New Laws On Gas Driven Vehicles In Bulgaria

There is a new law that has been brought out this week concerning car and the use of gas. Now any vehicle that is powered by gas cannot be filled up at a service station without showing the official sticker on the gas cylinder that proves that is has had an official service check made on it.

Owners have to attend an inspection that cost 20 leva (5 leva for the label and 15 leva for the document) in order to be legally able to buy and use gas. This is another EU dribble that has come in making life harder for the Bulgarians. Most Bulgarian drivers use gas because they can’t afford petrol and this will force more to give up their cars. This is not the point of the exercise.

I was told not to pay anything other than 20 leva when I went for the test. If I was asked for more then I should refuse. The trouble was the guy who was doing the test and documents was a typical weighlifting built ox of a man who I didn't want to argue with. So it was a relief that I was asked for 20 leva and no more. This was after his professional services of putting washing up liquid on the gas connections to check there were no leaks. I think the correct charge to me he made has a lot to do with me speaking Bulgarian, I was also in blue dungerees Bulgarian village clothing and had a Lada with me. The reason I was warned about being overcharged was that many other British expatriates have already been charged 50 leva or more and paid it without question many with monster 4x4 vehicles.

May I add that once a year vehicles go through a test for their roadworthiness anyway and get a sticker on the window screen to prove it. Why introduce another test when everthing is meant to be checked yearly anyway? Another money-making scheme to fill the pot form the EU. Another tax that has been introduced, what's next? I'll take a guess at tax on well water, more parking charges in towns and cities and fees for municiple rubbish to be taken away.

Another 20 leva a year to pay for a gas driven car in Bulgaria, to be quite honest I really could do without a car from the point of expense. A car is a luxury for me here and something I feel quite guilty about considering the lifestyle I have chosen to live here.

July And August In Bulgaria - Very Hot And Usually No Rain

July and August here in Bulgaria are the dry months and apart from being unseasonably flooded out early this month we are back into the trend of no rain and sweltering temperatures. This Saturday it was 42+ C! No one was outside expect grazing animals during the day; it was just watering crops early in the morning and last thing at night.

There was no water again this weekend it would have been nice to have a shower after grafting in the fields, but we were lucky that we have the well water to rely on and a ice cold shower in the heat was to say the least certainly refreshing.

We have a problem again here with our grapes. The thieving starling wait until our backs are turned and swarms of them clamber around every bunch of ripening grapes where most of them fall to the ground. This happens every year and there is nothing we can do about it. We cannot be there all the time and it is so frustrating after al the time and effort we put into looking after the vines. It could well be that there will be no wine or rakia this season with the damage they have done. I have written about this before and the Bulgarian way of dealing with it is do nothing, just be there.

The potatoes have been invaded with thousands of little orange beetles, but that is not so much of a problem as the actual buried potatoes are now full to size and just waiting to be dug out. The foliage being eaten to smithereens now doesn’t matter so I let them get on with it, in fact their doing me a favour by devouring them, less for me to transport to the tip at the top of the hill.

Watermelons and honey melons are set and just need a little extra time to 'sweeten up'. This is the first time I have grown these and I am very excited at the prospect, although Galia is quite keen to try them, but she can’t see what the fuss it all about when she can buy one for a couple of leva that is just as good or better in the bazaar and not get her hands dirty!

We get strawberries every week now albeit smaller with only watering once a week, but they’re sweet enough. The pumpkins have taken off and their massive umbrella leave spread out and suppress weeds that now get no light. They are such a low maintenance crop to grow once the roots settle in. We have created a small reservoir by the base of the source root and fill it up before we go back to town it last five days quite well now.

The proudest crop this year in the Skalitsa village farm is the sweet corn. Again, before this year I had failure after failure, but I’ve got it right this year albeit on a much smaller scale. Next year I will more than double the crop. Once again the foliage once grown suppresses weeds and they look after themselves if doused with water once a week.

Galia isn’t with me this weekend and stayed in Yambol as she has gone down with the flu, she was much better by Sunday when I got back to Yambol. We wanted to go to the Black Sea this weekend for a little break, but the apartment we found that had a great offer on was fully booked, everything else was too expensive so w have to wait for another deal probably not until September now.

Flies In Bulgaria - They've Won

Flies in Bulgaria are accepted as part and parcel of life here. Bulgarian’s just aren’t bothered about them as they have the free run of the place. From April to October flies are around everywhere and they are really cheeky with it.

Now I come from a culture where cleanliness is paramount, if a fly is in the house everything else stops unit that fly is either ushered out or exterminated the latter the preferable option for me. I know flies are on this earth for a reason and we would be sky high in sewerage without them, but there is a time and place for flies that doesn’t correspond very well with me. With this mind of flies out of my environment, this is one instance where the disadvantages of being in a climate that is perfect for flies. I have adjusted to most things here and made headway with the fly problem, but I still have a long way to go to accepting them as permanent guests wherever I am.

My home is still a fly free place, there have been provisions put in to prevent flies entering with fly screens on every window and the only entrance, this works very well. If there happens to be one that sneaks in there is the battery hand vacuum to suck it up, I don’t use chemicals sprays purely down to the cost. Eating food and drink in the house presents no problems if left uncovered and unattended – I feel very happy with this.

Turning to my Bulgarian family, friends and neighbours they have had a history of flies, whether they originally tried to fight them and just gave up knowing that they wouldn’t win I don’t know. I know they are fully aware of the germs flies carry around and the dirty business they leave on the food left around, but that is no worry for them. There is absolutely no panic involved in seeing a fly on food, on their arm or leg or in the house. The flies are left free to do what they want without any retaliation from Bulgarians and that is something I find quite alien.

If a fly lands on my leg I swipe it instantaneously, I never get it and it is free to roam again. Flies on my food and in my drink if seen would trigger and immediate reaction again to swipe and get them off, then think twice about eating the food they have just been on. When first coming here, I’d never eat food that I knew a fly had landed on unless it can be washed i.e. fruit. I have now accepted that I would starve to death if I kept this up when dining out or with other Bulgarian’s homes. There is now a new Martin that accepts that you have to go with the flow eating and drinking with the knowledge that flies have had the first course. I still feel quite uneasy about this, but it is getting easier as time goes by.

I know that food that is presented to guests in Bulgarian restaurants and flies have has had flies as guests beforehand, this is unavoidable and you have to accept that. Many people here just can’t understand why I have such a problem with flies being around. I explain the reason of hygiene and they understand. Then they explain that this is not a problem and if no one has been ill or has suffered from food that has been visited by flies why should I worry. I have no answer to that, in fact even though I have an obvious cultural phobia with flies I do believe that missing with a few germs helps build up you immune system and it is with that knowledge I accept food that flies have tampered with.

Eating with my good neighbour friends outside in the village in the height of summer is a bit like going through a round of Survivor. Their home is right next to the village rubbish tip and the flies we get there both in and out of the house are unfounded. We spend lots of time with them and the friendship we have with them overrides any fear of flies, but it is a relief indeed for us to get back into out home next door inside in the fly free zone. Even Galia freely admits that the swarms of flies that we all have to endure with our neighbours are extremely uncomfortable and she is glad to get home. Again we know for sure that the flies have invaded food whilst being prepared but is still beats any food in the UK. Flies are of course all part of nature here, why shouldn’t I accept that like the Bulgarians. I stress once again, not once have we been ill or suffered form the food we have eaten there. It is prepared and eaten fresh on a daily basis therefore there is no time for any incubation. Problems lies with in correctly stored food over days and that’s where the health problems lie.

Finally, it is a strange phenomenon, but if there are a group of people (Bulgarians) sitting with me, flies always seem to land or hover around me. Whether this is because I have a different scent than I don’t know, it is quite annoying that the person that finds it hard to accept flies around gets this treatment.

Does anyone else in warm climates have a problem with flies? If so how do they deal with it?

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