Day 40. Thursday 30th July. From north of Istanbul airport, Turkey to Camping Emanuil, Gurkovo. Bulgaria. 248 miles 399 k’s. 

We drove away from our campsite of the night as a tip truck was about to drive onto it and dump another load of rubble. We got out just in time.  That was at 8.30am. 

Thankfully the nightmare of getting across the Bosphorus and out of Istanbul, was over…or more accurately, under. The sat-nav, set to avoid toll roads, wanted to take us by ferry. What we didn’t know, and I wonder if the sat-nav did, was that a tunnel had been dug in 2016. As Jen said, we had to use a combination of google maps, the sat-nav and compass to get us to the other side. 

Greenfield casino development.

Heading to Bulgaristan..:)

Crossing out of one, into another country.

Eventually we arrived at the border with Bulgaria 180k’s later, after stopping at Edirine to add supplies. 

At the border there was the small matter of a toll to be paid for using the tunnel. Three hundred and thirty TL or about $12NZ, or 5 Pounds Sterling. Getting through the Turkish side was a relative breeze.  Jen was sure I was going to be fined, or much worse, for ignoring many of the traffic signs, that nobody else seems to take seriously either. Electronic road surveillance is constant, but is anyone watching?  

Approaching the Bulgarian side there were 12 lanes of cars each with about 50 cars by the time we arrived. The next hour we inched forward, until the movement stopped. It’s 5.30pm and we still have another 160k’s to drive to this campsite that we enjoyed on the way in. I suspect the reason for the hold up, a change of border officials. People wandering Down from cars further back, to see what is causing the stoppage. Nearly all foreign registered cars in the rows. But nearly all of them Turkish driven. German Austrian Swedish etc. New BMW’s Mercedes etc. Germany particularly has a very large Turkish population. 

Driving in Bulgaria. 

What a pleasant experience. Nobody on the rear tail light, cars or trucks, and passing on the inside or out, depending on possibilities. Instead, orderly following distances and respect for town speed limits and general road etiquette. 

By 7.30pm we arrived at Camping Emanuil. It’s a tranquil, family owned and run camp, at lake’s edge. We were exhausted and delighted to arrive.

Tomorrow we will simply relax and attend to domestic chores like washing clothes, showering with warm water and recuperating for the next phase, driving back to Calais. Oh! And catching up on my latest favorite YouTube episode of LR Time. 

PS. Having just given Bulgaria a huge wrap for safe driving….I have just read that it has the second most deadly roads in Europe, only just behind Serbia. At least they are heaps better than Turkey…:)

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