Krasnodar to Rostov-on-Don, Russia

Leaving Krasnodar, we headed to Rostov-on-Don, Russia. It started out as a beautiful morning. I was listening to my I-Pod head bobbing to Christina Aguillera and then it started becoming overcast and the skies opened, the rain fell and the lighting bolted. At one point it was raining so hard that we had to pull under an overpass. A Russian motorcyclist went speeding by, pulled over then backed his way under shelter with us. WOW!!!! Aira, I hope you're reading this and seeing the pictures. He was HOT!!!! He was decked out in all black, he had a mirrored helmet visor and was driving a Honda 900 (I tried telling him I worked at Honda but who needs communication anyway). So, you will see a pic with my new Russian spyguy. After stopping for gas, we carried off in the rain and pulled over at one point to make sure we were all together. We went to take off and Pat had a nail in his tire. It seemed to happen right in front of a garage but being that Jason is a mechanic, he and the guys got to work fixing the tire while Mick (tour leader), Carmen and myself started looking for bread at a local grocery store and we did our picnic lunch right there (pic with weather clearing and bikes stopped at gas station). After that, the weather stay nice and we arrived to a busy Rostov-on-Don. We had dinner aboard a boat with Russian women and men (dressed in traditional dress while the men were dressed in military uniform) serenading people along the water. Prior to getting to our hotel, however, we stopped a few times along the side of the road to get some pictures of the monuments that we were driving passed. Obviously having something to do with the war and that there are many different monuments everywhere alongside the roadways. I've also included our hotel, a picture of the restaurant that we ate at (ship), the entertainment with people dancing in the streets, the Russian beer, vodka and women (Isaac caught their attention) plus the four amigos (Mick, Murray, Patrick,Jason) walking back to the hotel.

Sochi to Krasnodar, Russia

We travelled from Sochi up the coast to Krasnodar, Russia. We stopped and had a picnic lunch along the way and there was a statue of a military man. It seems that many statues just pop up in the middle of anywhere. There are still checkpoints where you pull up and the police pass you through armed with machine guns. Just before we ate lunch, three guys from our group were pulled over (Patrick, Joe and Isaac). Apparently they took Patricks drivers licence and kept saying "prison! prison! prison!" but after much time and many phone calls to whoever the police were calling, they handed Patrick his driver's licence back and said "present! present! present!". They had captured them on film (even though no one ask so really see if it was them or not). The police here are probably not people you want to challenge or ask to many questions. Once through the mountains, we stopped for something cool in the afternoon at this roadside restaurant. Saturday, every Russian must've been at the beach because is was nuts with people swimming (something like a Wasaga Beach). The beaches are like carnivals and wet'n wilds everywhere. We went out for dinner that night and many of us had Borsch - it was to die for. I gave my laundry to the front desk and a Russian woman brought it to my by 8am the next morning. I swear to God that my laundry has never looked so good (everything, including my underwear were starched and pressed).

Sochi, Russia

When we were waiting to get into Sochi, Russia, Mick, our tour leader, ended up getting us pizza at about midnight on the Sat. night. Apparently, customs had just installed a new computer system which makes it so that we now will be able to go into Kazahkstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan without having to wait (we all have agreed that we will believe it when we see it). Our hotel room was quite lovely once again and breakfast was good. Unfortunately, we were told by Mick, our tour guide, that at customs we should not take any pictures. So, I have no pictures of our hotel that night and did not start taking them until we were on the road the next day to Krasnodar, Russia. We started out and it was a beautiful day but hot, muggy and sticky. Sochi is a very mountainous region and we travelled through sweepers, hairpin turns as we moved our way through the mountains ending in Krasnodar. While I am travelling, I realize that many places in the world do all look the same to some extent (wheat fields, mountain ranges, farmland etc) but I believe the difference is in the ideology and customs. Since Russia is no longer communist, many things appear as if the must have changed. Unlike Turkey where all the women are covered and not allowed to show their beauty, the Russian women dress to the nines and are probably some of the most beautiful women in the world. Most of the women are very well manicured and dress as if each day they are going out with their stiletto heals, short shorts, skirts or dresses, nail polish. A mans paradise.

The Ferry Ride

We left the hotel Thurs, July 1 at 2 pm and got to the docks at 3PM. We couldn't board the boat til 5:00 pm and the boat didn't leave until 2 am Friday July 2nd. We arrived in Sochi Russia at 5 pm Friday night July 2nd and by the time we were through customs, it was 1 am Saturday July 3rd and asleep by 2 am only to be up and at 'em for 8 loading luggage,????) Regular toiletts are the best. Captured rainbow in the water. Neat!

Along the Black Sea

From Amaysa to Trabzon Turkey was a beautiful, coastal ride. We had stopped at an amazing restaurant; airy and magnificent views. So just a few pics of that restaurant and where we stayed in Trabzon for two days until we were able to catch the ferry (which was suppose to be a 12 hr process that ended up taking 48 hrs). Just a taste of Trabzon since it is the last place we stayed in Turkey. Views from the rooftop (a bar). My odometer reading before we headed on the boat to Russia (6584 kms). It had 66 kms when I started. A pic showing how they dry their carpets (big in Turkey). I did love riding in Turkey.

On Our Way To Trabzon Turkey Wed June 30 Day 19

Now, I know this is backtracking as we are currently in Rostov-on-Don, Russia staying at the Hermitage Hotel (very lovely inside even if it looks like it's across the street from a crack house).
But the ride to Trabzon needs to be told as yes it was quite lovely (see the picture with the group stopped alongside the road and sunflowers in the background). Well, the reason for the stop is multi-fold. Murray was struck headon by a flying chicken that exploded behind him in Mick's face (startled him and just about knocked him off his bike). Patrick was hit by a kamakaze bird that got lodged and cooked on his motor (so we had chicken and eggs) and I was leaning against my bike taking pictures of the fields of sunflowers when I thought my exhaust had burnt me in the crotch. I flung backwards telling Mick behind that my exhaust burnt me when he told me that I was stung by a bee and offered to kiss it better. Of course, I wouldn't let him but as I stepped backwards, I saw a dead bee on the ground. So, that's the story behind that picture. As I'm telling this, I still have a welt from the bee sting and he's still offering to kiss it better. We later stopped at a gas station and two motorcycles pulled up showing us their bikes (the kuba and I like that booty). We had a roadside lunch and Murray was doing bullwinkle after a days adventure. Ohh!!! About the sunflowers. They grow alongside the road in Turkey and Russia. Fields of them. It is quite lovely.

Dedication to my friend Aysun and Tammy

I just wanted to include a quick note about two friends that I met when I was in public school, Aysun and Tammy. We hung around together and being kids, it never dawned on me just how far both Tammy and Aysun families had travelled. Aysun was from Turkey and Tammy was from China but as a kid I had no idea what that meant. After grade 5, both of them moved away and I lost all contact with them. Amazingly however, just before coming on this trip, Tammy contacted me (after all these years) and reunited the three of us via email. So, I dedicate this blog to the two of them. I was suppose to go to China and ended up changing that trip to the one I'm on. One day hopefully, I will get to see China but Turkey was amazing. The riding in Turkey was beautiful and all of us enjoyed the wonderfully paved roads and rolling hills. We left Turkey on Thursday night for Sochi, Russia (what a trip that was and I'm saving for next blog). Let's just suffice to say, I will miss Turkey and I'm thankful to Tammy and Aysun for emailing me after all these years. Let's stay in touch. Cheers to us!!!!