Are we too old for water slides?

With time running short here, we compiled a list of things to do and places to see before we leave this area. One thing that bubbled it’s way to the top was a visit to one of the several water parks in the area. We looked at the forecast and planned it for the warmest day of the week ahead.

There are many water parks on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and many of them offer free shuttle buses, which they advertise at the bus stops. The biggest and best aqua park (from what we could tell) happened to be close to our apartment so we decided to spend a day there.

We thought it would be better to walk than take the shuttle because:

• It was a reasonable distance on the map
• Good exercise
• Arrive before the shuttles with people to get our moneys worth

The walk ended up being not as great as expected. Google is a lot more confident about routes than it should be.

We were three quarters of the way there when the nicely paved street we were walking down abruptly ended and thick overgrowth proceeded.

We navigated through the brushy, desolate area and moved closer to the park. At least the dirt roads were well traveled and easy to navigate. As we approached I felt more excited. The thrill of cold water and steep slopes was filling my mind. We could see many of the brightly colored slides and we called out ones that looked great or scary.

We got to the ticket booth just after opening (10 AM) and purchased our entrance tickets. The entry was about $30 USD/person which made this a slightly expensive outing for Bulgarian standards.

The park provides bracelets at entrance for contactless purchases. Once inside there is a cashier booth, where you load value onto the bracelet for purchases. This is the same technology that we used at the GeoSea spa in Iceland, and it is an easy way to buy drinks and food without carrying your wallet.

We put our stuff in a locker so I have very limited photos of the rest of the day.

There are easily 20+ slides in the aqua park and some of the options were immediately crossed off the list because they were scary. After our experience with the trap-door-launch slide on the Carnival Pride ship, we never want to experience that again, and Aquapark Nessebar has two “looping rocket” slides that start that way.

Corey and I both prefer slides with tubes so we focused on those. Although it was a warm Saturday, the park was not crowded and we were able to try out six slides, rivers, and pools in the first hour. We chose some slides that were not quite as tall and enjoyed those in a double tube. There was one that I was excited to try but as we got to the top I changed my mind. We were too big as a couple to go together and I just couldn’t go solo. Corey was brave and did it but I walked down the castle to a lower level and chose a different slide. He thought it was a little scary but he’s so brave! It was the kind that goes straight down and when you get to the bottom you rise up another hill and float back forth like you’re inside a giant scary taco.

One of my favorite slides in the park was called Giant Slalom. It has a nice easy start as you loop around and then pick up speed with a big drop then two subsequent smaller drops.

We were in line for Slalom when we started chatting with a friendly British couple – Chantell and George. Conversation was a test for Corey to understand the North Yorkshire accent and though he floundered in the first few minutes he did do better throughout the day.

We joined up with Chantell and George in the wave pool. It was an interesting take on a wave pool because there were big waves but not the kind engineered for bodysurfing. It felt less like a beach and more like being stranded at sea with big swells coming at you from side to side.

We stayed for awhile enjoying the waves and then headed to a swim-up bar. From 2-4 PM a list of happy hour drinks are two-for-one, including Aperol Spritzes. The liquid courage was helpful as we then made our way to the newer (more extreme) section of the park.

We finally got to try out the cobra slide that I had previewed while walking to the park that morning. This one is similar to the one that I chickened out on earlier in the day but less scary because you have a gentle start and then plunge later. Also, two people can race each other by going at the same time from either side. Corey and I raced and he got to the bottom first, but rumor has it that I had more speed coming up on the other side.

We then got in line for the popular slide painted in pink and purple. It also required a tube and had two “mixers”. It looks like a cement mixer on the outside to me. It was a long slide with dark covered sections and also open air. Our new friends really liked it so we were excited to try it out.

It ended up being Corey’s favorite and my least favorite. The concept was nice but when I entered the first “mixer”, my feet slammed against the wall and it hurt. I hobbled off when I got to the bottom and thought it would be fine in a few minutes. However, about 15 minutes later I could barely walk and my left ankle was starting to swell. It was the end of the day so Corey went on one final slide while I sat down to rest my foot.

After worrying all day about an injury, did I manifest this? What if I hadn’t been so scared, would I have relaxed more and not injured my foot? Am I too old for water slides? All these questions spun around in my head and I was so annoyed with myself.

Corey gathered our stuff from the locker and a security guard assisted us out of the park. The park was “Bulgarian accessible” meaning that to exit the park I had the choice of 20 steps or an extremely steep and slick ramp. I chose the steps which were extremely difficult, even with two people assisting. Fortunately there were taxies at the exit, and we overspent on a ride home. I was thankful to have easy transportation as it was getting more swollen and difficult to walk.

Nurse Corey has been taking good care of me. He’s helped prop up pillows and has learned to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. It’s been several days and the swelling has gone down tremendously. I consulted Dr Google and am confident it is just a medial ankle sprain. I feared that I wouldn’t be able to walk on the beach before we head west and away from the sea, but I have been doing everything I can to heal quickly!

Travelling is great but not everything goes the way you have planned. You just have to roll with it. I wanted to share so our travel diary is a realistic depiction of our adventures. It’s not all Aperol spritzes and exotic day trips. While I rest up, here are some recent beach, hiking, and tennis pics. The final days of summer have been gloriously stunning!