Summary

Jill and Chris, along with their friend Nico, are embracing a spontaneous holiday in Bulgaria, balancing work and leisure while documenting their experiences despite the initial disruption caused by Covid-19.

Abstract

The authors, Jill and Chris, have reunited with their friend Nico in Varna, Bulgaria, after their travels were abruptly halted by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. They are now enjoying a holiday, a concept they've redefined due to their nomadic lifestyle that blends work and travel. Despite the challenges of separating work from pleasure, they've decided to prioritize relaxation and sightseeing during Nico's 10-day visit, exploring places like Balchik and its botanical garden. They continue to share their journey through various online platforms, maintaining their income through remote work and exchanging murals for accommodation.

Opinions

The authors express a sense of surrealism and disbelief about the onset of Covid-19 and its impact on their travels.
They acknowledge the difficulty in distinguishing between work and leisure due to their lifestyle that involves documenting their travels for income.
The decision to take a holiday and enjoy each other's company is seen as a welcome and necessary break from their usual routine.
There is an appreciation for the beauty of Bulgaria, particularly the town of Balchik and its attractions, which they feel compelled to share with their audience.
The authors convey a sense of gratitude for the opportunities they have, such as meeting someone who drove them to Balchik and the ability to rent an affordable apartment.
They emphasize the importance of flexibility and seizing the moment, as evidenced by their choice to work during the night to enjoy a beautiful fall day.
The authors are keen on inspiring and uplifting their audience through their journey, inviting readers to follow along and stay updated with their travels.

We Are Being Forced Into a Holiday

And it feels really good.

Part of a palace in Balchik, Bulgaria. Photo Credit: Author

We picked up our friend Nico from the Varna (Bulgaria) airport on Friday. If you read my last post, you will know that we haven’t seen him since we all were side-swiped by the arrival of Covid while we were traveling together in Morocco in 2020.

We left each other wondering if we would ever see each other again. We were all in quite a state of fear, and it’s interesting to look back at it now and laugh at how crazy everything was. Honestly, it is even hard to believe that it happened at all.

At the time, it was completely surreal.

While we knew that it would be difficult to work for the time that he is visiting, we didn’t think that we would find ourselves in full-on holiday mode.

To be clear, we don’t really know what a holiday is anymore.

Balchik waterfront. Photo Credit: Author

Our working and resting life has blended into one big hodge-podge. Our volunteer work gets us accommodation and sometimes food, and when we are doing that, we are still working in the evenings on our online projects that bring us money.

Even on what could be considered a ‘day off’, when we go out to explore and walk around, we take pictures and document our journeys, which turn into blog posts, articles, photo essays, Instagram posts, and Patreon updates.

It’s REALLY hard to separate work from pleasure in this life.

Initially, we thought that we might take the weekend off, then get back to work on Monday (today), but when we woke up, the sun was shining and there was no way that we were going to sit inside on such a spectacular fall day.

“Ah, we can work when it is dark.” We decided.

So, out we went.

Of course, Nico is here to primarily see us and he isn’t worried about traveling around and seeing a lot. But it is silly to visit new places and not see the cool things that each place has to offer. So instead of sitting inside and doing work, as we would normally do, we have decided that this 10-day period will mostly be a time to relax, see the sights and enjoy each other's company.

After all, that is what a holiday should be.

But of course, I will always have that urge to write and will sneak in an update here and there whenever I can, which is what I am doing now.

We are currently in a small town called Balchik which is located 45 km north of Varna, right on the Black Sea. We rented a fully furnished apartment for a great off-season price, so we can shop at the supermarkets and cook our own food.

Balchik from above. Photo Credit: Author

Luckily we met a man at our hostel in Varna that was driving his car around Europe and he offered to drive us here. He accompanied us on our first wander around town, we all shared dinner in the apartment, then he headed off to find a place to camp for the night.

Yesterday we were just walking around and found a really lovely botanical garden complete with a palace and grounds. We were enamored with the place and spent 2.5 hours wandering around. Of course, I will share more pictures in a future update.

Today we will simply walk to the supermarket, do some research about our buses leaving here, then find an ATM.

The palace gardens were beautiful with the changing of the leaves. My phone battery died before we reached this beautiful place so Nico took some shots for me. Photo Credit: Nico Weber

Tomorrow we are taking Nico back to Veliko Tarnovo, a place that Chris and I have already been to. But we really loved it and look forward to exploring it more in the coming days. Plus, we will be there for my birthday!

Thanks for following along on our journey, and stay tuned for more adventures:)

xo Jill

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Hi there, we are 2 Canadians, Jill and Chris from Artistic Voyages. We have been nomadic since 2017 living in numerous different countries, and experiencing the life and diversity of our planet on the ground and firsthand. We paint FREE murals in exchange for accommodation. Consider tipping us on Ko-fi!

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