Our vacation in Sochi continues. Here is what to do and where to go. It is not necessary to lie on the beach all day. The nearest beach is equipped with necessary equipment. There are already installed cabanas, sheds for protection from the sun, lockers for rescuers installed. Construction works are in many places. The water at the beach is much cleaner than on the beaches in Sochi center. The beach stretches from the Olympic Park to the border with Abkhazia.
The holiday season begins. The number of guests in the hotel and on the beach is increasing with each passing day. The tourist season starts. Prices for everything (hotels, excursions) are likely to increase from the first of June.
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Abkhazia
Visit to Abkhazia has been scheduled for 7:15. A lunch-box was ordered in the evening in the hotel restaurant. The bus came on schedule (bus from Abkhazia and Abkhazian guide). The distance from our hotel to the check point is less than a kilometer. For entry into the territory of Abkhazia enough to have a passport (visa is not needed). Russian border guards checked the passports rather quickly, the Abkhaz did even better, just missed the bus. (Nearby is the border crossing point for pedestrians. You can go abroad to continue to travel in Abkhazia on the bus.
City Gagra passed without stopping. The first stop was in the apiary (in Bzyb Gorge). At first was a short lecture about honey, then honey tasting, sale of honey. Then was suggested beverages tasting (mead, sbiten, chacha) and sale of beverages.
The apiary photograph near river Bzyb in Abkhazia.
After visiting apiary we went to New Athos. The distance from the border to New Athos is about 80 kilometers. We looked at the Church of the Apostles Simon the Zealot, and a small, artificial waterfall. Then we walk up to the New Athos Monastery. We went to church. (The church needs of cosmetic repair or restoration.)
There is a park near sea coast. The park has a fish pond and swans. There is a cafe on small island in the middle of the pond. It is very nice park, but a bit neglected. Many places in Abkhazia need care and maintenance. Much is reminiscent of Soviet times. As remember more experienced travelers in those days everything was in good, tidy condition. There were many holidaymakers in Soviet times. In many places are construction works. There are also many modern buildings. Promenade to east of the park looks great.
We had gone to the beach. There were about ten vacationers on the beach only. The same pebbles beach as in Adler and Sochi, but the bottom is flatter and the water is very clean.
The picture of the New Athos Monastery.
The next point on the program was dinner in the dining room. Some prices: kebab - 200 rubles, soup - 150 rubles, coffee - 30 rubles. These are examples of prices in the eatery, where we were taken.
Wine tasting was planned after lunch. The tasting room is located in the same building as the entrance to the New Athos cave. The cost of a bottle of Abkhazian wine is from 230 to 250 rubles, 500 rubles cognac. (I saw a bottle of wine "Psou" at the price of 409 rubles in supermarket after returning to St. Petersburg.)
The tour of the cave was included in the trip plan and price. The New Athos cave is main town attraction. The cave is very big. Tourists delivery to the beginning of the route and driving back is on a small train, resembles a miniature subway. The length of a walking route is 1.5 kilometers. Duration of guided tours is about 1.5 hours. There are several beautiful places in the cave. A little cool. In some places on the head of dripping water drops. Little tiring, but its worth to go to the cave to understand, do you like it or not.
The photograph is a bus stop in New Athos in Abkhazia. Project author Zurab Tsereteli.
We went to Sukhum (Sukhumi) after the New Athos. It is the capital of Abkhazia. We have little time for inspection of the city. We had a tour to the Sukhumi city historical museum. The museum has interesting exhibits: stone tools of primitive man, items and weapons of ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Then a short walk along the promenade. Coffee price in a coffee shop on the seafront is 25 rubles. On the waterfront are quite a lot of people. Abandoned building of passenger port. There were many tourists about 30 years ago.
There are a lot of beautiful places in Abkhazia. I think landscape of Abkhazia is more beautiful than in Sochi (but in this respect everyone can have own opinion). One of the gorges in Abkhazia is on the photo.
During a tour guide (Dennis) tell about the recent Georgian-Abkhaz war. The city still has not recovered from the fighting. There are many damaged buildings. Multiple bullet and shrapnel holes are on many buildings. Parliament Building burned inside and left in this state until now. Construction and repair works are in many places.
The road back took about 2 hours. The total duration of the tour for us was 15 hours. Everyone is tired. Some tourists from our group need to go further, in Sochi city center, and even in Lazarevskoye village.
Tours in Abkhazia were offered at a lower price than in Sochi. Should I go to Abkhazia on holiday? Much places remained since the Soviet Union. Some facilities are not well maintained and look a little abandoned. But there are also modern hotels. Prices are perhaps a little better. There is less number of tourists. It is peaceful and quiet country. You can have holydays without hustle and bustle here. At the same time there are very beautiful landscapes, cypress avenues, eucalyptus trees along the roads, magnolia. Clean water is in the sea. If it suits for you, that Abkhazia is a good place for a summer vacation. If you prefer to be among the large number of people you can go to Sochi and Adler. You need to go to other places for good, sandy beaches.
Holidays continues
May 27. We decided to take a break from traveling and spend day in peace and tranquility. To sleep, to spend more time on the beach. But surprises can occur at any moment.
7:20 am. The speaker on the wall of the hotel room (very loudly): attention, fire alarm, staff and guests to leave the premises immediately (about the text). Quickly took the passports, money, phones and went out. What to do? Come for breakfast. We never met for breakfast so quickly. We returned to the room after breakfast. Everything was OK. Let's go to the beach until the sun is not too active.
We were not on the beach only two days. During these days the beach has changed a lot. On the beach cabanas were delivered, the towers for rescuers installed, litter bins and sunbeds appeared on the beach. The number of tourists has increased dramatically. The water was very clean, though a bit cool. It remains only to install toilets and shower with fresh water that was on most of the beaches in the resorts of other countries. We bathed many times in the morning and evening on this day.
Krasnaya Polyana
May 28th. It was the last day of vacation. After breakfast we went to the beach. A short swim. The wind began to increase. There were rain clouds. Tourists began to leave the beach. Later it started a little rain and a thunderstorm. What to do? We decided to go to the mountains in Krasnaya Polyana village. We get to the Adler train station by bus. The new station is more like a modern airport. The cost of a ticket is 68 rubles to the station “Rosa Khutor” from Adler town. The train goes less than an hour. On leaving the “Rosa Khutor” station offer excursions to places of the Olympic Games. At the exit of the station is the cable car station “Alpica”. We crossed the bridge over the river Mzymta and turned right. There is a ski resort “Rosa Khutor”. Everything was done very nicely, beautiful hotels, beautiful promenade. Here are a few cable cars stations. Cable cars were not working.
If you turn left from the train station (on the promenade) you will get to “Laura Gazprom” alpine ski resort near the Laura river. We get up to the first station by cable car. Then back down and back on the bus (№135) to Adler. Bus ticket is much more expensive than the train ticket. We returned to the hotel by bus from the center of Adler.
Travel by bus in St. Petersburg costs 28 rubles, 36 rubles in a minibus. How much is the fare by city bus in Adler? The price depends on two factors.
- The fare depends on the length of the route. To go further is more expensive.
- The fare depends on the passenger. Some drivers may take one sum from a local resident and the other from tourists.
We asked whether we get on this bus (№100) to the hotel. The answer was affirmative. How much is? 30 rubles. A fare 15, 17, 25 and now 30 rubles have been taken at the same route with different drivers. Locals have called driver's unfair in the bus. To which he replied, he explains tourists, how to get to place, for it takes money.
Vacation in Sochi
Did I like vacation in Sochi or not? Yes, I liked. In other countries, perhaps, it was more interesting: a strange country, new experiences. But it was good holydays in Sochi too.
I did not like the pebble beaches. The worst was in Sochi (algae and lots of jellyfish floating in the water). On the outskirts of Adler sea water was clean.
I do not like people with monkeys, persistently offering to take picture with their animals. These monkeys hang on your hands, without asking your permission. From them it is not easy to escape. (Just annoyingly you will be offered flowers in Rome.)
Vacation is over. It's time to go home to Saint Petersburg.
Go to the top of the story about a trip to Sochi.