Trying to find our route around Bucharest
Last night we were travelling around a motorway ring road, when it suddenly came to a full stop and was only under construction. Both the sat-nav and Google Maps were confused and kept trying to turn us around and send us back the same way. We could not find camping anywhere. The terrain was completely flat, being on the edge of the Danube delta and the roads all fenced with no possibility to exit, so we pulled into a roadside hotel.
After a reasonable night’s sleep we got up to a cold shower. Very annoying and also no tea or coffee in the room. We had our normal breakfast in Poki. Ever since we arrived in Romania we have been unable to get strawberries, to top our porridge, so have replaced them with cherries, which there are in abundance.
Once back on the road the sat-nav and Goggle Maps were still giving us contradictory information. We soon found our selves back at the point where we had left the motorway yesterday. Stopping to ask for directions, a young man advised Dennis we would be better off driving straight through the city, rather than trying to negotiate finding the ring road.
This we did pretty easily. Obviously it was not fast because of the traffic lights, but other than that traffic moved freely and it was not difficult.
Driving through the centre of Bucharest
Driving across the Danube to Bulgaria
Before we left Romania we stopped at a LIDL to restock with provisions. I wanted to use up the last of the Romanian RON. Before we crossed the border with had to pay a 3 EUR toll to use the bridge.
Once in Bulgaria we headed south. We are not stopping to do any sightseeing. Before we crossed the border I purchased an online Vignette which we need to drive on main roads and motorways in Bulgaria. We stopped at a roadside pull off point for lunch. It was just somewhere to stop, not scenic and close to the road and the many trucks rushing past.
I had located a campsite online which we should have reached by 17.15. However, when we arrived at the place Google Maps provided, there was no sign of camping. We stopped to ask a gentleman with a horse and cart if there was a campsite. Communication wasn’t happening. He signalled for us to follow him. He took us to a nearby house from which a gentleman emerged who spoke English. It turned out he had lectured in psychology in the States. He advised us the camping was a few kilometres further on. We followed our helper with his horse and cart back to the main road. He turned out to be Turkish and despite speaking about 3 words of English, had lived in the U.K. for 10 years!
The camping wasn’t much further along the road. It’s next to a lake and the lady who greeted us on arrival was very friendly. The temperature has gone up again today. Despite being so late in the day, I decided it was an ideal opportunity to do some laundry. Just hand washing a few items to keep us going.
Our Turkish Helper
As I write this overlooking the lake, the sun is setting and the sky is a lovely shade of pink. Tomorrow will be another hot day I expect. We should reach the Turkish border tomorrow morning.
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