Starting month three of a delightful stay in Sofia
As the warmth of Spring arrives in this Baltic country of Bulgaria, where I’ve been a guest since April in the capital city, Sofia, I’m captivated by the easy-going, comfortable way of life and the warmth and friendliness of the many friends I’ve made here.
It’s an utterly pleasant place to live — it’s affordable, and drivers are polite, not leaning on their horns over every bit of a traffic nuisance that annoys them, as in many cities.
And drivers always stop to allow pedestrians to cross the wide streets. Can you imagine?
Like almost every other place I’ve been, however, there are still annoyances.
There’s litter strewn about, though the city crews diligently get after it. There is also, predictably, tons of plastic waste, the scourge of the earth.
Sidewalks are clogged with smokers who can’t smoke inside the businesses they work in, while the cafes and restaurants put the smokers outside under the patio umbrellas, relegating the non-smokers to the dark, stale-aired inner sanctums of the restaurants like a lower class of citizens — so that the smokers can pollute the air outside.
Sofia’s no different than the rest in that regard, however. It’s endemic in public life, and smokers seem to get preferential treatment by their number.
Curiously, almost all of the cigarettes I see here are skinny, maybe half the diameter of what used to be the standard among American smokers, and I don’t know why.
But if only the U.S. could take its gun numbers down at the rate it has reduced smoking — down by nearly half among adults since 2005 — we’d all be healthier. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Finally, Back To Istanbul For Meds
I still have to return to Istanbul to replenish my supply of medication for COPD, a respiratory disease I was diagnosed within 2019. I’ve not had any problems with recurrences of symptoms since I readjusted my lifestyle immediately upon the diagnosis. Still, I don’t care to risk finding out what might happen if I stopped taking the “maintenance” meds.
Only pharmacies in a handful of countries, including Turkey, Greece, and Mexico that I’m aware of have the inhaler I need (Anoro Ellipta) and sell it without requiring a prescription.
Many European countries have it but require prescriptions and charge a high price. I may be heading back to South America later this year and will explore the availability of acquiring it there.
I have a bus ticket from Sofia to Istanbul on June 30, where I’ll be until July 29, when I fly to Paris to return to the travel writing workshop with Rolf Potts that I attended last year. That will last a week, and I have no further plan, only a few ideas.
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