My Spy Cameras

The other day I was sitting in my apartment getting ready to cook up some dinner, and I decided that I would flip on the TV to see if there was anything good to watch while I was preparing my meal. I never watch TV, in all honesty i would say that I turn it on maybe once or twice a month, despite the fact that I have cable (I am forced to buy cable in order to get Internet, which I think is stupid, but my Internet bill is only about 14 dollars a month, so I cant complain too much). I was flipping through channels to see if there was anything good on discovery, history, or another station that was showing something other than mind-numbing sitcoms, and I came across the craziest station of all, the SKAT station.

SKAT, my local Internet/cable provider, has this local station that they air only in the region, and quite possibly only in my town. The station consists of elevator style background music with a screen that is split into four, one screen with Bulgarian news (without sound), one with a random Bulgarian TV show (still no sound), and last, and most bizarre, two live feeds from CCTV cameras that are placed around town. That's right, at any time of day or night, you can flip over to this station and watch live streaming content from video cameras placed strategically around the center of Malko Turnovo.

I have no idea why these cameras even exist in the first place, and even less of an idea why they are broadcast to everyone that has cable TV in my town. Who knows how many people are tuned in watching as you sit on a bench in the town square reading a book, or talking to friends, or picking your nose? Its kind of a strange feeling. I have even been over to peoples houses for dinner before when they have their TV on in the corner of the room with that station showing. Its just one of those things that the first time you see it, it makes you go 'hmmmm.'

The Russian Jeep

I spent most of this week out in the field looking for nests of birds of prey. It was nice to be outside again, but on Tuesday we had really bad weather. It started out nice, then turned to light rain, which slowly increased to a steady downpour. By the time we made it back to the jeep it was dumping snow on us. I was completely soaked.

Yesterday we went out to the coast to do bird counts. It was a fairly uneventful trip, but we did get to take the Lada Niva mudding on some of the trails (which were huge mud pits after the rains from the days before). We managed to get it stuck once, but for the most part those Lada Nivas are pretty bomb vehicles. Of all the cool things to come out of Russia, these jeeps are on the top of the list. They don’t have all the nice features you would find on, say, a jeep wrangler, but they are tough vehicles.

(the Niva after taking off-roading)

Our park owns three of them, all in various states of disrepair. The newest one is in perfect condition and has a tow winch and CD deck. The oldest of them is missing interior panels and functioning seatbelts, has a hole where the radio should be, and when you take it barreling down rugged terrain the doors have a tendency to pop open at random. Needless to say it makes for an exciting ride. But as beat up as they get, they never seem to die.

Stuck in the Middle of Nowhere

Last weekend I went out to a town in northern Bulgaria called Isparih to help out with a kids basketball tournament that was put on by a fellow volunteer. The tournament was a huge success, but it was my first time out in that region and my simple trip out to the town turned in to a 15 hour adventure. Riding trains here can be difficult sometimes because when the trains pull into a station there is no announcement informing people which station it is. I had to make several transfers but since I had never been up that way before I didn't know exactly which station I was supposed to change at. We pulled in to one station that I though was the right one, and I even asked a guy and he said it was the one I wanted, but turns out it wasn't. I had gotten off one station too early. Unfortunately, the train that I had just gotten off was the last one of the night, and there were no buses that ran then either. I asked the station attendent how far it was to the next town where my train transfer was, and he said only 6-7 kilometers.

"Cool, no problem, I can hike that in about an hour," I replied.

"No you cant, there is no road," answered the attendant in a monotone voice. Well, scratch that plan.

I had resigned myself to the fact that i would now be spending the night in this crappy town, and then inquired where the local market was since it was now 9pm and I had not eaten since before noon.

"Sorry, market is closed" was the reply I received. Great, no train, no bus, no market, no nothing. This town sucked. The train station attendant was kind enough to let me in to the switching house where they had a fire going and it was warmer while I called my friend in Isparih to let him know that I would not be making it in that night. He said he had a friend that could drive out and pick me up since I was only some 40 kilometers from his place. Sweet, good news. So I hung out with the train guys in the station house taking about politics, the economy, and life in Bulgaria while I waited for my friend to arrive. It took him two and a half hours to make it the 40 kilometers! Turns out there really were no good roads to this place. That is the last time I make that mistake again.

Trouble in Government

Things are not going good these days for the environmental movement here in Bulgaria. Corruption, construction companies and organized crime have long been enemies of the national and nature parks, and have been doing everything they can to try and develop all the remaining land that is protected here.

This situation recently took a turn for the worst when several of these outside vested interests sent in letters to the central government claiming that some of the Nature parks (mine included) were engaging in illegal activities and were working against the local municipalities. Now the parks are under a strict review and there is a strong possibility that the directors of all these parks will be replaced by people more sympathetic to the interests of the outside organizations. These parks have long been the only obstacles standing in the way of mass eradication of protected land in Bulgaria, but even with their sternest effort, they usually manage only to maintain the status quo. However, with the replacement of these directors the focus of these parks could radically change, opening up much of Bulgaria’s remaining forests and sea side to mass construction projects.

Here in Malko Turnovo, hostilities have intensified between the park directorate and the local municipality. Generally, the local governments are more in favor of development than conservation because of the increased money that comes with it, both official and under the table. These municipalities frequently try to undermine the parks and often look the other way during infractions in protected lands.

The outcome of this whole thing could drastically change my working situation. Right now I have a great organization that is here to do good work and protect the environment the best it can. I hope that this park can weather the storm and continue its projects to help protect and promote some of the few remaining areas of pristine nature in the European Union.

A pagan festival

I just got back from the big traditional festival in a town called Shiroka Luka, out in south central Bulgaria. Its a little town located deep in the Rhodopi mountains, surrounded by snow covered pine forests and clear mountain streams. It was my first time out in that region and I have to say that I was impressed. Its a beautiful area and all the little mountain towns have a really cool vibe to them.

The festival itself is called the 'kukuri festival' held every first of March, and it is the largest one in the whole country. Its almost a parade of groups representing their different towns, all dressed up in kukuri costumes and preforming dances and songs. The kukuri costumes are usually made out of goat skins and their dances drive away the evil spirits and help bring a good harvest. They are fascinating to see, but I have to admit that some of them are pretty creepy looking.

(this one is downright creepy)

These kukuri dances are an ancient pagan tradition that have survived the years and have been incorporated into modern Bulgarian culture. The most interesting part about it though is that they have blended slightly with the Bulgarian Orthodox church, so during these pagan dances you would see people dressed up as priests going around blessing the kukuri. Its one of the many examples where religion here is heavily used as a cultural and traditional instrument.

Of course, as with any big Bulgarian festival, this one wouldn't be complete with out the accompaniment of sausage and beer vendors. There were hordes of people dancing around the town with bottles in hand, sometimes giving the feeling of one giant outdoor party. It was a lot of energy and really added to the over all effect of the event.

We also traded martenitsi again like last year. I have to wear them until I see a white stork, at which time I'm supposed to tie them to a tree for good luck for the rest of the year.

You can check out my picasa page for more pics. http://picasaweb.google.com/justinrobarge