Water Back up System In The Village

It was a very happy Kamila who had travelled with us this weekend to the Skalitsa farmhouse. It was like a summer weekend as we all worked pruning the vines and cutting them up for firewood tinder for next winter.

In the kitchen Kamila noticed a barrel in the kitchen. "Are you making wine?" was the question after figuring out what was written on the barrel.

"No, there's just water in the barrel." we said. She was quite curious as to why we have all this water when the water runs form the tap less than 2 metres away.

We had to explain that we often get cut off with water and the barrel is our back up system. Kamila understands too well what it is like to be without water for days on end, she has her own water reserve as well!

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Water on Tap In Skalitsa (sometimes)

Another spot on the farm and another interest as Kamila looks now at the watering system in the garden. She know about this from Yambol where water is on tap in the garden.

We told here that there are many times when the water is cut off and we have to use water from the well.

"I'm okay," Kamila says with a smile, "I can go without water for up to 10 days, I'm a camel."

"You will do very well living in Skalitsa then." we agreed, "A regular water supply for the taps are a major problem for many people here."

"But there is always the water from the wells" Kamila argued.

"Yes, but there is but not all people in Skalitsa are happy with the water from the well it is a little inconvenient!" we said.

"That's shouldn't be a problem at all," Kamila confessed, "After all, we are living in an outback Bulgarian village, this is normal here isn't it? If they went to outback parts of Egypt, everyone would count themsleves as very lucky for water here" Kamila understood exactly what this was all about.

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Linden Tea

Every morning Baba Mama makes here linden tea and every morning Kamila watches her. this particular morning Kamila wanted a closer look and asked if she can help.

Well Baba was quite happy with this as she explained that the linden tea was picked from the linden trees in Yambol and left to dried in the warm sun. Then a handful is put not the pot with some water and brought to the boil.

After that the tea is strained off and drunk. Baba also told Kamila that she can use the same linden tea to be boiled ten times, so it is a very cheap tea to make.

Kamila was all eyes and ears this morning as she tried a bit of the tea when it was ready. She didn't like it much but Baba said try it with a little sugar added. It was put i and stirred and Kamila tried it again. She still wasn't that keen but then we know Kamila doesn't have a sweet tooth.

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Cobblestoned Streets

It was with a great interest that Kamila took to the streets of Yambol to discover that the roads were very different to where she came from. Kamila had never seen cobblestones before and commented on how pretty they were as they laid in curved patterned on the road.

"Why is the road higher in the middle and lower at the sides?" Kamila asked.

"When it rains the water runs to the side into the drains that are there so there are no big puddles in the middle of the road. It is called a camber" we said.

"Oh," said Kamila as she looked closer at the cobblestones. "These roads must last for years," was the next comment after a great deal of thinking.

"Yes, maybe centuries old," we added.

Kamila now was quite happy that Yambol was covered with cobblestones as she skipped from one cobblestone to the next. She was small enough to do this and this now what she does every time she goes down trhe street, not a walk but a skip on the cobblestoned streets of Yambol.

What a joyful and now more educated camel she is.

An interesting link about the cobblestoned streets of Yambol here Cobblestoned Yambol

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Water on Tap

There are some things Kamila finds out about that are very different from where she comes from. Water is something that she has had to store when she can. It can be days, even weeks before she comes across water to drink in the deserts of Egypt.

Today Kamila saw a pipe with a tap on and turned it. Out came gushing water, she couldn't believe it was that simple to get water. Not only that water at any time of the day or night and it didn't even have to rain for supplies of it.

We explained that sometimes we get cut off and it is only the foreigners that come here that complain. They come from places that are used to non stop water we explained. Kamila said she was a foreigner and she woudn't complain from being cut off. And who could blame her, after all she has come from a place where water is rare.

It is a very lucky Kamila who now can have a drink whenever she wants.

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