Digital Wanderer

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Crimea — 5, Overnight stay near the cave city of Eski-Kermen

2011-12-12

After checking out the monastery, we slowly rolled toward our meeting point with Pasha (who, as you might remember, was driving the van). A funny thing happened here: we couldn't get ahold of him on the walkie-talkie or the phone, but luckily, we spotted him driving back and forth  looking for us, and managed to catch his attention.

After that, Vova and Pasha got into a heated argument about how to organize a meetup. The takeaway from this dispute was that if there’s no one at the agreed-upon spot, you can’t or won't wait, and you have no other means of communication, you should leave a plastic bottle with a note inside at the gathering point. The bottle would later play its dark role, but that would happen on another day.

Three cyclists taking a break in front of a small rural shop against a backdrop of mountains. Two are standing by their bikes with food and drinks, while the third is coming out the door with an ice cream.

Bought some local kefir and wine in a carton in the village of Bolshoye Sadovoye

The kefir tastes alright. The prices aren't exactly super low.

Close-up of a light beige mineral formation with an uneven, porous surface consisting of small, flaky elements and indentations. 

Could sell these textures to stock photo sites

A stack of porous beige and brown shell rock building blocks against the background of a wall under construction and a limestone cliff in the distance.

The porous bricks are beautiful 

A fluffy gray and white cat standing on a concrete fence against the background of a blue wooden house extension and green grape vines.

A monochrome sepia-toned image: a massive, flat cliff of layered rock, partially covered with sparse vegetation on the ledges. Thick thickets of dark bushes and trees cover the lower slopes, and a bright sky takes up the upper part.

A massive rocky mountain with multi-layered gray cliffs at the top and a dense autumn forest on the slopes. In the lower part of the mountain, a light, heavily eroded section of rock with several dark hollows stands out, all under an overcast sky.

If there's one thing Crimea has plenty of, it's cliffs

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I could just eat it up, it looks too much like a cake with frosting dripping off the edge

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Testing out Nina's beautiful bike

A massive rocky cliff of layered rock in gray-brown shades rises against a light sky. In its lower part, numerous dark cavities are visible, and at the top, two birds are flying and sparse trees grow.

Another pie

On the way, we climbed up an interesting rock that offered a gorgeous view in all four directions. I really liked it and it stuck in my memory, even though we were there for only 5 minutes. This is how we climbed it:

A person with a backpack walking along a gravel path winding along a dry slope with large gray rock formations, under an overcast sky.

A woman in hiking clothes standing on a rocky trail between large rocks, looking at the camera. Behind her stretches a wide valley with fields, autumn trees, a road, and a bridge under an overcast sky.

And we caught a glimpse of this beauty up top

Panoramic view of a picturesque area with a stream crossed by a wooden bridge and several buildings among dense vegetation. In the background, a vast field stretches out, and a settlement is visible in the distance at the foot of the hills under a gray sky.

Right next to the rock is a guest complex

View of a rural area under an overcast sky. In the foreground is a dark field and a row of tall trees, behind which you can see a small settlement with winding roads around a low hill, and distant mountains on the horizon.

Fields

A wide view from a rocky height of a valley with winding roads and a bridge, surrounded by autumn and green trees. In the background, fields and hills stretch out under an overcast sky.

Bridges and gorges

A panoramic autumn landscape opening up from whitish cliffs along which a path winds. Below lies a valley with brown fields and a winding river, and in the background are wooded hills with autumn foliage under an overcast sky.

Rivers and trails

A cyclist riding on a dirt road fading into the distance, amidst green fields under a vast cloudy sky.

Ridges and meadows

A black leather sofa sitting on a concrete platform by a stream surrounded by green trees and bushes. In the background, rural buildings with thatched roofs are visible.

In the guesthouse, you can settle down in comfort to observe nature

A man in a green windbreaker standing on top of a rocky hill under an overcast gray sky, holding a dark helmet raised above his head.

The Queen is delighted

 

A gray concrete wall with an abstract bas-relief of wavy lines and floral patterns. The structure is part of an open pavilion with a yellow and blue column on the right and green bushes on the left side.

The bus stop strikes you with its textured surface

By evening, we reached the foot of the cave city of Eski-Kermen. There they charged us  for the overnight stay, and tried to charge us for firewood too. No such luck! We weren't born yesterday to shell out 5 euros for a bundle. We asked if we could gather some ourselves, to which we got the reply: "Five thousand Cossacks camped out here, you won't find a thing." But survivalist tourists embodied by Pasha can find firewood even in a desert if they want to, so we had no problems.

 

Three wild piglets walking across a field of withered grass. Green bushes and a large rock on the right are visible in the background.

Piglets

When asked if we could slaughter a piglet, we were told, "Sure, go ahead, they're the neighbor's piglets, there's no counting them." But we were already exhausted, and felt too lazy.

A brown horse standing in a meadow in a valley against a rocky hill covered with autumn forest.

The horse was young and whinnied quite a bit during the night. In the evening and morning, it was eating the bush in the middle, and just barely couldn't reach my tent.

Autumn landscape with a field of dry grass in the foreground and a mountainside dotted with large gray boulders and shrubs with autumn foliage. On the slope, among the vegetation, the words 'ZO PAMALI' and a symbol above them are laid out in light stones. 

We camped out in a narrow valley, surrounded by cliffs on both sides

Massive gray cliffs dominate the mountain landscape, at the foot of which sits a small turquoise building. On top of one of the cliffs on the right, part of an old stone tower is visible, and in the foreground — dry grass and sparse trees under an overcast sky.

But we didn't feel claustrophobic, 'cause of the sky

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Between the two rocks, you can see the entrance to the shower (which cost about a lat per person)

 A black and white cat walking on the grass in the foreground, against a background of rocky hills and a bright sky.

The cat was brazen, begged for food, and pestered everyone

A row of massive stone pillar outliers rises on a hill under a solid pale gray sky. In the lower part of the frame, dark boulders covered with lichen are visible. 

Almost like Easter Island statues

A man riding a bicycle on a grassy slope against a background of high rocky mountains overgrown with autumn forest. On the left is an awning with parked bicycles, and in the distance, a lone horse grazes on a hill. 

Pasha, having not ridden with us, decided to at least make up for it here

A group of five cyclists resting with mountain bikes against a backdrop of high light cliffs and dense greenery.

Vova proving to Olya that buying firewood is the way of the bourgeoisie, not cycle tourists

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Olya and the Cat

Two small kittens on light patterned tiles: a tabby walks on the left, while a tortoiseshell peeks out from behind a brown pillar on the right, looking straight at the viewer.

Cat and Cat

From this part of the trip, I really liked the viewpoint rock between the villages of Tankovoye and Krasny Mak. Camping overnight near Eski-Kermen was also interesting, especially having electricity and a shower. Right there, the folks did some tasting of local infused liquors — a simple 12-degree hooch made of plums, peaches, or cherries, and a special 20-degree one with cognac, cardamom, and cinnamon. The first one costs 90 santims, and the second — about a lat and a half. All for half a liter. Getting their fill of the dirt-cheap but quite decent booze, the cycle tourists listened to another round of entertaining stories authored by Vova and Pasha. There's little point in retelling them, because you really need the charm, facial expressions, and gestures of the authentic live narrators and participants, otherwise the magic is lost.

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