DAY 86 - Back to the Earth

June 13 - Ivan Vasova....a village or a ghost town?

In 1934 this village was renamed Vazovo, after the Bulgarian writer Ivan Vazov.  It is in the northeastern part of Bulgaria, close to the Romanian border.  We had found a couch surfing host from here that seemed very interesting, so we decided to go, but unfortunately...for only two nights.

After traveling most of the day, we arrived by bus to Ivan Vasova, not too far away from Plovdiv.  We were greeted by a large crane feeding her babies (they were big - I would have kicked them out of the nest if I were her.)

Looks as if there are four of these "babies."

Next we saw a man coming down the road with a horse pulling a cart.  The baby colt was hooked on, also.  I imagine it was to teach him all about how to help out on the farm.

We didn't see much action on the streets, so this was exciting to see.

"Mom says time for a break and some grass, but I'm so tired."

      

This used to be a square for recreation, I think - good for ghosts now.

Even this old farm looks deserted

 

But Mr. Goose says "hello" - welcome to our little village.

 We kept walking and walking.  We really didn't know how far the house was, but I think we went about a mile from the bus stop.                                                                   

We keep following these "Xtreme Sports signs...that is how we'll get there.

               

I'm getting nervous...could this be the place?

                                           

We must be getting close.

We're HERE!  Their guard dog was there to greet us.

Nasko and Naska and their three children, aged 9, 6, and 2 have lived in this village about eight years.

 Only their daughter was there for the first hour after we arrived.  She entertained us and of course, she only spoke Bulgarian.

What a doll with her curly hair.

Siyana was so agile at her climbing....she reminds me of the Chadwick grand-children

She climbed up into the sink, filled up the balloons with water and we threw them at each other.

When Nasko got there, he showed us his collection of tricks - VERY hard to do.

 Naska brought out some treats for us to have on their outdoor picnic area.  She had worked quite hard that morning making things for her family.  She does everything from "scratch."

Egg white meringue cookies with sugar.  
They called them "kisses". Crepes with fruit in them, also.

They had just finished the completion of their modern kitchen the previous month, so she was proud to show us all the features.  I wish I had taken more pictures.  :(

Notice the dish drainer above the sink

A little snack before dinner time

They had a guest house, beehive, and garden a couple of blocks away  from their home. They are very resourceful as they make their own bread, yogurt, and cheese, living a very simple life. They buy eggs and milk from a local neighbor, and barter for other things. We enjoyed a wonderful day and a half with them. The honey they shared with us was amazing! Very light golden and so sweet! YUM! Naska taught be how to make sourdough yogurt bread, but we didn't have a chance to make cheese.

 Dinner Time Everyone!

Sour-dough biscuits and yogurt with cucumbers.

Boyan and Yasen sure love their dad and the feeling is mutual.  WOW... can they all eat!

Home-made fries...No McDonald's in this family!

We also had roasted vegetables, but I guess I forgot to take that picture.  They were scrumptious!
Later that night, Nasko took Rich and I to a natural mineral hot baths place.  It was wonderful and we were the only ones there.  I wonder why?  It was midnight!  Nasko and I sang opera for an hour and the acoustics were fantastic.

Mineral hot baths dressing room

 The next day, I got up early and picked berries, cherries, and spent some time in their garden.  The guest house, where we were staying, was right next to the garden, which was several blocks away from where they were living.

You can see the old house where we stayed...probably about 100 years old

Oops...needs a little weeding

 They picked us up in their little car and I gave the kids some berries to eat while we went to a swimming pool in a nearby village.  They LOVED the big berries...we hadn't seen anything like them before.

This is a great breakfast!

Now you can see the cherries, too.  Better share with Rich.

Don't forget to spit out the seeds, "Bebe".(Yasen)

 The pool was made from a fresh warm spring. We had so much fun...no salt water, no chlorine, just pure water that comes naturally from underneath that was re-filled every few days.  The two older children swam very well and “bebe” was still learning.

Is this red bubble gum?

Could be...maybe...I don't know.

Nope - it's a balloon.  It helps Siyana stay afloat when she's in the deep end for hours

 Nasko did some stretching with Rich and I, talking about how to be more healthy. Nasko used to be a fighter pilot for 15 years, but the Bulgarian government retired him after that.

Nasko went through his daily stretching routine with us. 

Good balance guys!

The tea Naska served us is from the flowers that she dries
...it was so refreshing and good!

We learned many things from them as they had a lot of great philosophy. Both of them love singing, so I gave them a short lesson, and shared with them some of my knowledge.  They, in turn, brought out a folk song book with songs from their childhood.  I told them I loved children's songs, so they took pictures of several of them.  Can you guess the name of either of these songs?  You get a prize if you let me know what the name of either one is.  Email me or facebook me as soon as you know.

 

This is their home that they built and recently added onto.

Their outdoor kitchen

Picnic Area outside next to a storage building and computer table for Rich

Their new bathroom close to the new kitchen

"Bebe" likes his new little table that his dad made.

 Time for Dinner....

Sourdough bread, Salad, Pasta, and Soup

This wonderful mother works so hard every day for her family.

 I picked plums from their tree and made a yummy plum cobbler for dessert - (no picture).  Nasko and Naska had many words of wisdom for us during our short time with them.  I wish I could remember everything they said...they were "golden" words.  There was the "7 Levels of Harmony" or "What is the Life and How to Play the Game?" 1) Foundation of survival  2) Reproduce  3) Power of will (intelligence, humor, and intuition)  4) Love, Help, Heal  5) Arts (Music, Drama, Visual Arts)
Unfortunately, I didn't get the other two levels and I don't really understand everything he told us, but it's stepping stone to learning about it.

He also talked about Communism and again how they were all better off with it.  Back then they had money in their pockets, there was no poor class, and they were really  'living'.  Today there is a lot of sadness and aggression.  Many people commit suicides, take drugs, and put poison into their bodies.

"You need to fight for the freedom, but when you get it, you don't know what to do with it."

 

This little guy has been potty trained since he was about 18 months.  He even got out of the swimming pool to go.

Good Night, dear Tirana.  We won't see you in the morning cause we're leaving early.  We'll miss you and your dolly!

 Naska came over early and was working in her garden when we left to walk down and catch the bus.  One piece of advice from her was that you cannot change your spouse.  If you want it different than it is, you must change inside yourself.  Then others around you will see the change and begin living better, too.

Lavender is so beautiful and smells great, too.

More tears for saying good-bye to another sweet friend. 

Naska gave me some dried lavender from her garden to put in my luggage. She said it would make my clothes smell good and if I put some in my pillow, it would help me sleep better. (not that I have trouble sleeping).  I wished her well with raising her beautiful children and keeping her husband happy.