And Then We Get to Real Russia...

After many stops in the Ukraine, we finally landed in the REAL Russia...Sochi by name.  Sochi is where the 2014 winter Olympics are supposed to be held, which means we were surrounded by the Caucasus  mountains.  It is strange to recognize that, although we had been in the former USSR in all the previous countries except Greece, the feeling here was different.  First of all, you needed a visa to get off the boat independently, not on a planned boat tour.  And to get a Russian visa is quite a feat.  We had to get one for a 3 day visit with a private guide when we were in St. Petersburg a few years ago.  They have pages and pages to fill out with your history from birth, if you had been in the military, had you worked for any company that made chemicals, weapons, makeup, baby formula (I’m exaggerating about that, but truly it was daunting!!!).  And then it cost, I think, $500 a person!  So no one wants to get off the boat without a planned boat tour!

One of the ship’s workers tried to go into town with a friend. Now, all boat personnel have a blanket boat visa at each port.  The military lady allowed one of the workers through but not the worker I talked to.  Who knows...  The climate is moderate at the shore and you see lots of people swimming on the Black Sea beaches.  I imagine, since they have lost the Ukrainian resorts, this is next best!  There are natural springs, so resorts of have popped up and it is a resort town now, with skiing in the mountains.

Sochi was inhabited by the Khazars, a group of nomads from Asia for centuries.  They worked with the Byzantine Empire, so there are remains from the Byzantine era circa the 11th century.  The land’s ownership went from the Byzantine to the Ottoman (Turkish) empire until 1829 when it officially became part of Russia.

I had the same feeling here that I had in St. Petersburg -- Russia is suspicious!  What are they suspicious of?  I would say, primarily, the West.  While they long for things like jeans and MP3 players, they scoff at Westerners behind their backs.  And this seems to be a consistent history with Russia.  So I don’t care to go back to Russia at all.  And next we are floating back to Turkey...