BEFORE THE HIKE
All the serious faces are due to the fact that we are about to attack Mt. "Cat." From left: Me, Joshua, Sergiy, Olya, (front) Maurie and Anya.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!
Several hours later we celebrated conquering the "Cat." We almost fell off scrambling to get in the timed picture, but, as you can see, it was well worth it.
A NIGHT VISION
The lights and colors of Simeiz at night, complete with its discos under the intermittent clouds and streaks of moonlight. There are more similar pictures in the "artistic" gallery.
DON'T LOOK MOM..
The second day of our vacation, we decided to
do a little free climbing to get a better view. See Joshua's picture
below also, but don't worry, there was never any danger whatsoever;
i promise, Mom.
HOME FOR A DAY
Our accomdations aboard the 18 hour train to Simfropel. Anya, myself, Joshua, Maurie, and a generous stranger Igor. All five of us in here, teaching impossible card games, playing UNO and attempting to sleep.
THE "BEACH'
The shore was a bit different than my definition of a "beach,' because it was mostly large rocks, but it was absolutely gorgeous. The water was completely transparent and we enjoyed sevaral days swimming, snorkeling, sunbathing, and throwing rocks from this very spot.
CIRCLE OF NEW FRIENDS
Before the trip, none of us knew anymore than two of the others well
at all, but we all became very close during our adventures, sharing
a single room forced us to.
THE FOOD OF THE WEEK
SHASHLIK!! Olya and I pose with the Georgian treat, shashlik. We ate
at this family run cafe seven times in five days and this delicious
pork kabob represents the primary reason.
BOY SCOUT??
Yes, i did build this fire, which functioned perfectly for us to roast
sausages on after our hike to the top of the Cat. Only later did we
discover the sign saying, "No Fires." Smoky would not have
been happy.
Olya wasn't a huge fan of having her picture made, but she made a nice face for this shot of the mountains towering over the city..
NEVER
ENDING GAME OF POOL
Sergiy and Anya played pool for 45 minutes sinking a total of 3 balls combined. Teasing them, the cocky Americans (Joshua and myself) took over the sticks and quickly realized that Russian Pool is a little different. Namely, the balls are twice as big and the pockets half the size of what we were used to. We did no better, needless to say.
Sergiy takes a dip in the cool, at times icy, waters. What you cannot see are the swarms of small, mostly harmless jellyfish surrounding him. In some places, you could not swim without pushing aside handfuls of the slimy creatures; it kinda freaked me out a couple of times, to be honest.
LOOK WHAT I GOT!
Because the water was so transparent, Joshua, Sergiy and I purchased
a mask and flippers with which to explore the coral formations and sea
life. Joshua was ready to go.
MUCH NEEDED REST
Sergiy won the award for the best sleeper on trip. On his razor thin
floor pad, he slept through many distractions in our shared room.
FAST FRIENDS
After a deliciously satisfying meal at our restaurant, Sergiy and I
were sitting while the girls danced. Our stomachs needed rest.
TATOOED AND BURNED
Joshua wanted to demonstrate that sunscreen really does work, and that the sun also really works.
DANCING FOR JOY
Anya, Olya, and Sergiy find their feet and bodies dancing with joy. Overcome by the beauty of God and the joy of newly discovered friendship, they could not restrain themselves.
A MEAL IN THE CLOUDS
Joshua and Sergiy cook their meals right below the peak of the Cat. Sausages, bread, and Romin noodles; it doesn't get much better.
OUR WARM UP PEAK
The second day we climbed this little hill of rocks by various routes, some more dangerous than others (see below right). Ecstatic to be on top, we did not realize we would far exeed this pinnacle a couple of days later.
HELLO ANYA
Anya, an artist, displays her creative and cheap fashion sense with the umbrellas from our parfait type desserts.
IT'S A BIRD, A PLANE; NO, IT'S NOTHING!
Atop a rocky seat, Joshua and Maurie are pointing to a cloud in the sky, I think, but it might have been something really cool. I could not see because I was taking this picture.
CARE FOR A SWIM??
Anya readys herself for the embrace of the chilly, but transparent water.
She is also studying the best route to avoid jellyfist..
OUR SHASHLIK FRIENDS
Father and son team who ran our restaurant. The elder proudly informed
us that he had fed the president of Uzbekistan, who, at the time was
named Muhammed Ali. At least we think that is what he said.
LIVING ON THE EDGE
Joshua's mom, do not look! The rest of you, have no fear because Joshua
is an experienced climber; usually, though, he uses ropes.