The second week of my dig went by quickly. Because we had our makeup day on Sunday, Monday was our day off. I decided to go scuba diving in the black sea because my cousin and I have been talking about Scuba diving recently and I thought it was high time to try it again.
I was diving with another boy in my program who was getting certified, and so diving took almost the whole day. First, my friend did his required training dive. Then, we both dove together. I’m not going to lie; it was not a great experience. When I went diving in Iceland, the water was crystal clear. the water was cold enough that no plants or animals could live in it, and the visibility was probably over 100 feet. The place where we went diving probably had decent visibility on a good day, but because a storm had hit the day before, the visibility was less than 7 feet. When we first got into the water, we were in a muddy area where the visibility couldn’t have been more than 2 feet. I panicked a little when I first got in and couldn’t see anything, and I never fully recovered. My equipment in the water was looser than it had been above water, and I had to adjust it a number of times. Also, my flipper fell off at one point. Still, besides the equipment issues and the visibility, it was a descent trip. My friend and the diving instructor helped me out underwater any time I needed adjusting. We also saw some plants and animals, which I hadn’t seen underwater before. We saw some crabs, fish, and even a jellyfish. We also got to chill on the bottom, collecting seashells and following a pipe for a ways under the water. Although I wouldn’t say it was a great time, I was glad to be able to say I scuba dove in the black sea, and to get more practice in. Hopefully I’ll be more prepared by the next time I go diving.
After diving, I went to the Old Town beach with my roommate. We had a nice, relaxing afternoon and some good food for dinner.
The next day, was probably the best of my trip. I finished the horizontal plan I was working on and then got to clean out and level an area for photographs using the brushes and pickax, my two favorite parts of digging. Then I had a great lunch with a couple of friends. Instead of having a workshop in the afternoon, we got to go to the Balkan Heritage Field School’s exhibition contained exclusively things found by students of various field schools throughout Bulgaria. One of my friends had been working on conserving a fish plate during his first two weeks there, and his plate was displayed in the exhibition. The mayor, the leader of the Balkan Heritage foundation, and a few others spoke, followed by some time to explore the exhibits, and then a short walk to a reception where they had traditional Bulgarian dancers performing. I got to participate in the dancing, which was so much fun! Afterwards, a group of my friends and I picked up some food and ate it on some rocks while watching the beginning of the sunset.
The next day, I learned how to draw a vertical plan and sorted some pottery. Then my roommate and I walked through the old town. We came back to the site in the afternoon for our first day of sorting pottery, where we were able to see some of the beautiful finds other people had stumbled upon at the site. After pottery sorting, a group of us had dinner and then walked around the new town at night.
Thursday, I got to do some more cleaning for photographs, and then continued to try to level the bulk that I had started on the first day. We made a major dent in it and one of the girls digging with me found a large fragment of pottery with designs and a discernible shape. After digging, my friends and I headed to New Town beach and spent a few hours swimming, which was an absolute blast. We showered and then returned to the island for our last day of workshops, more pottery sorting. Once pottery sorting was done, a few friends and I decided to take a sunset cruise because we hadn’t been on a boat yet. We got to take the boat from the harbor near our island, past Old Town beach and the rocks where we’d eaten on Tuesday, all the way to the New Town beach. It was about an hour and we were able to catch most of the sunset. We ate dinner near the harbor, where we were able to catch the last bit of sunset.
Then, it was the last day of the dig. On the final day, the girls I’d been working with and I brought the rest of the bulk down so that it was level with a pit nearby. Then we sorted all the pottery we’d found from the newly-leveled area. Finally, everybody presented what they’d been working on in their pit and what they’d found. The supervisor showed us some of the most special finds, and then we got a mug and a certificate that said we’d officially completed the course. It was emotional knowing that after two short weeks, we’d all be leaving and the site wouldn’t be touched again until next year. But alums to the program get a discount, so who knows? I’m certainly going on a dig again, and I liked the history of Apollonia enough that I could see myself coming back at some point.
Then, after lunch, my roommate and I relaxed until it was time for our goodbye dinner. We walked through the old town to eat dinner at a traditional restaurant with a windmill overlooking the water. We were served the traditional salad, a chicken and creme dish, and homemade ice cream with green fig. It was a delicious meal, and we got to see and participate in more traditional dance. It was an amazing way to end my time in Sozopol.
WANDERING 