The Black sea, 4 December
Riga - Yalta was the official target for the trip. So I can now announce that I reached Yalta by bicycle. I was actually here already some days ago on a scouting trip. So I have now moved 2375 km by bicycle. The shorterst route possible from Riga to Yalta is 1975 km. I surely haven't taken the shortest route, as I have made some 500 km by bus or train as well.
I stayed three nights in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea and stayed in the hotel Ukraina, a Victorian style hotel, clearly the finest hotel I stayed in so far, price 50 Euro. I scouted the Southern Crimea and went by bus to Feodosia, Sudak, Yalta, Gurzuf etc. I had an afternoon in Yalta and saw these people dancing under Lenin's supervision.
After Simferopol I drove by bicycle to Bakchisarai, some 35 km away. It was the capital of the Crimean Tartars nation.
You can see the interesting rock formations that guards the city from above.
There I visited the Palace of the Khan, a fascinating place. On the picture you see me, Pushkin and the Fountain of Tears. Pushkin wrote a famous poem about that fountain. It was built by the Khan court as consolation for his grief over the death of one of his concubines. Her loved her a lot, but it was not answered by her.
Reminds me of the words of Souleimane the Great: "I ruled the univers but I was a beggar at your door". Love can't be commanded or controlled.
The following day I went to the ancient cave cities. They are high up in the mountains and really quite unique. The one I visited, Chufut-Kale was inhabited only a hundred years ago, then only by Karaim Jews - a special sect of sorts (Karaim Jews "Jews of the Crimea -- who call themselves the descendants of the true children of Israel, i.e., of the Sadducees -- reject the Torah and the Pentateuch of the Synagogue, reject the Sabbath of the Jews (keeping Friday), will have neither the Books of the Prophets nor the Psalms -- nothing but their own Books of Moses and that they call his one and real Law" ). I also hiked further to another cave city Tepe-Kermen, but concluded that the guys that built that place didn't want any visitors! It was on top of a mesa mountain with steep sides - it is the one on the picture
But I enjoyed the hike anyway, and as you can see the weather was nice.
In the afternoon that day I went to Sevastopol to fix a new wheel to my bicycle - see separate posting
Accross the mountains
The next day I took off on the small road between Bahkchisarai and Yalta that crosses the mountain range. This is not the main road to Yalta. It goes from the gentle fruit-growing landscape into the rugged mountain range. It follows the Belbeek river and the valley gets more and more narrow. It was really warm, I had to take off the jacket, the cap, the gloves and the long johns. Also the road was climbing so it was a bit heavy.
Much of the fruit plantations are in a neglected shape. Here you can see one of the biggest clematis fields I ever seen, but in reality it is an orchard overgrown with clematis!
My goal for the day was the reach the Bolchoy Canjon. I did so and got a refreshing bath in the small stream that runs through the canjon. I raised my tent for the first night of camping in Ukraine. I was a very nice spot. The night passed well.
Next morning I set out up the canyon. I walked one hour in the bottom of the canyon which was full of nice pools of water. The sides were very steep and rugged.
At around nine, it was high time for me to take off for the real crossing of the ridge.
I had some 60 km to go, and I knew most of that would be very rough. The first two hours I could harldy bike at all. I moved 12 km leading the bicycle all the time, climbing from around 400 m to around 1000 m I think. Then there was a stretch of less than 10 km on a plateau where I could bike now and then. Some snow had fallen during the night. Finally I reached the top of the pass 1209 meters, and shortly thereafter the edge of the range with the full view over Yalta.
22 km rolling!
The trip down the slope was truly amazing. For 22 kilometers I just rolled, didn't have to spin the pedals one single time. Mostly standing on the break instead. The descent was from 1200 meters to about 100 meter above see level on that stretch. It was also a very beatiful landscape and there was little traffic on the narrow road. With a mountain bike and no load the biking would have been even better.
I had booked a place in Gurzuf some 20 km east of Yalta. it is nicer and cheaper, In will make a separate posting about it. This is how it looked when I arrived around four in the afternoon.
I stay in a pension style place. I have two rooms, and all you need (water boiler, heating, kitchen ware etc and even sea view for 12 Euros per night. I don't know what the place costs in high season but I am sure it is a lot more. I celebrated that I reached the "final destination" with a very nice meal in an restaurant at the sea side.
Now I have to figure out how to get out of here. The ferries to Turkey are all cancelled because of Idd (end of Ramadan), so that will not work. In the railway station they looked at me as id I was an idiot when I asked about trains to Istanbul and the same at the bus station. There seems to be some flight.
Added Later: I have now booked a flight to Istanbul from Simferopol the 9th December and a hotel for Istanbul for the same night. After that I will go to the
Bugday Association for Supporting Ecological Living
Kaz (Ida) Mountains Centre for Research, Education and Implementation
Bahcedere Koyu, Kucukkuyu, Ayvacik, Canakkale, Turkey
Where this part of my trip will end.
I stayed three nights in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea and stayed in the hotel Ukraina, a Victorian style hotel, clearly the finest hotel I stayed in so far, price 50 Euro. I scouted the Southern Crimea and went by bus to Feodosia, Sudak, Yalta, Gurzuf etc. I had an afternoon in Yalta and saw these people dancing under Lenin's supervision.
After Simferopol I drove by bicycle to Bakchisarai, some 35 km away. It was the capital of the Crimean Tartars nation.
You can see the interesting rock formations that guards the city from above.
There I visited the Palace of the Khan, a fascinating place. On the picture you see me, Pushkin and the Fountain of Tears. Pushkin wrote a famous poem about that fountain. It was built by the Khan court as consolation for his grief over the death of one of his concubines. Her loved her a lot, but it was not answered by her.
Reminds me of the words of Souleimane the Great: "I ruled the univers but I was a beggar at your door". Love can't be commanded or controlled.
The following day I went to the ancient cave cities. They are high up in the mountains and really quite unique. The one I visited, Chufut-Kale was inhabited only a hundred years ago, then only by Karaim Jews - a special sect of sorts (Karaim Jews "Jews of the Crimea -- who call themselves the descendants of the true children of Israel, i.e., of the Sadducees -- reject the Torah and the Pentateuch of the Synagogue, reject the Sabbath of the Jews (keeping Friday), will have neither the Books of the Prophets nor the Psalms -- nothing but their own Books of Moses and that they call his one and real Law" ). I also hiked further to another cave city Tepe-Kermen, but concluded that the guys that built that place didn't want any visitors! It was on top of a mesa mountain with steep sides - it is the one on the picture
But I enjoyed the hike anyway, and as you can see the weather was nice.
In the afternoon that day I went to Sevastopol to fix a new wheel to my bicycle - see separate posting
Accross the mountains
The next day I took off on the small road between Bahkchisarai and Yalta that crosses the mountain range. This is not the main road to Yalta. It goes from the gentle fruit-growing landscape into the rugged mountain range. It follows the Belbeek river and the valley gets more and more narrow. It was really warm, I had to take off the jacket, the cap, the gloves and the long johns. Also the road was climbing so it was a bit heavy.
Much of the fruit plantations are in a neglected shape. Here you can see one of the biggest clematis fields I ever seen, but in reality it is an orchard overgrown with clematis!
My goal for the day was the reach the Bolchoy Canjon. I did so and got a refreshing bath in the small stream that runs through the canjon. I raised my tent for the first night of camping in Ukraine. I was a very nice spot. The night passed well.
Next morning I set out up the canyon. I walked one hour in the bottom of the canyon which was full of nice pools of water. The sides were very steep and rugged.
At around nine, it was high time for me to take off for the real crossing of the ridge.
I had some 60 km to go, and I knew most of that would be very rough. The first two hours I could harldy bike at all. I moved 12 km leading the bicycle all the time, climbing from around 400 m to around 1000 m I think. Then there was a stretch of less than 10 km on a plateau where I could bike now and then. Some snow had fallen during the night. Finally I reached the top of the pass 1209 meters, and shortly thereafter the edge of the range with the full view over Yalta.
22 km rolling!
The trip down the slope was truly amazing. For 22 kilometers I just rolled, didn't have to spin the pedals one single time. Mostly standing on the break instead. The descent was from 1200 meters to about 100 meter above see level on that stretch. It was also a very beatiful landscape and there was little traffic on the narrow road. With a mountain bike and no load the biking would have been even better.
I had booked a place in Gurzuf some 20 km east of Yalta. it is nicer and cheaper, In will make a separate posting about it. This is how it looked when I arrived around four in the afternoon.
I stay in a pension style place. I have two rooms, and all you need (water boiler, heating, kitchen ware etc and even sea view for 12 Euros per night. I don't know what the place costs in high season but I am sure it is a lot more. I celebrated that I reached the "final destination" with a very nice meal in an restaurant at the sea side.
Now I have to figure out how to get out of here. The ferries to Turkey are all cancelled because of Idd (end of Ramadan), so that will not work. In the railway station they looked at me as id I was an idiot when I asked about trains to Istanbul and the same at the bus station. There seems to be some flight.
Added Later: I have now booked a flight to Istanbul from Simferopol the 9th December and a hotel for Istanbul for the same night. After that I will go to the
Bugday Association for Supporting Ecological Living
Kaz (Ida) Mountains Centre for Research, Education and Implementation
Bahcedere Koyu, Kucukkuyu, Ayvacik, Canakkale, Turkey
Where this part of my trip will end.
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