Here is one more report on our past tour. This time its Crimea-Sochi-Moscow tour that we did in May. Our last report about the trip around Crimea is available here.
This year, we had some concerns while organizing a tour Crimea-Sochi-Moscow. But luckily everything turned out the best way! Both the tour programme and the routs proved to be great, having fully met ours and, most importantly, our clients’ expectations. A good combination of sea, mountains, serpentines and flat roads, museums and monasteries, shish kebabs and etc. Our clients enjoyed the trip to the fullest.
But let's start in the beginning. It all started in the last days of April in Crimea. On Saturday, April 29, we met our clients in Balaklava at Listrigon Motel. In Balaklava we only had a couple of days for a brief acquaintance with Crimea, before setting off on a long journey to Moscow. The next day as we headed over we stopped by Sevastopol covering and the 35 Battery Monumnet, which made an unforgettable impression on everyone. A very powerful spot indeed. Do not miss it, should you ever go to Crimea. We then headed for Sapun mountain, and Baydar valley where we paid a visit to our friend Andrey.
That day we didn’t get home until dark, and having had a quick dinner, called it a night. The next day would start at 7am with a visit to Magnul kale. The May holidays were taking their toll and we realized it was better to visit the cave city early in the morning, while there were not as many visitors and the sun was still low. Another important factor was getting to the Submarine museum in Balaklava right after Mangup. Then we were waiting to hit the road for Sudak. The day promised to be eventful.
In Sudak, or rather, in the New World, we eventually arrived only by 8pm. Exhausted, having walked on foot for more than 15 km, we were overwhelmed with impressions and emotions from what we had seen and experienced. On Mangup-Kale, by the way, we accidentally spotted a private helicopter, which was about to land, but noticing our phones and photo cameras, it flew away. I wonder what kind of VIP person was on board?)))
Having awaken in the morning in the New World, we went for a walk along the path of Golitsyn - it was warm and the weather was excellent. The hike took us almost three hours, after which we caught a ferry to Kerch. Today we would leave the peninsula, a great land was waiting for us ahead.
At the gas station near Kerch we met two fellows motorcyclists, chatting heartily. Without any queue, we boarded the ferry and crossed to the mainland in 30 minutes. Further through Raevskoe on some great Krasnodar roads we first reached Novorossiysk, which greeted us with the weather of +30 degrees, and then - to Gelendzhik, where we would sleep the following night. Another day full of impressions left us with no strength for anything more than a short walk along the Gelendzhik embankment, the total length of which is about 8 km.
The next day we headed for Sochi, what a beautiful road with good asphalt, lots of serpentines and quite a few interesting sights along the way. On this day we decided to give our feet some rest (but in the end, it did not happen and we all seemed to continue to walk on foot), the plan was just to walk and enjoy the road. At about 3pm we arrived in Sochi, where we decided to visit the dacha of Stalin. It is located in a beautiful park, surrounded by relict trees, painted bright green. All of the Stalin’s dachas, by the way, had the same layout, the leader did not seem to appreciate diversity a lot. After an hour visit we went to Krasnaya Polyana. It was here in the mountains that we decided to stay for the next two days. Having settled in the Velia hotel, we thought of surprising our guests by planning a dinner in a bar located in the mountains called Old Boys. It could not be reached by a motorcycle or taxi, a steep and partly broken primer climbs up to the hill and there are several old worn out cars for the patrons of Old Boys. We ordered one which was waiting for us downstairs at the start of the ascent, where we still could go by taxi.
But as the saying goes, "Homo proponit, sed deus disponit", a person assumes, but God disposes. No sooner had we managed to pass a kilometer in our old shuttle, as it had lost a wheel. It did not even had a spare one! From there only one option remained - to walk 3-4 km uphill on foot, it was not the first time, as they say, been there done that. We finally had a fantastic dinner, a delicious local beer and heartfelt talk, which brought our team even closer.
The fourth day was planned as a motor bike free day. No program had been planned for this day. The following morning we went to look for the Old Polian road, which is no longer in use despite the fact that it has the most scenic views. As we finally found it, we went for a drive, full of delight!!!
We then decided to visit the Church of St. George and the Trinity St. George's Women's Monastery in Lesnoye. Said and done. Most interesting experiences were still yet to come! We left the bikes in the village of Yasnye Zori form which we proceeded on foot into the dry canyon Psaho. The route did not foreshow any adventures, the descent was too bad. At about 40 minutes and our 3rd km in the hike, we were picked up by a UAZ with the driver Levaya. Imagine our surprise when instead of the rear seats there were bags of flour! We sat on top of them. I'm quite positive none of us had ever before experienced a such broken road ride in a UAZ on top of sacks with flour. No emotion would ever convey what we felt.
Another mile and we got to a farm near Leva. The owner left his car and showed us to the canyon’s entrance. Guys, this is something!!! You have to see the canyon, when you find yourself there you experience such a feeling as if you were in the Jurassic period. Very beautiful indeed. Make sure though that you have an arranged pickup to go back, since not everyone can walk up their way back)))
After visiting the canyon we stopped at Skypark, but did not do the jump for it was more than enough impressions for one day! As we went down to the main road, we stopped by a trout farm for some smoked fish. We enjoyed a pint of draft beer and just rested on the terrace of our hotel all evening. The day had definitely been a success.
In the morning of the following day our four day road to Moscow began. Why, will you ask, does it take so long? The answer is simple, we do not like to drive boring routes. Instead, we went through the Gorachiy Kluch, a brief stop at a park would be well worth it. We took a stroll there and drank some mineral water from the spring.We got to Krasnodar by the afternoon, at a time when there is nothing to do! But after 9pm the city is transforms. Central Red Street closes for traffic and thousands of people go out on the street. The city comes alive filled with street performers playing songs, numerous bars and restaurants are deliciously food. There might be not enough entertainment and things to do for a few days, but one evening in the city is exactly worth it. Beautiful city center, various monuments, interesting buildings.
We left Krasnodar the following day and headed towards Rostov-on-Don. Our road passed through Timashevsk, where we are sure to advise you to visit the Stepanovs family museum. You may want to take a guided tour and get acquainted with the dramatic history of this family, if you ever get there. And then, we were off to Azov, where, perhaps, one of the best archaeological museums in Russia is situated. The real skeletons of dinosaurs and mammoths!! We had never seen such things anywhere else. Well, Rostov-on-Don was waiting for us in the evening. The city was consumed in preparation for the World Cup in 2018, very beautiful and well-groomed. Tired after the road, we did not have any energy left to go for a walk. We had a very tasty dinner at the restaurant Bukovsky. It had an excellent choice of beer and river fish from the Don.
Next morning we drove for about 300 km along the road, then got to Rossosh. Further through the countless villages we were at Liski, next to which Divnogorye, an open air museum. Once there was a mountain city of Khazars, here we saw is an ancient temple in the Cretaceous mountains. Having walked through the museum, we took off. The night drive took us along the Novovoronezh road as we drove into Voronezh. Another beautiful city - quiet, many historical buildings. Such a pity that we do not have time to get to know it better. Not to worry, it is not the last time that we are here, the next time will definitely devote this city a whole day.
Upcoming cyclone spoiled our plans to return to the capital! It hit Moscow coming from the Baltic States. Consequently, the temperature in Moscow fell down to 2-3 degrees Celsius, a tropical downpour wouldn't stop for the whole day. A would-be warm night of May brought along the snowfall which had not happened in the capital at this time of the year for more than 30 years. To everyone of us this was a complete surprise. A decision had to be made with the guys on what to do. Either we would get back to the snow and rain or stay for a day more enjoying the nice Voronezh weather with the temperature of +25 degrees! And of course, we oped for the later! We planned to visit my relatives the next morning. They live in the village of Chamlyk-Nikolskoye located approximately 100 km from Voronezh towards Tambov. My cousins live there, who by that time I had not seen for a long time and who gladly agreed to meet us. We drove to the village and approached my grandmother's house! The guys had bought some good meat and prepared the most delicious shish-kebab that we had throughout the trip! Surprisingly, against all odds, the shish kebab in Crimea and Sochi weren't that good! With every restaurant in town promising the best shish kebab, the meat in each and every one was quite mediocre. At last, it was in my grandparents’ village, that we finally got to eat some really delicious meat.
The next day we headed for Moscow. There was no rain, and as we were approaching Moscow, the temperature kept dropping to first +10 degrees, and then in Moscow down to +6-8 degrees. By 6 pm we had finally reached in the capital, where we parked motor bikes! Both happy and pleased with the trip we went home.
Summing up, I would like to say that the Crimea-Sochi-Moscow Tour is one of our best routes. We look forward to September, when we will be organizing a return tour, Moscow-Crimea-Sochi.
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To more of beautiful and memorable adventures! And see you on the roads!