and fishing. We made a little boat trip on the river from its firth to the little wild fishing village.

Hiding in the forest

Then comes Shkorpilovtsi, a little village with a wide beach and some bungalows you can hire and forget about the big city for a long time. The place is an ideal combination of natural resources. This extreme eastern hills of Stara Planina wade into the waters of the Black Sea including forests and long sandy beaches. We passed through Byala, the last city in Varna region. I've been here when I was a little girl and I have great kid memories. Next time we'll definitely stop and explore it.

A park in Obzor

Only 2 km after crossing "the border" between Varna and Burgas regions we found Obzor, which has the longest beach in Bulgaria - 8km. Now its a modern small town-resort but Obzor was built more that 3000 years ago and still keeps its remains and spirit. After 2 days enjoying the town and its beach we continued to the next destination that I loved - Emine cape. The cape deserves to be seen as it is an impressive rock that is 60m high! Still there is a working lighthouse at its end. Emine cape is the natural border between north and south part of the Bulgarian seaside. If you go there plan a little bit more time as you'd need to pass the last 5km over an awful road - it took us half an hour. I don't wanna dissuade you, you won't regret the view!

Emine cape with the Lighthouse

Passing through the mountain we reach St. Vlas resort, a sunny place with lots of hotels connected to the most popular resort at the Bulgarian coast - Sunny Beach. It might be the most popular but the worst in my opinion. Why? Beacuse of the mess and chaos around. It is full of hotels - one, two,...., up to 5 star ones, luxury and ordinary too, crowded all the time. I hate to be stepped on all the time and I usually don't go to the beach there. And also Sunny Beach has not a good fame in the last years. They say that thousands juvenile teenagers of whole Europe come here every summer because nobody stops them drinking and cause it's the cheapest famouse resort in Europe...As I said my opinion. But the beach and bay are beautiful! If you still insist on comming and see it, then you can find accomodation in the nearest city - Nesseber. They are actually connected but Nesseber is old, ancient, interesting mysterious - everything that Sunny Beach is not! It's an amazing experience to dine in a restaurant beside the sea in the old town!

Beautiful Nessebar, photo by tschinar.net

Our trip will stop here now. Well, it's almost winter now and I need to be back in the reality. But promise you soon to warm you with the next part of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast trip.

At the end of the journey - the unique New York City

USA.SC.North Myrtle Beach.Work and Travel Program.20 y.o. girl.Great experience.(The beginning)

My USA experience started from New York and happily, it was going to end again there. When arriving for the first time in the city unfortunatelly I didn't have the opportunity to explore it, I could only spend some time in Columbia University and at the bus station. Now, on our way back, we were about to see more, at least we had a plan.

New York  Stock Exchange

In front of the hostel 

It was not difficult to find our hostel in the center of Manhattan. It was in an old 3-4 floor building with a little yard behind it. Vessy and I checked in and soon we went out in the big city. We were walking down the wide avenues, watching people going around us. There were so many different people- men and women, dressed elegant and sporty, hurrying up and walking slowly, local and foreigners. I was grabbing all this situation as I knew it could be my last time seeing it.

Empire State Building was the first landmark we visited. We had to wait for half an hour to enter the elevator and reach the top. The elevator was so fast that only for few minutes we got to the Observatory on the 86-th floor and then we switched to another elevator and we went to the 102-d floor. It was an unforgettable experience from the highest point in NYC- the whole city was in front of me, well... under me! After that memorable moments we got down on the street again and continued to Rockefeller center. It is definitely a place where you can spend whole day. We didn't have that time but we visited the Channal Garden and The Ice Rink. The Channal garden is a square with lovely plantings and beautiful greenery. People say that it's the same every season of the year. The garden is called like this because it is situated between the French Empire Building and the British Empire Building- exactly as the channel between the two countries. The Ice Rink is a huge skating rink that opens in the middle of October. I'm sure it will be amazing to be seen around Christmas when they light the Christmas tree. During the summer it is replaced by the Rink Bar. I've heard that under Rockefeller center there is an underground city with lots of stores and restaurants and pedestrian alleys that connects the buildings. But we prefered do some shopping on the ground as we wanted to be more outside and feel New York closer.

A post card from the 60 - s

Times Square, photo by searchroulet.com

Going ahead we reached the notorious Times Square. The famous New York Times Building was standing there in front of us, all the commercial signs, known from the picture were also there, staying for years just changing their theme a little bit- Coca Cola, Budweiser, Swatch, JVC, etc. At the Crossroads of the World (as people call Times Square), you can buy thickets for the popular Broadway shows from TKTS ticket booth. There again, every 31 December the whole New York comes to the square to celebrate the New Year and I wished myself to live this moment one day.

Tired but happy we went back to the hostel to celebrate Vessy's birthday. (Yes, she had a birthday). We met few guys there and after having a drink one of the guys invited us to a party in  New York club. We accepted the idea and had an amazing night through the streets, the subway and that New York Bar. It was the most strange birthday Vessy had had up to that moment. She said: "I had an amazing time with international people - a Bulgarian, two Americans, a French girl and a Japanese guy!"

Almost at the Statue of Liberty

After the heavy night and a little hangover we woke up early and went on our discovery plan in the city. Our flight was at 7 p.m. and we had only few hours to take more and more of New York. Our first stop this day was Battary Park, where starts the cruise for The Statue of Liberty. We saw about 50-60 people waiting to buy tickets for the tour and we decided to leave it for another happy moment in New York if we had a chance. You better use the previous link and book tickets online, it will save you a lot of time! Anyway, we waved to The Statue of Liberty and went on along New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street. We also passed through the place where the Twins had been, which was fenced. Our last moments in that gorgeous city we spent in Central Park enjoying the October sun and feeling happy of where we were. At 3 pm we took the subway and soon we were at the airport.

It was time to say goodbye to New York and The USA, to our lovely summer, happy and sad moments. I made friends, I lived for the moment, I met different people and cultures. I didn't earn much money but as I love to say: "I made my best free excursion ever!"

The end

Few days in Alexandria, VA and Washington DC

USA.SC.North Myrtle Beach.Work and Travel Program.20 y.o. girl.Great experience.(The beginning)

Vessy and I had so many plans about our one week holiday before we go home back to Bulgaria. We thought of going to Grand Canyon and/ or Niagara Falls and travel through the states. Our plan failed because of the lack of enough money and time but luckily we still had the offer to visit our friend in Washington DC and I don't regret at all.

The Old Town of Alexandria, photo by bookinseconds.com

Our friend Annie was actually living in Alexandria, a beautiful town in Virginia, at the border with DC. We spent two days walking around its streets. The Old Town reminded me of Europe. For the first time of my stay in USA I found a place so familiar to me, the architecture of the buildings looked like ones in old European cities. King street is the main street where are located a lot of shops and restaurants. The street goes to the dock of Potomac River. There you could enjoy amazing views of the water and the coast on the other side.
You can even hire a Water Taxi or dine in a luxury ship. Alexandria is also easily connected to Washington, the yellow metro line goes straight from King Street station to the dowtown in DC and even passes through Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (the town is only 5 km far from the airport). Alexandria seems an ideal place for living in the center of the Universe and in the same time far from the craziness of the District.

The Washington Monument

The next day we went out of Alexandria to visit the emblematic Washington. The first thing that impressed me was in the metro - it was really deep down the ground. We went out at Mc Pherson Square Metro Station and soon we found ourselves in front of The White House - the building that I had seen so many times on TV and on pictures, now it was standing in front of me with all its greatness. Of course it was not accessable from too close and I could admire it from the other side of the fence. We went on walking through beautiful parks and gardens and soon we reached The World War II Memorial and Lyncoln Memorial. In The National Mall (the area all around) near the river Potomac are also located lots of monuments dedicated to the memory of presidents and soldiers, participated in different wars. It is amazing how Americans cherish their great personalities.

Then passing through The Washington Monument and all the museums around, walking down the wide green alley, we reached The Capitol. We sat there, besides the lake and took a sandwich - hey, I was having a lunch where some of the most important decisions for the USA and the World are taken! Our walk continued through the FBI building and also we stopped in front of The Old Post Office, where there is a free elevator to the top of the tower. We finished our tour in one trade center near the Archives Metro Station where we took the metro back to Alexandria. Although it was only one day so long ago I will remember it for ever.

The Whire House

The Capitol

After spending one more day in Alexandria with Annie and her roommate (by the way, he cooked the best salmon I have ever tried) we had to move on to New York City and be ready to go home. We thanked to our friendly hosts and drop on the bus at Grayhound Bus Terminal in DC and only after 4 hours we were already in NYC.


To be continued

Byala Cherkva - a little piece of heaven in the Rhodope Mountain

If I was not born and grown up in Plovdiv, I wouldn't probably have heard about Byala Cherkva (meaning White Church). It is not very popular resort not only for foreigners but for Bulgarians too. I believe I'm lucky to be born here, so close to the lovely Rhodopes.
Together with Studenets and Zdravets resort (or chatel Zdravets or Zdravets hut) it is a popular destination for Plovdiv people to escape from the big city in the weekend.

View from the hill above Byala Cherkva

Location
Byala Cherkva is located 1600m altitude and about 36 km south from Plovdiv. From the ring road of Plovdiv you can either take the road to Markovo or Belashtitsa. Both ways gets together at Galabovo village. The resort is at the end of the road.
You better go by car as buses are running only to Zdravets(7.50am and 2.30pm from Rhodopi bus station). If you go by bus you need to walk then about 2-2.5 hours. The walk is pleasant but it takes time and really depends on your plans.

Accommodation
The resort is really strange when we're talking about accommodation as there is no such. Well, there is something like a hut but I have no idea what the conditions are inside. Last time we were there we saw a group of people in the yard,drinking coffee but the hut didn't look good. There are more hotels and rest houses in Zdravets and Studenets. Two of the options are hotel Transing or Eco hotel Zdravets.
Camping is a wonderful decision for accommodation. Be prepared with warm clothes as in the night it is getting really cold - could reach 5-6 degrees in July.

What to do
This is the best part when we forget about the other things. In winter in Byala Cherkva you can enjoy skiing. There is a ski slope 1100m length. It is seperated on 2 parts and is suitable for both - beginners and advanced skiers. Also there is a 300m ski slope for kids. A ski run is working up to April.

Herb mashterka (thymus)

In summer time the main activity is hiking. And it is a real pleasure. You can collect herbs,blackberries and blueberries or just enjoy the sun. The weather is great - about 10-15 degrees less than the hotness in the city.
Byala Cherkva is a cross of hiking routes going to the nearby villages through the mountain - Sitovo, Lilkovo, Boykovo, Kosovo. One of the routes to Persenk peak(a beautiful Rhodope peak) is going through the resort and it is panoramic most of the time. It takes about 4.5 hours to Peresnk hut and 1.5 hours more to reach the peak. Amazing views are discovered to the whole mountain - you can see some of the villages on the main road Plovdiv - Smolyan and even Snejanka peak with its tower nearby Pamporovo resort.

Just at the end of the road you could find stables Stela. They offer horse riding routes through the mountain. And I think they offer also accomodation but you have to contact them and ask. The stables are situated just next to the monastery St.St. Peter and Paul, the highest  monastary in Bulgaria. The church is recovered but the other buildings are still under constuction.

The stables, photo by: Stables Stella

If you happen to stay in Plovdiv don't miss to do a day trip to Byala Cherkva. You'll be fascinated of the mountain beauty, I promise.
Enjoy some of the stunning views:

Pavelsko village

Part III of my North Myrtle Beach experience

USA.SC.North Myrtle Beach.Work and Travel Program. 20 y.o. girl.Great experience.(The beginning)

Two weeks after my arrival we were still living in the same house as in the beginning. The owner of the place also owned 10-12 more houses on the same street along the beach. Nothing bad, except that there were plenty of cockroaches and the rent was high ($75 per week was not a good price for those conditions). So Vessi and I decided to look for another place. We cooperated with some of our neighbours and they also told other people and finally we found a new house. It was not far from the previous one, there were 3 big bedrooms,a kitchen and a living room. But it was not furnished at all (only kitchen appliances). Everybody was sleeping in sleeping bags, on inflatable beds, even there were lucky people that found normal beds on a garden sale(or was it just on the garbage?).The new apartment was not so comfortable but it was clean and cheap($ 100 per month).

The party house

Andrew and Victor in Big Tuna

The only problem was that we were living 15 people from Bulgaria, Poland, Belarus and Slovakia. Well, it was not a problem for us but for our neighbours and for our landlord becuase of the parties. Every evening we were standing at the veranda or in the garden drinking beers. It was my favourite part after work - tired but in a good company. Sometimes there were just quiet conversation but other times it was noisy with loud music and more people. I remember once our neighbours called the Police and we had to stop the party. But it was better that way than to let their huge evil dogs in the yard.

We also liked going to the nearest club (The Big Tuna) and playing pool. It was kind of a  problem for me as I didn't have 21 and I was not allowed to drink alcohol in the bars and even I was not allowed to enter in some of them. Luckily most of my friends were not underaged and they could buy me beers. The bar was located at the beach so very often we just sat there enjoying the evenings by the ocean.

Hardee's, photo by: blog.thegourmez.com 

I really felt good living this way - working 4 days a week(only 25 hours), having fun with people, going to the beach but it was time to look for a second job. I had taken a loan from a friend to do this journey and it was time to think of earning enough money to give it back. It was not easy at all, I was going from shop to shop,from hotel to hotel, from restaurant to restaurant hoping to work whatever they had for me. I was filling out applications every day but with no result. Finally, around the beginning of July I started working in Hardee's (a fast food restaurant). My job was to take the sandwiches from the shelves and sell them to the costumers. It was totally not easy as I thought in the beginning. I was standing all day on my feet (from 8.00 to 14.00) but it was not so bad comparing to the mistreatment of my colleagues toward me. I couldn't believe that people could treat me so bad - shouting at me with no reason, being rude. As I told you I had been working in restaurants with people and never  had such situations before.

One morning I woke up at 9.00. We'd had a big party the previous night and I overslept for work. I was so pissed off to myself for not hearing the alarm clock and I had to decide how to excuse for being late. I jumped in some clothes and on my way to the bathroom I said to myself: "Wait a minute, you are already late for more than an hour, so you could be late for 10 more minutes". Then I made a coffee and sat outside in the garden. I thought: "Why should I go there again? They'll always be jerks! I need a better job and this is the perfect moment to quit and start looking for another one". So I called them and told them that I was sorry but my employer wanted me to work in the morning therefore it would be impossible to work for them in the same time. And that was it - I was again with my 25 working hours per week but I didn't feel miserable anymore.

To be continued

Memories of North Myrtle Beach,SC - the beginning

USA.SC.North Myrtle Beach.Work and Travel Program. 20 y.o. girl. Great experience.

The next few articles won't be about what to do or what to see or where to go somewhere in the World. They would be about some of my feelings and thoughts in my 4 months stay in The States. I'll skip all the preparation of the big journey and start with my landing in USA.

Every day for 4 months I was enjoying that view

Even stepped on American land I already felt different. Was it because of the date - Friday 13-th, or because of the wide dark boulevards of New York City, or maybe because I hadn't slept for more than 24 hours, or maybe because I was alone in those big city thousands km far from home, I don't know. I only know it was strange and extremely exciting. After a good long sleep in Columbia University I had to go on my journey to North Myrtle Beach where I had a contract with a restaurant to work as a waitress or a retail or a food runner or a hostess, I didn't know what would happen and what should I expect.

Anyway, I found myself at the bus station in NYC, bought my ticket to Myrtle Beach and started to look for baggage storage. I had 8 hours to the bus and Manhattan was waiting for me. Unfortunately I couldn't find such, they told me that after September 11-th they didn't let people leave their luggage. I stood there in the middle of the station with 2 large bags, ready to cry as I didn't expect this situation at all. Well, I couldn't go anywhere with that heavy luggage but I met an Albanian guy who spent all that time with me. I had no idea(and still don't have) what have been his intentions and what has he pointed at but I'm glad I had a nice company during my long stay at the station. He even sent me on the bus telling me that he was going to wait for me when I go back, lol. It was funny of course but it's always nice to see that somebody is smiling to you.

Waiting...photo by in.com

The next 15 hours were really exhausting. I traveled 1100km, spent 3 hours in the middle of the night at bus station Richmond with some strange people, couldn't sleep good, was hungry,...all those negative things about a long journey. Finally around 11.00 am I got off in Myrtle Beach and called the manager of the restaurant to pick me up. A lady came, not really smiling and friendly, but at least she took me to the house where Vessi had already lived (Me and Vessy got to know each other few months before that).The lady (she was one of the restaurant's managers) told me to be in the restaurant the next morning at 10.00am.

Highway 17 South, photo by aaroads.com

The same day Vessi met me with few girls from the house(from Belarus) and she gave me some information about what was happening there. First of all, I realised that I need to buy a bike! Wow, I hadn't ridden such thing for 8 years. But there was no other chance unless I wanted to walk 5 km to the restaurant each direction every day. There was one guy, I think from Poland, that had a motorbike and he drove me to the nearest store, which was like only 8-10km far from the house, that I could buy a bike . He left me there and I bought my bike. On my way back I was riding on the highway trying to focus on riding in a straight line which was almost impossible. Cars were passing around me and I was feeling so miserable and lonely. And after that shocking experience for me I was told that they don't sell alcohol on Sunday in South Carolina...and I needed a cold beer to relax at least at the end of the day. Luckily we were close to NC where they didn't have such low and the Polish guy went to buy a pack of beer.

It was only the 3-d evening of my travel but I had already experienced so much. At least I felt like that. And I was ready to meet my summer and the new things that were going to happen to me.

To be continued