Russia

Not that left!

Posted by on 24, Jul 2010 in 2010 - The Caucasus, Eastern Europe, Europe, Russia | 0 comments

Not that left!

We left Rostov in a hurricane and it felt like we were driving on two wheels for the first 100kms as the wind swept across the flat land. Our route was planned to keep us off the main roads and take us on the small roads to Volgograd. These by and large have been of reasonable standard and cut through the now Fenlike farmlands in a series of long perfectly straight roads with a bend every now and then to keep you on your toes. There is very little traffic, few villages just farmland growing sunflowers and some kind of wheat. After a day and a half the farmland begins to give way to steppe...

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Sochi Bribes and Roads and Rostov

Posted by on 22, Jul 2010 in 2010 - The Caucasus, Eastern Europe, Europe, Russia | 0 comments

Sochi Bribes and Roads and Rostov

Sochi was not at all what we expected. The difference between Turkey and Sochi is quite astonishing. It took us a while to find our way out of Sochi and we passed glitzy hotels restaurants and bars in abundance. The roads were lined with trees some palms and loads of fairy lights. It was almost like a fairy land though probably more like Vegas. We had tried to find the camping but it is very mountainous here and the road winds up and down with numerous hair pin bends and even at midnight is heaving with traffic, so in the end I took a lead out my dads 1970’s book of his Dormobile...

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From Russia with Love

Posted by on 19, Jul 2010 in 2010 - The Caucasus, Eastern Europe, EuroAsia, Europe, Russia, Turkey | 0 comments

From Russia with Love

We were in bed and asleep by the time the ferry left Trabzon and we awoke to blue skys and calm seas, wtich was very welcome. We are right in the center of the ship and despite the mill pond of a sea its hard to walk straight in the van as the ferry rolls from side to side at any opportunity. We’d hate to be on it in heavy seas! We arrived in Sochi at around 17:30 and then began the somewhat slow process of clearing customs. First the footies are seen at the bottom of the car deck ramp but not allowed to set foot on Russian soil, then almost like starting a horse race they are given...

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