The Black Sea Discovery cruise finally made it to the Black Sea. The last thirty miles was by motor coach, but we made it to Varna, Bulgaria. The first stop at the Archeological Museum was interesting. A few artifacts in the collection date back to the Old Stone Age (10,000 – 100,000 BC). The museum has its charms and is a long way from decrepit, but it lacks any kind of style and most of the displays are very ordinary and somewhat shabby. The country doesn...

We docked at Svistov, Bulgaria for a full day trip through the area. While we were on the bus going from one site to another, the boat sailed on down the river to pick us up at Rousse, Bulgaria. On the way to Veliko Tarnovo we saw fields of corn and sunflowers and herds of sheep, goats, and cattle, but no fences to keep them in. The guide explained that the herd of animals belonged to everyone in the nearby village. They had a shepherd who would collect the ani...

Today has been a slow day. I was ready for it after almost nonstop touring in the heat. We have gone through the locks at the Iron Gate, built when Yugoslavia and Romania were living with terrible dictators. One positive thing they did manage to do was to build the locks making the river a much safer place to navigate. Philip has finally gotten back on the Internet to teach, after a full day of no access. The system is very slow here, but it does work off and o...