Digital Wanderer

We live as long as we fly

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Crimea — 11, The Ai-Petri Pass Failure, and the Resort Town of Gurzuf

2012-01-05

The plan for the next day was to drive up to the Ai-Petri pass in a van, and from there roll down on bikes through its 250 switchbacks. But the plans were crushed by a heavy rain right from the morning, and almost until the evening. In the end, we decided to drive God knows where, namely – through Yalta to the resort town of Gurzuf.

Along the way, we came across a barbershop. The proposal to get me a haircut was met with a storm of enthusiasm, I had to submit.

A smiling man wearing glasses with curly brown hair and a goatee looks to the left against a light tiled wall.

“Before”

A man in a black jacket with a shaved head, wearing glasses and a goatee, looks slightly to the side against a light wall.

“After”

A yellowish-brown autumn leaf stuck to wet glass with numerous water droplets. Behind the glass, a blurred background of green and brown shades is visible, and a large water droplet gleams on the leaf's stem.

This is us still leaving the place where we spent the night

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The scenery

Several bicycles are secured on a roof rack of a white car against the background of a two-story log house. A foggy autumn forest is visible around the house.

The Ai-Petri pass promises shelter and coziness on the way down

A group of people walks on wet asphalt past a covered brick bus stop in foggy weather. In the foreground, a man in a black t-shirt and a woman in a red long-sleeve walk with their arms crossed over their chests.

But all we can hope for are smoke breaks at bus stops

A white van with four bicycles on the roof is parked on a foggy day on wet asphalt with autumn leaves. The driver is visible inside the cabin with a can, and a wooden building and trees are in the background.

Or snack breaks?

A tall coniferous tree with a lush crown towers in a foggy forest. Other trees in the background barely show through the thick haze, giving the landscape muted shades of green and gray.

The trees in Crimea, at least, are quite substantial

A silver car drives along a wet, winding road past stone walls against a backdrop of tall trees shrouded in thick fog.

There really are countless turns on the narrow serpentine

A market stall under a canopy, lined with rows of fresh pomegranates and numerous bottles of dark red juice or syrup. A sign above reads «100% ICE COLD Pomegranate Juice», and other stalls and a blue truck are visible in the background.

In Yalta, the pomegranate juice trade has reached unprecedented proportions

In the end, even Pasha and I bought into it and got some juice. Sweet, doesn't make your mouth pucker much, we had a suspicion we were slightly ripped off. Later we figured out you have to ask them to squeeze it right there.

A close-up of a coniferous tree branch with dense gray-green needles dotted with tiny yellow-green cones, and two large, textured reddish-brown seed cones in the center.

In Gurzuf, we luckily stumbled upon the "Mechta" recreation center. The off-season prices are very reasonable – 7 lats for a great spot in a double hotel room with a toilet and shower, the room is clean and beautiful, with a sea view. I fell for the sea view and took that one, which I don't regret. Most of the guys chose the simpler little houses down below, with a shared shower and toilet for everyone, about half the price.

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We were confidently informed that Pushkin himself stayed at the "Mechta" recreation center. How could we not buy that!

The entrance to the territory of the private boarding house «Sea Breeze» with a metal gate in a stone wall, behind which an external staircase leading to the upper floors of the building is visible. To the left is a driveway under part of the residential block, surrounded by greenery.

For those who don't like to dream, there's the option with "Sea Breeze". Located in the same place.

A grape vine with dark clusters and green leaves covered in water droplets against a cloudy sky.

Grapes grow right on the fence of "Mechta"

A large fan palm with a hairy trunk and wet green leaves stands amidst lush garden greenery, against a backdrop of white and brick buildings, as well as a row of tall coniferous trees.

And the palm trees are already — behind the fence

A calm sea under a cloudy sky covered with thick gray clouds. In the foreground, a concrete pier is visible, going into the water from a pebble beach, and in the distance to the left rises the dark silhouette of a mountain.

The sea is chilly, but how could we not take a dip?

By Crimean standards, chilly — is like the warmest it ever gets here in Jūrmala.

A smiling woman in a black swimsuit and bandana sits on a bicycle against the backdrop of a cloudy sea with a sailboat in the distance, a rocky shore, and a pier where people are fishing.

In the evening we decided to go for a bike ride, since the rain had backed off

A top-down view of a wet concrete area of a street cafe with round tables and purple chairs, surrounded by green coniferous trees. The large inscription «MECHTA» is visible on the surface.

A view into the inner courtyard from the stairs to the room

Thick cedar branches with bluish-green needles, studded with numerous large, light-beige upward-growing cones.

I think these are some kind of mega-mighty long-storage cypresses, but I might be lying

A view of a construction site with concrete structures and brickwork, framed by lush coniferous trees in the foreground. In the background rise forested mountains, partially hidden by low clouds or fog.

Apparently, they're building a second hotel block

 

On the shore of a body of water under a cloudy sky: a blue canopy on the left, a yellow building with red decor on the right, and in the center a wet pavement separated from the water by a fence and a gate with a "Beach closed" sign.A building with brightly painted walls and an open terrace on stilts rises above the gray sea and pebble beach. A few people are at its base on the beach under a cloudy sky.

There's no one on the beach, except for fishermen in warm clothes

A landscape of a cloudy day with a pebble beach in the foreground. To the left on the hills lies a coastal town, and on the horizon, dark mountains and two rocky islets are visible in a calm sea.

Bear Mountain

The white facade of a building with a wooden balcony whose railings form a cross-shaped pattern. The walls are decorated with bright folk paintings of roosters and floral ornaments above two dark windows with shutters, topped by a thatched roof.

What I love about Ukraine is its national symbolism and folklore patterns

On a pebble beach under a wooden canopy stands a group of four people in beachwear. In the background, a yellow building with a red roof, stairs, and green trees on hills are visible.

Nothing fazes us, not even sharp rocks

Clear water washes over the shore strewn with reddish-brown pebbles, through which the bottom is visible; a line of light foam can be seen in the foreground.

The beautifully green sea became so thanks to Adobe Lightroom

Three people stand on a pebble beach against a background of coastal buildings and a hilly landscape. To the left, a man in camouflage shorts yawns with a wide-open mouth, in the middle a girl stands with her back to the camera, and on the right, a girl in a green cover-up looks at the camera.

Nina and Olya are showing off their sporty figures, and Vova — complete disregard for them, even yawning out of boredom

The yellow wall of a building with a red "VENICE" sign and a golden winged lion. In the foreground is a wet black fence, behind which a person in light overalls by a stepladder is visible.

Romance is everywhere – the "Venice" restaurant

Bright sunlight breaks through the lush greenery of a dense garden where palm trees, conifers, and other shrubs grow. On the left, the thick trunk of a tree is visible, and deep inside, elements of the stone landscape.

But "Mechta" is still cooler – it even has a jungle inside

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In general, the town of Gurzuf has a lot of stuff

The entrance to a «Soyuzpechat» kiosk with a white door, to the left of which is a built-in ATM, and to the right is a window with magazines and signs for a «Sigmabank» currency exchange office. In the foreground, in front of the building, there is a street lamp with three round shades.

"Soyuzpechat" – such an excellent word, glad it's still being used

A view of a narrow passage between a stone building and a wooden structure with a sign «A.P. Chekhov's Dacha» and a portrait of the writer. In the background, between the houses, opens a view of the sea under a cloudy sky.

Chekhov's dacha

White metal lattice gates and a checkpoint of the «Kiparisny» (Cypress) children's camp of the «Artek» camp with an information sign on a white pillar to the right, behind which green trees grow.

Camp "Artek". Yes, that one. Alas, like everything in the ex-USSR, it is terribly problematic

A large dark rounded mountain slopes down to a calm sea under a gray cloudy sky covered with thick clouds.

Bear Mountain on the horizon

A bronze-colored decorative forged element depicting bunches of grapes on the black metal bars of a fence. In the background, a lawn illuminated with green lights with a small coniferous tree against the background of a building with a red wall is visible.

Wrought iron gate, bougie lawn, acid trip lighting

A high-rise cylindrical residential building against the background of mountains covered with clouds. Ahead stretches an asphalt road on which a cyclist rides.

Elite housing

We liked it in Gurzuf, even though we didn't stay there for long. Despite the fact that we failed to conquer Ai-Petri, the day wasn't wasted, because we went to Yalta's endless bazaar, and in the evening we had a nice bike ride.

And even at dinner, we listened to an incredible story about how Pasha got off the train heading to the Urals to buy some booze, and the train left ahead of schedule, and he spent many hours chasing it down by hook or by crook.

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