Bashes in Bulgaria-1985

Lazy atmosphere. The whole way through we saw people sleeping at the sides of the road. It was like everyone worked in slow motion. These were not just a select few, but the majority of those we passed by were in this stupor. It gave us some food for thought.

We stopped to buy bread. It fascinated us to find the bread was round. I remember the bread well because of what happened after we purchased it. The wee Morris was bouncing along on the wrong side of the road-- it was necessary because all of Bulgaria was driving on the wrong side, the poor Morris was built to drive down British roads and thus the steering wheel was placed in a position suitable for the correct driving position. Unfortunately trying to pass vehicles became a challenge-- remember you have to pass on the left and yet you are sitting over on the right side driving.

I'm not sure exactly how it happened-- seems like we were pulling out to pass a truck-- or we were just driving along-- who knows. What I do know is the big truck slammed into the wee Morris. Crunch!! All the glorious body work which had been accomplished in New Delhi crumbled before our eyes. Stephen's heart broke. The belligerent truck driver jumped out to start a fight. It was his fault but he wasn't going to admit it. The whole thing looked like it would escalate into something very sticky with police arriving demanding our passports. Thankfully, we were able to calm everyone down and we squeezed back into the Morris....driving in silence....heavy silence for miles.


We were somewhere over Sofia when we found a campsite to stop for the night. The tension in the air was heavy. Then it was time to eat our bread.

"Where is the bread we bought?"

"Uhm, I think it was in the back seat of the car."

I rummaged around looking for it only to find a very flat item which resembled what used to be the nice round bread we bought earlier. I had been the one who was sitting in the back seat; after the crash, I accidentally sat on the bread. Sheepishly I took the bread disc and shoved it into Stephen's hands.

"Uh....I think this is the bread...or was..."

All three of us stared at the bread and I can't remember who started laughing but soon all of us were laughing. We laughed and laughed until tears streamed down our faces. It was like a great release.

I can't see round bread today without remembering Bulgaria with a smile.