Program 614: Bulgarian Festivals; Paul Theroux Travels; Checking In

Travel writer Paul Theroux shares what he looks for when he travels — experiences that turn into best-selling books and take readers on adventures around the world. We'll also hear how festivals in Bulgaria celebrate the nation's history, folk culture, and the changing seasons. And listeners tell us where they hope to be able to travel next, when the pandemic is under control.

• Stefan Bozadzhiev, tour guide based in Sofia, Bulgaria
• Yuri Boyanin, tour operator from Sofia, Bulgaria
• Travel writer Paul Theroux

• Stefan Bozadzhiev and Yuri Boyanin provide tours of Bulgaria, the Balkans and Central Asia through Lyuba Tours, based in Sofia, Bulgaria.
• The Cyrillic Alphabet is celebrated as an important element of Slavic culture in Bulgaria on a May 24 holiday.
• The Koprivshtitsa National Festival of Bulgarian Folklore has been held every five years in August since 1965.  No word yet on rescheduling its activities to 2021.
• The latest book by Paul Theroux details his recent travels in Mexico and is called "On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey."
• Paul Theroux describes his travel reading from his pandemic lockdown on Oahu on his website, where you can also learn about the books he's written over the years.

Arctic Circle trip
Both sun and full moon at midnight
Tundra mosquitoes!

Scrape frost on windshield
Red lights up night-sky all around
Warm glow for cold night

— Paula Recchia, Yuma, Arizona

Season of travel
Or so I thought…Corona
Season of dreaming

— Mona Oge, San Diego California

Longing to travel.
Plans borne in Covid abyss.
Where to go next year?

— Regina Ann Cooper, Hartland Vermont

Soaked by surf and sun,
Wide stretch of tan sand beckons
Reach Daytona Beach

Pause, walk pause, wait times,
Fewer fans to share Walt's World
In time of Covid.

Florida's Key West.
Fight this siren's call to crawl
Endless mañanas.

— Jesse Drago, Miami, Florida