10-08 Sochi, Russia

I’m going to begin by saying that everyone we talked to after all the various tours in Sochi had the same reaction to Sochi – no one liked it!  The people never smiled; it felt oppressive, and decent infrastructure was lacking (the road jams were incredible!) Even those who visited Stalin’s summerhouse were disappointed in the cement block (painted an ugly green) rather barren house.  The “gardens” had maybe one blooming flower!  And this is the city where the 2014 Winter Olympic games are to be played!!  Let’s just say, Sochi has a real challenge to be ready.

Because Sochi is on the Black Sea and has a subtropical climate, many Russians come here for holiday to enjoy the 5 miles of pebble (not sand!) beaches. It has about 200 sunny days a year (although it rained the day we were there!) It became especially popular after Czar Nicholas II built a “dacha” (summer home) nearby.  The Russian elite followed his lead, including Stalin. 

The city was founded in 1898 and has a population of 400,000.  It sits against the beautiful Caucasus Mountains.  Not far from the city is the Caucasian State Biosphere Reserve.  A section known as Krasnaya Polyana (meaning pretty forest) is one of the region’s finest natural highlights.  The road into this area follows the deep Mzymta River gorge. 

We took a tour into this area to see where the Winter Olympics will be held -  the skiing events.

On the way we made a stop at the Agurskoye Gorge to take pictures.  It was near hear that Prometheus was said to have been chained to a rock by Zeus to have his liver eaten every day by a vulture, and each night the liver was restored so it could be eaten again the next day.

Our next stop was to a beehive keeper’s house to have a snack of tea and  Russian pancakes served with his home-made chestnut honey.  It was a little more bitter than sweet, but an interesting taste.  It was cold, so the warm tea was appreciated.

Finally we made it to the ski lift area and had a view of the area which will be the future Olympian village.

The ski lifts were running, and it was a beautiful area.  In some areas we could see snow-capped mountains.

Due to a great deal of construction going on in and around Sochi, it took us a long time to wind our way back down the mountains and into the town.  Once back, we walked around a bit and saw two brides in their white dresses.  We also saw two guards with bullet proof vests putting a lady into a car (not a limo) so we assumed she was someone important! 

It was a tender port, so we waited to take the tenders back to the ship.  Had dinner with Makena and Craig again and compared stories about our tours. 

While this port was not a highlight and we wouldn’t want to come back, we were glad to have seen it to know what it is.  And in 2014 when the ski events take place, we can say “we were there!”