Ferry Burgas – Batumi

It took some research made by Athanas, a friend in Bulgaria, to find out that this ferry goes every Friday night and to find the contact.

www.burgas-ferry.bg

19 Industralna str, 8000 Burgas

Email: rivanov@portbulgariawest.com

The information was that “you check in at customs to our forwarders – receive boarding pass from there and proceed for embarkation. Payment on board cash to the captain” (135€ -2018-08)

I didn’t follow these instructions exactly, as I first wanted to take a look at the port. This is not too hard to find, because of signs showing the way.

There a guy gave me directions to a building and said that there I can buy the ticket. I wanted to buy the ticket in advance anyway and this encouraged me to try. The address is 3 Industralna str, so it is near, but I wouldn’t have found it by myself.

After showing my passport to security at the entrance and at the first floor I was guided to the office where the guy after taking my passport, asked me if I have a reservation and as it according to email information from this office had been impossible to get any I said no and he asked “why?!” but didn’t care for any answer, printed a paper that didn’t show much text but equalled a ticket and lead me to another room for payment. He told me that I should be there at 4pm or 5 but also 6 would be ok. Or 7. And with this precise information, a receipt (I paid in a mixture of € and Leva and showed my passport) and that paper I went off, curious whether or not I will be able to get on board.

On Friday I went to the port at 5:30, showed my passport, got a boarding pass and went on to the border control. This time my passport was examined thoroughly (failing to be recognized 4-5 times) and then the last stop before getting to the ship was customs control. The officer pointed at one of my bags and asked me to open it. He took 3 items out of it, touched the next below, put the things back and let me close the bag again.

And so I went up in the impressingly wide open mouth (hm, this opening is not at the head of the ship) wide enough for 3 trucks on each side and a way for them to get to the second level. A man told me to leave my bike at the side of the ship and go up the stairs to the reception.

It was impossible to take all the bags at once so I decided to leave the big white one with tent stuff down, hoping that there is no one to take it. The rest was heavy enough that I had to stop after every single steep stairs. In fact it was on the other side of the long ship and it was on level 3 (if you say entering is level 0) and once it even meant to go down again one level and up again. But as a good excuse for breaks I made a lot photos.

At the reception the lady was surprised that I already had paid, gave me the key to the cabin and some instructions and I went to my room. (People I met at this evening see at “People I met”)

Soon it was time for dinner, rabbit in a delicious soup, and then the long waiting time for leaving started. Everyone knew something about leaving time but only two things were sure: the cars and caravans would come in at the end (making their drivers a bit restless) and there were still more trucks coming in. Around 11pm they could get their cars up and everyone got a very small slot so space was filled very close. Even the ramp was filled up with trucks and then lifted and then the level 0 was completed.

This procedure was still going on at 1am when the last passengers gave up waiting for leaving. I was so frozen that I could not sleep and at 3 in the morning a truck driver came in to occupy the last bed.

Around 5 the sound of the enginge became louder and I got up to see and film the departure. This was a long manoeuvre of turning and finally standing in the same position like at the start only 100m or so more to the right. Then a pilot/navigator boat came to fetch a guy who had been on board. They accompanied us for another while and then the journey to the open sea began.