Sochi and Sevastopol

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Sochi and Sevastopol

We sailed across the Black Sea toward Sochi, Russia in cold, foggy weather. The coastline was not within sight until we were very close. I had developed a cold, and because of that, I decided to stay aboard and Bruce went on the tour. This is the only place we’ve been where we had to be on a HAL tour or have obtained a separate visa before leaving the States in order to go ashore. The Russians held us up for almost two hours before clearing the ship, and Bruce left for the tour with passport in hand. Usually a copy of our passport is sufficient when on shore, but not here.

The woman who led Bruce’s tour did not speak very good English, and she read from a script. She didn’t understand questions posed to her so she couldn’t provide any extraneous information not in her script. Sochi’s beaches are known for resorts and spas for the Russian elite, and are nestled against the Caucasus Mountains where the 2014 Olympics will be held. They, the people of Sochi and Russia, for that matter, have a long way to go to be ready for the thousands of tourists who will invade the area. The authorities will have to be a bit more accommodating and perhaps a wee bit faster in processing visitors. They will need to do more building, and have more guides who speak not only English, but many languages of the world to make people feel welcome. The stop Bruce’s tour made was a lodge in Dagomys where he was served tea and pastries, as Dagomys is a famous area for tea growing. That experience, he said, was friendly and much more welcoming, including strolling musicians. Tsar Nicholas II built a dacha or summer home nearby, and Joseph Stalin also built a Sochi dacha, which is now open to tourists. And, as you know, Pres. Bush met Putin here a few days after we left. Don’t think the weather cleared, however, either literally or politically.

Later on April Fools day, we sailed from Sochi in the Black Sea toward Sevastopol, Ukraine. The weather didn’t improve, and I didn’t want to venture forth here, either, so Bruce went ashore. We anchored off shore and had to tender in, but the atmosphere couldn’t have been more noticeably different. The guide was friendly and well informed. He said that while Russian influence was strong, the desire for independence was stronger. Bruce went to a Navy song and dance performance which included strong voices and rousing songs. Bruce particularly enjoyed the instrumental version of Bill Bailey Won’t You Please Come Home. After a rather uplifting day, he returned to the ship and we soon started our way back across the Black Sea to the Bosporus.

The next day we sailed past Istanbul, into the Sea of Marmara, the Dardanelles Straits past the Gallipoli Peninsula and into the Aegean Sea. This is truly the line between two continents - Europe and Asia. It is the only passage between The Black and Mediterranean Seas and, therefore, is of strategic importance and the focus of the most recent dispute when the WWI Battle of Gallipoli claimed thousands of lives. More than 300,000 people - half of them under 21 - were killed. We spent most of the day on deck taking lots of pictures as the weather had cleared, and the sights were incredible. From there we cruised toward Santorini, Greece.

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