12/09/2010 Irakli Beach - Krusevec (Distance 96km)

Pretty slow start to the day. We chat with Lena and her boyfriend, both of whom are from Austria. They both sport some seriously sun bleached dread's, combined with hoodies and shorts they fit the scene perfectly. Before Irakli they were travelling around Turkey and give me some tips on where to go. Her boyfriend heats coffee in a saucepan on an open fire. We then drink it from a communal large jam jar. Such simple living holds massive appeal for me. Although I feel I have achieved it in some areas of my current lifestyle, Irakli beach shows me that there is still a way to go. We say goodbye to our new friends and push our bikes back up the steep dirt track to the main road. While doing so, I'm already thinking about my next visit and when it might be.

The cycling has a fairly brutal start with an eight kilometre climb straight from the off. Though in due course we receive a fair whack of downhill and I manage a new record for Bulgaria at 73kph. The ride to Burgas is not so taxing, but with out a decent breakfast we are both feeling the burn. I see adverts for apartments for 35,000 Euros and fantasise that I could live a lifetime at Irakli for that. I stop to pick up a postcard. The route out of town seems a little confusing so we ask the way. It happens that the taxi driver we ask speaks German – it seems I picked the right riding partner in Katharina.

Twenty kilometres out of town I pull into a layby to wrap up my guitar against the spitting rain. While doing this we both look around the woodland that surrounds us. The dense forest would provide a perfect camping spot. We take a walk with our bikes until we are out of site from the road. The path on the forest floor has seen little activity recently I don't expect anyone to discover us. We set up the tents. Katharina reads while I talk to Jess on the phone. Once dark we head to sleep. We both wake in the night to a bassy growl emanating from deep in the forest. I convince myself that the source of the noise came from behind a distant fence I saw through the trees. Bears can't climb fences right?...