November 6th

b) Wind Tunnels and the Honey Waterfalls – Only just outside the city were two beautiful natural phenomenons. The first was these pits carved into the side of a mountain caused by wind. I have the sneaking suspicion that I’ve seen these before elsewhere, but still, the view (what we could see when the mist lifted a bit) was well worth the climb. Also, this was the first of many places mentioned by the poet and author Mikhail Lermontov, the poet laureate of this area. Next we travelled to the Honey Waterfalls, a beautiful little valley with, well, waterfalls. The rickety Russian structures that one walked over to see these falls were almost as much fun as the view itself, but it was all good when we got to the end and ate Caucasian food and drank homemade white wine (more about toasts later). Also, the whole valley we drove along used to be a part of the renowned Silk Road from China to Europe. Ruins have been found all along the valley and one could easily picture caravans moving slowly across this picturesque landscape headed for the markets of France and England.

c) Toasts – This is a random addition, but I wanted to get these down in writing before I forget them. These are from Anatoly Ivanovich when we were toasting with the homemade wine. First: “Here in the Caucasus there are many poisonous snakes. It is well known that if one bites you on the arm, you can suck the poison out and then spit it and you will be ok. But, if the snake bites you in the rear, you better have a good friend. To Friendship!” Second: “There was a flock of birds flying in formation. One bird thought he was better and flew very high, away from the rest of the birds. But he flew too high, burned his wings and plummeted to his death (Deadalus and Icarus anyone?). So, may none of us stray from the group or feel superior. To Togetherness!” I told you Russians were pro at toasting. Bust this out at your next dinner party.

November 5th

I’m on the train back from the wild Kavkaz (that’s the Caucasus in Russian, but let’s be honest, Kavkaz sounds way more wild/cool). We stayed in a town called Kislovodsk, a spa/resort town nestled in the mountains of the region. The place is covered in sanatoriums and this is the getaway for the average Russian. Not in November though… Of all the things Kislovodsk is famous for, probably its greatest claim to fame is having an average of 305 sunny days a year. I bring this up because we, in all of our wonderful luck, managed to be in this town for five of the 50 cloudy days a year. Not just cloudy, but also misty, freezing, with low laying clouds obscuring the allegedly stunning views of the surrounding mountains. Don’t get me wrong, there was something wild and poetic about the cloud choked mountain passes, but I would have loved at least one sunny day. In every town we stopped at, the first thing we saw were advertisements for views of Mt. Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, about 50 miles away. But let’s be honest, I climbed two-thirds of the way up Mt. Elbrus, 5000 meters from the summit and still couldn’t see it (it was a blizzard, but still… as our tour guide said, “If you climb Mt. Elbrus in great weather, you’ll forget it in a month. Climb it in a blizzard and you’ll remember for your whole life.” That being said I’m not sure I agree with that and I now have to go back and actually see the summit). Anyhow, it was a wonderful vacation getaway. We may easily have been the only 11 English speakers in Kislovodsk, so we had the run of the place. There are mountains and trails everywhere, and wild, beautiful nature is only 20 minutes outside the city. Also, the people here are much friendlier than your average Russian. Which is funny, because they are your average Russian, but they’re on vacation and who’s not happy on vacation? We met a ton of people and several from Voronezh. One great thing about meeting people for the first time here is that we’ve got the basic dialogue down so pat that we often come off as really good at Russian then manage to disengage without having that illusion shattered. Anyhow, highlights:

a) Climbing Mt. Elbrus – It’s really just a giant series of cable car rides, but it was still incredible and not bad for a Florida kid. Probably the neatest part was the drive there. Mt. Elbrus is a paltry five miles from Russia’s border with Georgia. As everyone knows, as far as friendly borders goes, this is no U.S.- Canada. Scattered along the road were numerous Russian Army posts replete with Kalashnikov wielding troops pulling guard in trenches. There were artillery emplacements everywhere along the side of the road, all pointed to the south, towards Georgia. I know this sounds melodramatic, but this is probably the most dangerous place I’ve ever been. This region of the world (North Ossetia and the border with Georgia) have seen enough war and terrorist attacks in the two years (2008 being the worst, with a train getting blown up in Kislovodsk among others) to last a lifetime. The closer we got to Georgia, the more detritus of war littered the side of the road. Truly shocking. Also somewhat surprising was the realization that this entire area was Muslim, an inescapable conclusion when one notices the ubiquitous mosques in each little town we traveled through. The mountain itself was obscured by mist and snow, but it was still majestic and we all had a great time on the terrifyingly rickety Soviet chairlifts that carried us over the jagged snow covered rocks.

Much more to follow...

October 29th

I’m on the train to Kislovodsk and I’m sharing my cupé (compartment with four beds and a table in the middle) with one American, Brenden Fox, and two Russians. As per tradition, we all brought food and set it out on the table and partook in the feast together. I brought bread and Nutella, Brenden brought cheese, and the Russians brought bread, cheese, kolbasa, and tea. Quite the meal, and standard fare for a Russian train (which has a particular culture all of its own- unlike trains in Europe). Anyways, we got to talking, and, amazingly, my Russian seemed up for the challenge of conversation today so it was really quite a bit of fun! We talked about what they did (both were Scuba divers on their way back from vacation in St. Petersburg) and made small talk about such things. One of the guys was born in Voronezh, so we talked about his hometown for quite some time (easy to do considering how in love with that city I am). From there we began talking about politics. They asked us about our President, the diplomatic answer being “On normalni” a catch all phrase that means “Not good, not bad.” These guys were shocked and said, “No, on chorni!” which is “But, he’s black!” In case you haven’t heard, Russians are a racist group of folks… Anyways, we said it was unimportant and moved on from there. We compared our democratic systems a conversation that I understood so little of that I couldn’t really contribute anything meaningful or tell you with any certainty what was said. One of the guys had been to Barcelona so we talked about the architecture of Gaudí and such things (a conversation I’m pretty sure I’ve never had in English…). Well, a good time was had by all and thankfully no vodka was poured (to refuse is so nekulturny it’s not even funny).