Chengene skele (zaliv)

Worth a detour

The bay between the Kraymorie quarter and the Rosenets headland is shallow, sheltered and quiet, and has been recorded since at least the eighteenth century. Part of it was protected in 1995, and the fishing village sits inside the protected area rather than next to it. Come for the boats and the water birds and the sunset, which faces the right way.

Story

Background

Chengene Skele is a genuine bay rather than a lagoon: open to the sea, bounded by Kraymorie to the north, the oil terminal to the west and the wooded Rosenets headland to the south. It appears in the record around 1784. The shelter it offers is why fishermen have used it for centuries and why the Burgas boats were moved here when the port expanded.

The protection order covers part of the water and the shore. Shallow, sheltered bays are scarce on this coast and they matter for fish nurseries and for wintering birds; the same water that makes a safe mooring makes good feeding. In winter the bay holds grebes, divers and sea duck within sight of the quay.

It is an unusual arrangement and worth noticing: a protected area with a working fishing fleet in the middle of it, and a municipal museum built round the fleet. Whether that survives the visitor numbers is an open question, and the honest thing to say is that the place is more interesting than beautiful. Come in the late afternoon, walk out along the shore past the huts, look at the boats, and stay for the light going down behind the headland.