2,000 Leagues (give or take) Under the Sea

I finally got out scuba diving again last weekend! I had tried to go once a few weekends back, made the trip all the way south to the city that the dive center was located at only to find that they had canceled diving for the day without telling any of the divers. It ended up being a total waste of my morning and really frustrating because I had been looking forward to it so much. But last Saturday I got my chance. It was perfect weather and we took a boat out and dove one of the same wrecks that I went to last year. The first dive went went well, but it took me a bit to get adjusted since it had been a little while since I had been in the water. We got to spend plenty of time exploring the wreck though, swimming through corridors and making it all the way up to the bow of the ship. The water had the same murky green tint to it that I remember from last time, and was equally as cold. There were occasional fish and some jellyfish hovering around the wreck, but other than that, sea life in the area was fairly sparse. We explored the wreck for about half an hour or so, and then it was time to surface.

Between dives we just hung out on the boat, but there were really big swells and I ended up getting a bit sea sick. It ended up being a pretty miserable wait, and I couldn't wait to get back in the water where everything is more calm. As soon as I got in the water and started descending I felt much better, and the second dive went smoothly as well. We didn't get as much bottom time since the dive was so deep; if we had stayed down too long we would increase our risk for both nitrogen narcosis and decompression sickness, both of which I would like to avoid. But we toured part of the ship once more and checked out a few areas that we didn't have time for the first trip down. After that it was back to the surface, and then back to shore.

Over all it was a good trip, and for me its nice to be able to dive at least semi-regularly so that I can keep my skill set up and not be nervous every time I dive. Hopefully I get more opportunities to dive once I get back to the states, but being how I plan on staying in Nebraska at least until the New Year, I'm not counting on it any time soon.

(Dive conditions similar to Nebraska)

In other news, summer seems to have suddenly ended today. This year brought with it much milder than usual summer weather, which was nice because I got to avoid all the miserably hot summer days, but bad because it was shorter than last years. Today, September 1st, I was greeted with a completely overcast sky and a cool Autumn breeze. Summer is over way too quickly, it seems to have just flown by. Now I just hope the really cold winter weather stays at bay until I return back to the States.

Town Holiday....I think

It is not uncommon for Bulgarian towns to have a town holiday, one day where all the locals come together to celebrate, dance, drink and partake in general merryment. These are very festive events that are greeted with much fanfare and can sometimes resemble small fairs that we used to go to as kids back in the States (although the titl-a-whore sometimes slightly resembles a 30 year old spinning death trap here, and I wouldnt recommend riding it).

Malko Turnovo though has what would be considered the mother of all town holidays, due to the fact that it lasts not just one pitiful day, but for a whole week. Thats right, SEVEN straight days of town holiday! It sounds like a great idea, but the plan went awry somewhere along the way and now it seems more like one days worth of events and booths that were spread out over the course of a week. One day there is dancing, the next there is music, the day after that there is a ballon vendor, and today we are graced with a cotton candy peddler. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.... Having just one event from a fair show up for a day in the town center is hardly exciting, and I would have much rather had them all at once for one day of festivites instead of everyday having one. Makes for a lame holiday. I would show you pics, but honestly there is nothing to see.

Anyway, summer is coming to a close, and the trees in the park are already starting to turn colors. Pretty soon fall will come and hopefully I will get some cool pics of that.

Music Festival Extravaganza!

I am back in Malko Turnovo now, exhausted and a bit sick, after an intense 3 night music festival in Burgas. This year it was really awesome and I had a few friends come in to town to join in the festivities with me. We spent the afternoons relaxing at the beach (the weather was perfect), chilled out in the evenings and cooked some bomb dinners, and then headed to the show around 9 or 10 each night. The set up was similar to last years; 7 stages right on the beach, with music playing until the sun came up. The music catered to almost every taste, including rock, metal, punk, rap, ska, reggae, jazz and at least two stages devoted to techno and house, which effectively turned the beach into an outdoor rave toward the end of the night. It was a wild time.

(Stage 1 of 7, courtesy of spiritofburgas.com)

However, going from such a concert back to the slow pace of life that is Malko Turnovo is quite the transition. Now I am recovering and entertaining a few German couchsurfers that are staying at my place for a few days while they explore the park. The weather is surprisingly nice considering its august, and provides ideal weather for seeing the region. After that I think things quite down a bit until around mid-September, when I have to start prepping for my trip back to the states. Time has been flying lately, and I have a feeling that it will continue to do the same until the big day comes.

Beach weekend

I have definitely been taking advantage of living close to the sea this summer. This last weekend I got out of work a day early (on account of it being my birthday) and headed up to burgas to celebrate with a bunch of my friends that had come in from out of town. We ended up having a relaxing afternoon at the beach followed by a rather epic night.

The next day we headed up north to a town called Obzor to meet up with more people and spend the weekend relaxing on the coast. There ended up being some 25 people or so in our party and it was a lot of fun just chillin and seeing everyone again. Now that our term is almost up there are only going to be a few more events where we can get together, and I have a feeling that none of these upcoming events will have a majority of the group attend. Its kinda weird knowing that after being here 2 years with some of these people, I will probably never see some of them again.

Today I got back to Malko Turnovo and I realize that I am pretty much finished with work here. All my projects are finished, all my secondary activities are over, and the office has slowed down for august, so I am not sure what I will do to stay productive and fill my time. Office hours are definitely starting to drag. I did get my confirmation on my final day though, and I am happy to announce that on October 7th, I will officially be finished with my job here! Time to start planning my after-service trip.......