Oltenita, Romania - Silistra, Bulgaria – 85 kilometres
After enjoying a breakfast of fresh tomatoes and paprika from Peter's
garden, we hurried to the Calarasi border, hoping the veggies
wouldn’t take effect too soon.
Luckily, a ferry operated across the Danube River to Silistra, Bulgaria.
As can be expected, I was apprehensive about my Romanian visa
dilemma. By then, I had overstayed my Romanian visa by 18 days —
instead of the two days it was supposed to last. I didn’t mention this
and simply handed over my passport. They disappeared behind a
screen and later reappeared and returned my passport. All without a
single word. I was relieved, to say the least.
I could already tell that communication in Bulgaria would be more
challenging, as they use the Cyrillic script. To add to the confusion,
Bulgarians nod their heads for ‘no’ and shake their heads sideways
for ‘yes’, so I anticipated a few misunderstandings.