Digital Wanderer

We live as long as we fly

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Crimea — 1, Alimova Balka

2011-12-06

We arrived in the vicinity of the city of Bakhchysarai.

First things first, we unloaded two passengers so they wouldn't take up extra space. We dropped them off at Alimova Balka. All I can say about it is this quote

The name of the balka, apparently, is connected to the highwayman Alim. According to surviving documents, the robber was arrested and exiled to hard labor in 1850. Interestingly, his name is given to many different secluded spots all over Crimea. This leads to certain thoughts: either there were several Alims living at different times, or people named every hidden place after him because they didn't know exactly where his hideout was. Just like the saying goes, "I hear the bell ringing, but I don't know where it's coming from."

As for the passengers, their method of getting around didn't involve bicycles, but rather rearranging their legs in varying orders, with a backpack behind their shoulders, which is why we sent them off.

A young woman with flowing reddish curly hair smiles gently, looking down. She is wearing a dark top, with blurred tree branches in the background.

Olga

A man and a smiling woman in hiking clothes are inspecting small objects against a backdrop of green wooded hills, a rocky cliff, and two backpacks on the ground.

Olya and Zhenya, hikers

Two tourists with large backpacks are walking along a paved path in a hilly area. Green and yellowing trees grow around them, and a white-and-red tourist trail marker is visible on a tree trunk on the right.

We'll only see them again in a few days

A man has climbed into the branches of a spreading tree with sparse foliage, gathering fruit right next to passing power lines. Dry branches and tree silhouettes in a mountainous area are visible against an overcast sky.

Pasha harvesting walnuts

Pasha is our driver and a part-time industrial climber (no joke).  The moment he saw a tree, he climbed it right away, out of habit. And there — walnuts!

A man in a brown t-shirt and dark jeans is up in the branches of a walnut tree, picking fruit. The shot is taken from below through sparse bare branches and dry leaves.

The walnuts are a bit green, but you can eat them if you really want to

A rocky landscape with a massive light-colored cliff featuring a large natural overhang at the top. In front of it is a rocky slope covered in dry grass, shrubs, and dotted with boulders, including an isolated tall rock on the left, under an overcast sky.

That's roughly what it all looks like

A lone yellow flower on a thin stem, close-up against a blurred mountain landscape with a dry slope, a road, and sheer cliffs under an overcast sky.

If you see a more or less artistic, high-quality photo — the author is most likely https://voljushka.livejournal.com

Top view of an autumn landscape with a dry field, a winding road, and hills. Cars, vans, and two buses are parked on the road and the shoulder, and the slopes are covered with shrubs in bright autumn foliage.

Meanwhile, in a fit of enthusiasm, we scrambled up Alimova Balka

A young man in jeans sits, head bowed and smiling slightly, in the dark opening of a cave carved into rough gray rock. 

Don't even bother feeding Pasha, just give him something to climb

A vast gray-beige rock with an overhanging base dominates against a light sky. At its foot lies a slope covered in dry grass, stones, and bushes with autumn foliage in shades of yellow and red.

Picturesque and colorful

A massive curved light-colored rock with greenish and reddish streaks occupies the right part of the image. In the foreground are autumn shrubs with yellow, orange, and brown leaves, and a wide valley is visible in the distance under a light sky.

And with the Adobe Lightroom sliders cranked up — it's straight-up psychedelia

An autumn landscape overlooking a wide valley: a large stone in the foreground, followed by colorful forests and a long rocky cliff under an overcast sky. 

A man in an orange t-shirt with a backpack climbs a dirt path, the steps of which are made of car tires dug into the ground. In the background stretches a hilly valley with scattered trees, and at the edge of the path, a bush with yellowing autumn leaves and a blue metal barrel can be seen.

The road to the top is paved with tires

A view of a small settlement with people on a dirt road at the foot of a hill, partly consisting of gray rock and partly of a white limestone quarry, under an overcast sky.

Halfway up there's a skete, which is a monastic settlement

A holy spring in a stone grotto, decorated with Orthodox icons and a cross on the cave's vault, next to an information board and a blue plastic water tank.

There's also a spring that gives +5 to health

Five men walk along a light path in an autumn forest, where the tree leaves are colored in green-yellow and reddish hues. The man in the black t-shirt in the left foreground looks at the camera, while the other four walk away into the distance.

We're walking along the road of yellow brick white limestone

A group of five men is walking along a dirt forest road surrounded by dense green trees.

And just plain dirt

DSCF0031

This is out of place, but educational. Nothing but sacred structures all around

A man in a black t-shirt stands on the edge of a cliff with his arms spread wide. In the background, there is a view of a deep canyon with a dense autumn forest under a light sky. 

An abyss! And ME

A young man in glasses and a white t-shirt sits on a rocky outcrop, holding a compact camera in his hand. Behind him opens a picturesque autumn mountain landscape with wooded slopes and exposed white rocks.

Another abyss! And Andrey

A man in a gray t-shirt and jeans, crouching on all fours, looks down from the edge of a rocky cliff. Behind him stretches a vast landscape of hills and valleys covered in autumn forest, under a gray cloudy sky.

Abyss again! And Valera

Autumn bushes with bright red leaves and fluffy beige "smoke-like" inflorescences in the foreground, behind which gently sloping mountains are visible. 

Suddenly — macro photography

A smiling woman in black clothes and a plaid scarf descends a rocky path surrounded by bushes with bright red and yellow autumn leaves, against a backdrop of gray rock.

Olya [info] voljushka — you can tell right away she's a choreographer: walking like she's dancing

 A man in an olive t-shirt and jeans lies on his back on dry grass, covering his eyes with his hand, the other hand behind his head.

Pasha and Mother Earth

A group of people on a rocky mountain plateau against a backdrop of a hilly landscape under an overcast sky. One person is photographing another near a small evergreen bush, while a third man in jeans and a gray t-shirt walks towards them.

Duel

DSCF0044 

Olya and a tongue

Four men stand on the edge of a rocky cliff, gazing out at the wooded area in the distance. The sky above them is overcast.

Serious dudes studying the cliff

 Panoramic view from a rock cliff on the right onto a wide valley with hills covered in autumn-colored forests, and a chain of distant mountains. Below, a small settlement and winding roads can be seen under an overcast sky. 

In photos, this looks even more interesting than in real life

DSCF0026 

The nature is modest, but we are happy

Panoramic view from a high rocky cliff over a vast autumn valley covered with a colorful forest extending to the mountains on the horizon. Tree branches with withered leaves are partially visible at the top right against a light sky.

The color palette is gray-brown-green 

Five people resting on top of a rocky hill overlooking green trees under an overcast sky. Two men are lying on the rocks at the edge of the cliff, while the other three are standing or resting on the grassy slope behind them.

Crawlin', crawlin' to the very edge

A massive limestone rock with a deep overhang niche rises above a slope covered with trees and bushes in autumn foliage. Large gray stone boulders lie at the foot of the rock against the backdrop of an overcast sky. 

Stone and life

A majestic gray cliff with vertical traces of water erosion and natural cave-grottoes at its foot. The hillside in front of the cliff is covered with sparse bushes showing colorful autumn foliage.

The texture is pretty solid

A large light-gray stone with an uneven surface covered in white, black, and bright orange lichen. It is surrounded by dry grass and fallen brown leaves.

And another one

DSCF0045

Juniper!

 

Four people stand on a dry grassy slope by the side of an asphalt road. In the background, a rocky cliff, gently sloping hills with fields and trees, and power lines are visible under an overcast sky. 

Pasha, Nina, Valera, Olya

A group of five people stands on the side of a road against a backdrop of parked cars, a wooded slope, and high cliffs. The people are dressed in casual clothes; one of the men is holding a camera.

Valera, Vladimir, Me (Vlad), Olya, Pasha

Andrey is taking the picture. And those are all the participants. Alimova Balka didn't evoke any special emotions in us, but at least the trip was officially underway. In the next episode — we're heading to the city of Bakhchysarai itself.

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