Life is structured by breakfast, lunch and dinner at 8, 12 and 18h. It reminds me on hospital where you also are not too busy and fill up the time from one meal to the next by little activity.
As I had found the book “Mitternachtskinder” I try to read a lot, but still, I will not manage to finish it. (Update: I did in the last night and afternoon, fighting with sleepiness. Now I gave it to Jerry from Switzerland, see: people I met). When I write on the PC I get a bit sick, so I must restrict that and even more editing video clips. But at least when I lay on bed it is getting better after a while. Then I fall asleep sometimes, also good.
And when I am on deck often there is someone to talk with.
It is really a strange situation, because even in Burgas I did more and never in Vienna, not during the year, not in weekends or holidays I do so little. It is nor really bad, but I get worried how it will be to restart biking, because I feel laziness defeating me. But as I have a plan and a schedule I most probably will overcome this. (update, 14.8.2018 I did 150km, so, yes. But I again had a problem, like on the very first day, this time starting with a knee, later hurting up and down of it, too)
Many people on board seem to deal with this idleness in a way or other, as they make jokes like “ok, lunch is done, let’s recover for dinner” or just say that they enjoy this time. The majority on board are truck drivers and for them it is a time of relaxation.
When it is eating time, it is “the truckers” and me who are there earliest. Some of them had beer as a foundation of every meal, including breakfast, and after dinner there are big bottles of vodka and the like on the tables and to make the picture complete, some indeed start singing, but all in all they are friendly elderly man, most of them at least 50, some looking like 70, most of them with impressing bellies and voices.
I just struggle with their habits of taking much more food from the buffet than the need, just to throw it away. Some take 5 slices of bread, 2 go untouched to the dustbin. Why take plums you don’t eat? Why fill a plastic cup with juice and not drink it?
I would not prefer those habits with rich people, but I would explain it to me as disdain for everything that is too cheap for them. By the way, the food is good, with a lot of fresh salad and fruits as dessert and a tasty soup as a starter.
I didnt want to take the packed yoghurt, not only because of plastic, no: it is made in Germany with milk from there, the Netherlands and Belgium! and on the plate you can see the Bulgarian yoghurt, so no need to get it from somewhere ~2000km away)
I liked the situation when all around us was just blue Black Sea!
…but the last photo “should” show some dolphins. Jerry made some pictures in the same diretion and you clearly could see them jumping so I tried it, but I think there are none.
On the last day, when we waited for disembarking, some truckers were fishing and in the evening those fish had been fried in the kitchen and they gave some for other guests.
(I wonder why some photos turn when uploaded….)
The cabin is also ok, I just have some problems with the bathroom, but I take it as a training for worse things to come.
As we go east the passenger’s deck has some shadow until noon and then the sun occupies it until evening.
13.8.2018, Day 23
According to initial information, we should have arrived today at 6a.m., as we started later I was prepared to arrive later, too. One guy from the crew told us in the morning that it could be 12 or 13. In fact, we saw the port and houses of Burgas in front of us at eleven. But, as he had explained, there was another ship there and we must wait until there is space at our “gate”. Later the lady at the reception told me, it could be late evening or night. I don’t need to ask or check as the passport control will be on board, so we will hear it on time. And in the afternoon, I got the brand new information of another night on board.
Last night, I – now needlessly – had been sleeping only until 2a.m. because I had been nervous: what to do when, what to pack first, what at last, when to change to bike dress, etc. My transformation by travelling is not completed yet…
In the end, it was 11p.m. when we finally left the ship. First the passengers, then the bikers, then the cars and finally the trucks. I went with Matthieu and Quentin and gave up my plan to do some kilometres in the late evening to reduce the 145km to Kutaissi and (see day 24) it was a good decision. We picked the first hostel and it was ok. Late at night I withdrew Georgian Lari (1€~3GeL), bought a Georgian SIM card and around 1a.m. I was in bed.