Bulgaria off the beaten path

SLIVEN, Bulgaria — Bulgaria is filled with interesting towns and villages that don't get much mention in the guidebooks.

I wish I had more time to explore towns such as Sliven, a river town of 125,000 in the foothills of the East Balkan Mountains, between Sofia and the Black Sea coast.

Unlike Veliko Tarnovo where everything revolves around tourism, Sliven is a clean and pleasant town that happens to attract a few tourists, mainly hikers, but exists mainly for a population of middle-class locals and students attending a small technical university.

I'm here because of a San Francisco organization, Kiva.org, which links people like us with a little extra cash with entrepreneurs in developing countries who need loans.

Sliven has a large Roma (Gypsy) population, and we've made loans of $25 each to a traveling sock saleswoman and a couple who sell firewood.

Tomorrow, we'll go with Greg Kelly, a Peace Corp volunteer who manages the loan program here, to visit our borrowers and find out more about their businesses.

In the meantime, we're enjoying Sliven, a town we probably would have missed if not for the Kiva connection.

Bulgaria is a bargain destination for travelers, especially in towns like this one that are a bit off the beaten path.

Our room at the Hotel Toma (www.hoteltoma.com) is $42, with breakfast. The Toma is a combination restaurant and six-room guesthouse in an 1856 house originally owned by a Polish military officer.

Rooms are furnished with built-in wooden wardrobes, fireplaces and woven rugs. Ours has a view of the mountains.

Sliven has no historical sites, but it's a good place to soak up the culture. Many people here worked in sock factories during the Communist years, and an Italian apparel manufacturer is the largest employer.

Town life centers around a pedestrian mall lined with outdoor cafes and restaurants. Men sit on benches and play chess in a park near a market where I spotted bags of homemade paprika and bottles of honey for 40-50 cents.

The weather's warm and it stays light until around 9 p.m. this time of year. We had dinner with a group of Peace Corps workers at an outdoor restaurant. The bill for two was $21 for salad, fish kabobs and a bottle of the local Marud red wine.

Two miles away, literally on the other side of the railroad tracks, is the Roma ghetto where most of Sliven's Gypsy population lives.

"Once we go to the ghetto, you'll see the other side of Bulgaria," Greg Kelly told me.

As much as I'm enjoying this side of Sliven, I'm looking forward to what's next.