The Bulgarian Weather – How Much Sun?

The only content that appeared when I began my research on Pevtsite was the weather forecast .  What most English people want to know is “how much sun do you get?”.  The answer of course is a great deal!

Sunshine

 I am reliably informed that we have sunny days for at least three quarters of the year. Even in winter it tends to be sunny. According to statistics, we get twice as much sun as England:

https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Europe/Cities/sunshine-annual-average.php

But my experience is that it is much more than this. The sun here tends to be “full on”, not like the “sunny spells”, that one gets in England 😁

The Bulgarians have a saying that can be summed up like this “the months that do not contain an ‘R’ in the title are the hottest”.  This does not mean that those months that do contain an ‘R’ are cold – we were still out walking in shirt sleeves in November last year; but simply that the sun is not a guaranteed promise every single day in those months.  For clarity’s sake – the months of the year are written very similarly to the English calendar months.  The Bulgarians also have a saying “March is like a woman – changeable and unpredictable!”.  I am not sure if this means that all the other months  can be likened to the male species in some way – but you get the drift!

Summers Here

Having holidayed here for eight years and lived here for ten, I can reliably state that the summers here are amazing!  Sheltered by the mountain range, Pevtsite has its own micro climate.  We have frequently landed in Sophia Airport to hear the pilot announce the temperature on the ground and then travelled the two hours to our village to find it a good few degrees warmer.  

So hot is it in fact that in summertime the villagers rise at a very early hour to undertake their tasks and then sleep in the heat of the day.  Five a.m. outside of our bedroom window is a circus of activity.  Animals being led to pasture; neighbours calling to each other along the street; the sounds of gardening or wood cutting equipment.  It’s very hard lying there with the sun piercing our flimsy curtains to imagine that it is anything other than mid day in our village.

We also try and rise early in order that we can undertake any gardening tasks before it becomes impossible. I love to water the garden early in the morning so that I don’t burn the plants. I really enjoy this quiet time alone in nature.

The sun sets at a very late hour also – giving the long summer days a timeless quality.  It is easy to forget the time – going out to eat at ten in the evening is quite common – the restaurants go on well into the night.  Outdoor dining is just as warm as  an English summer’s afternoon here at midnight.

Winter

Of course the summers do finally come to an end.  It is currently winter as I sit and write this.  The vines are laden now with snow, not grapes.  This season too, however, is not unwelcome.  I haven’t seen snow like this since I was eight and lived  in Wigan.  It’s warm and cosy by our petchka and there is time to undertake those tasks that require you to be indoors. And despite the cold, the sun is still shining!

Excuse me whilst I go and throw another log on the fire.