Time has
gotten away from me once again, so here is a catch up blog post of my latest
adventures.
The weather
has finally turned warm—hot actually-- just in time for spring hikes and
picnics. A couple of Saturdays ago I went hiking with Polina and a male friend
of hers (Dima), whom I ended up liking a lot. The first true “gearhead” I have
met here—told me about websites in America he orders stuff from. We started out
hiking through open fields, getting hotter and hotter, but then the old road merged
into the forests and there we were the rest of the day, eventually coming out
onto one of the many points in Crimea called “Kush kaya” which means bird rock
in Crimea Tatar. The forests were
thickly carpeted with spring wildflowers, especially the bright yellow buttercups
we also find in America, and the spring vegetation coming up was green and
lush—truly a spring paradise.
Dima posing in the wildflowers |
On Kush Kaya--Bird Rock--Chatyr Dag in the distance |
Polina and I at end of hike |
Once again,
we were following Polina on her GPS and once again, she got on the phone to her
mother when the way on the GPS didn’t seem quite right. With her mother’s
directions we cut up a slope to the correct trail. Now I see why her mother
doesn’t even bother with a compass when she hikes.
On Sunday,
there was the Window on America annual picnic. About 40 of us met at the train
station to take the very hot and very crowded and very old electric train to
Bakchiseray, about an hour and half away. However, one of the great things
about the electric trains is that you are constantly entertained by street musicians
who pass from car to car, making their living from the meager handouts they
receive.
We gather for a group photo at WOA picnic |
Hikers at WOA picnic; guy in cap a local PCV |
Once in
Bakchiseray, we all crowded onto a couple of buses to the “old city” and hiked
to a beautiful grassy meadow surrounded by the high canyon rock faces of that
region. I spent a lot of the day hanging out in the shade, but many of the
young people played soccer and volleyball. Those of us in the shade prepared
food, played cards, listened to and sang along with the several musicians among
the young folk. Eventually a few people wanted to take a hike and they turned
to me to lead the way! They all know what a hiker I am, and I was pretty
familiar with the area. But we didn’t get far—too hot, not enough time--but a
nice stroll anyhow.
The
following week, the May holidays began—Orthodox Easter, May Day, and Victory
Day—which means there are many days off and lots of activities. On May 1st,
my PCV friend Joohee came to our house
for shashleek (kebabs) and then early the next morning, we took a 4 ½ hour bus to
the city of Kerch, the only major landmark in Crimea I hadn’t yet visited. It
is the furthest eastern city in Crimea—a short ferry ride away from Russia (not
that we PCVs can go there—visa is complicated). There are several volunteers
there, including one older Volunteer we stayed with.
We had a
nice time, strolling around the city center, climbing up the “mountain” in the
middle of the city on the “400 steps,” visiting the underground catacombs where
over 10,000 partisan resisters and Kerch residents held out against the Nazis
for six months, though almost all eventually perished. Now it is a museum with
a dramatic Soviet style entrance that leads to a long series of unlighted steps
into the catacombs. Our guide had a flashlight, as did a few of the people in
our group, but it was a very dark and somewhat spooky excursion, as they have
provided very little lighting. Not unusual here, but in our safety conscious
America, it would have never been tolerated. Sometimes I think the US goes
overboard in that direction, but in this case, at least a little of that
consciousness would have been helpful. Joohee and I held hands every time we
moved in fear of getting left behind! Though when they briefly turned off the
flashlights for a moment of silence at one of the memorials, the profound
darkness was something I perhaps have never experienced in my lifetime.
Joohee on my right, on my left Christine who lives in Kerch |
View from top of hill in center of Kerch |
Entrance to catacombs museum |
We just
stayed one night in Kerch, but it was a nice break. Joohee is leaving to go
back to the US soon, and I wanted to get back to go hiking on Saturday with
Alie from the Window on America center and her husband, Genghis. A couple of
their young friends joined us too, and it was a good day. Not a lot of real
hiking, mostly just following roads, but I enjoyed being with them all—talking
about Crimean Tatar history of the area, local flora and fauna, the house we
came across with a VERY high security wall armed with cameras which they said
must be owned by someone in the government, and any other topic that one of the
young guys who was happy about the chance to practice his English (often the
case) brought up. The day was extremely hot, but we ended at a reservoir, and
though we couldn’t really go swimming, we at least had the opportunity to wade
and cool down.
View of the reservoir |
Alie and her husband Genghis |
The
following day (Sunday) I spent a leisurely day at home, and then on Monday (the
official day off for the Easter holiday on Sunday), the family and I went in
the van to the annual Crimean Tatar festival of Hirdirlez. We only stayed a
couple of hours—enough time to walk around and see the displays, listen to some
music, watch Crimean Tatar wrestling and horse racing—and then took off on a
cross-the-mountain drive to the sea. Which would have been very beautiful, except
that when we got to the top of the mountain, we encountered a huge rainstorm
that followed us all the way down the mountain and along the sea coast. Eventually
the skies cleared, and I, once again, got to see that beautiful stretch of the
coast. It is considered the most dramatic scenery on the coast, and I long to
explore it more. Hard to figure out how to do without a car, though I bet
Polina and Nada know….
Today is
Tuesday and I am back at the library, but just for this one day. There is yet
another holiday this week --Victory Day (from WWII or the Great Patriotic War,
as they call it here)--on Thursday and the library will be closed that day and
Friday. Next week I take off for my Close-of-Service (COS) medical appointments
in Kyiv and then off to Romania for a week.
I plan to be in Crimea most of June, leaving on the 26th for
my 3-week trip to Georgia. So much time for more Crimea exploring and hanging
out with all the people I love here.
With love
from Crimea.