Cocktail of Crimean delicacies

Demerdzhi, Kara-Tau, Likon, Dzhurla, Dzhur-Dzhur, Chatyr-Dag, Karabi-Yayla, Ayu-Dag, Chigenitra, Suat, Suuk-Su, Ai-Alexiy and much..., much more... this is not a complete list of the most beautiful places in Crimea, which burst into our plain consciousness like a hurricane... A carousel of what was seen, felt, passed gradually slows down, giving
consciousness to put everything into order in the brain... A magical aftertaste remains, like from aged Crimean grape wine. And only now, a couple of weeks after returning to workdays, can you
share your impressions of the trip to Crimea. Guys, This is a Fairy Tale...

On winter evenings, getting together with friends, we savored our road trips through Karelia and central Russia. Word for word, we decided to take our summer vacation into a more active direction. “- A weak pawn... with backpacks... and legs? “It’s not a question... let’s go!!!” The desire to walk sparked our company half a year before we set out on the Route. From several
The entire Internet was put on computers' ears, search engines were tired of throwing out links to active recreation and everything that revolved around it. As a result, for our company, which has only experience in mattress making and
Walking in a two-kilometer zone near the camp, certainty appeared - Crimea! Water and Stones! Kirill Yasko!!! Guys, This is a Fairy Tale...

Truly they say that the one who walks can master the road, especially if there is a desire to walk... Tickets for the direct train from Yaroslavl to Simferopol and back were purchased without any problems, and the purchase of affordable equipment was also not burdensome. On Kirill’s advice, we went on a test hike - we walked 21 km in two days, bruised our shoulders, rubbed
calluses, but most importantly we gained valuable experience and the first awakenings from a pawn. So, having collected the necessary (as it seemed to us) belongings into backpacks, boarded the train, we passed the not at all evil customs officers. Having eaten the last of our home supplies, all 12 of us, after a preliminary call from Svetlana (Kirill’s wife), lined up, waiting,
a written description of Kirill, an “inconspicuous and elderly” guide, Volodya Sorokin, with a homemade backpack. Guys, a 9-day fairy tale begins...

I kept thinking how a guide, allocated from Kirill’s team, would be able to deliver a mountain of food for 12 people and for 9 days. Maybe he’ll bring it by car, and we’ll use it to go to the starting point? Everything turned out to be very simple and well thought out, we must pay tribute to the professionalism of the route developer. Speaking of the route: It’s not for nothing that Kirill writes on his
website, the route can be developed absolutely in terms of distance, time and number of goodies visited, moreover, correction is possible during the movement. So there you go! Heavy product is purchased for the first few days, the route goes out to the village, where they are replenished with “gasoline” for pedestrians... including Mars and Snickers, if you are going with children, so that the taste is not forgotten... At the station we were given several bags of stewed meat, cereals, bread and cookies. We quickly stuffed all this into our colorful backpacks.

We quickly attacked the minibus to Perevalnoye and an hour later we stood at the Starting Point of the Route. Error One. All pedestrian crossings in the Crimean mountains go from Source to Source (from water to water). We had to travel for 2 hours to get to the spring, and the male part of our team went to the store to fill up with water. Baaaah... and there's Beer! The temptation is enormous, well, of course: Mountains, Euphoria, Heat... in short, we were persuaded by a can of cold beer. Guys, don’t drink beer while standing on the Trail... especially before the climb. I’ll say more, Mistake Two: don’t drink Water while you’re rising! No,
You won’t become a little goat, but you will lose your baby goat. The body is already overloaded, and you add another burden to it by drinking water - so it expels it through all the pores. In short, we had to climb 500 meters to the plateau (yaylu - mountain pasture) in front of the tent-mountain Chatyr Dag... and we all regretted drinking a can of beer. Don't repeat our mistakes!

The rhythm of our movement was stable in time: 30-40 minutes pawn, 10-15 minutes rest and absolutely not stressful in speed. Moreover, Volodya, the guide, walked first... Looking at him from the tail of our cavalcade with backpacks, I never ceased to admire him: 58 years old, but he looks like 50 at most, he’ll give anyone a head start. Eyes as blue as the sky, and how much wisdom there is in them, and how much beauty they have seen!!! A person is connected with Mountains and caves all his life. As I followed him, I thought: “Robot. Well, it’s definitely a living Robot, and he probably has batteries in his backpack.” Like a climb - the step is shorter, a steep climb - even shorter! And constant monitoring of all followers. We stretched out a little - we paused, everyone spread out, and he either collected mountain flowers, then went off to check the path, or simply took off his sandals and walked around barefoot - where did so much energy come from.

I will not torment the reader with the chronological details of our Journey. I’d rather share descriptions of the beauties I saw, a little of my conclusions, and tell you about an unfortunate and far from unpleasant event that happened on our Team.

I don’t know what is more significant in the mountainous Crimea: the Mountains themselves or the Springs. Or, as they are usually called, the Sources, namely the Sources, because they are Living, because when meeting tourists in the hot summer, the first question is: “Is there a source working there or there?” You feel: The Source... It works! He's alive! And also because a tired pedestrian, bending down to the Source, will say “Thank you!” He's Alive! And the Mountains are these majestic Giants. How old are they? How much they have seen throughout the entire century! And how many people now go to the Mountains to get their handful of goosebumps running down their spines? During our hike in the Crimea, there was an unprecedented sultry dryness, the merciless sun in open areas burns the grass and incinerates travelers, and many Springs stop working and for some reason it becomes a little sad when you see dry riverbeds. But, speaking about Mountains and Springs, one cannot miss another highlight of the Crimean routes - Caves!

On the first day, after filling up with water at the Source, we set up camp near the excursion caves Mramornaya and Emine Bair Khosar. Although in Crimea it gets dark very quickly and early by northern standards (at 21:00 it’s already dark even if you poke your eyes out you can’t see anything), entry into the cave is allowed until 22:00 in the evening. So until nightfall, excursion buses continuously bring and take away curious people... But we came with our feet! Taking the advice of our Volodya - visit the most beautiful cave Emine Bair Khosar. Let's go there.
There are 3 routes to choose from through the underground halls with a guide for 40, 60 and 90 minutes. We figured that we would have time for dinner before dark if we went down for an hour. We pay 40 hryvnia and descend into the kingdom of Stone. None of us had ever seen such beauty. A fairy tale... The guide Peter spoke very interestingly about how stalactites and stalagmites grow, told the story of how caves were used by ancient people to capture mammoths, and presented as evidence a well-preserved skeleton of a mammoth with a halved skull. Guys, caves have their own voice - the sound of a drop... this is necessary
listen, you can’t express it in words…. And there was also Kiss - a drop of water flowing from stalactite to stalagmite. And the Monomakh's hat and the Hall of Idols and the Lake Hall and much more... All this magic must be seen! On exit
From the caves, be sure to buy a video (20 hryvnia) - you will have something to show your friends.


The next day was the day of climbing the Chatyr-Dag tent mountain. The height at the withers is 1527 meters, but we climbed along the path closest to the highway, and the height reached was 100 meters lower... but this does not detract from the bursting pride of our beloved... This was our first height! When the group broke camp and went to replenish water supplies, the Mountain
was to our right. The slope of the mountain seemed almost vertical and everyone understood that the climb would be difficult, although Volodya continued to assure that the slope was quite gentle, and also said that he was not rushing anyone and the pace
Everyone has the right to choose their own ascent... While we were moving towards the spring, a playful cry from Sasha Serebryakov passed along the column: “Everything is fine. The main thing is not to look at the right!” While we were climbing to the top, the column stretched
meters at 100 - 200. And, nevertheless, groaning and breathing heavily, drinking water, everyone continued to push until victory... The reward was an amazing view of the peaks into the valley with villages and lakes. Somewhere below there was a winding road with
trolleybuses carrying careless passengers to the sea, to Alushta... The sea opened... And on the other side of the valley Demerdzhi was waiting for us... but not everyone!

I never thought that the descent could be harder than the ascent... The ascent is a load on the breathing and a test of endurance... but on the descent the entire load is on the legs and continuous increased attention, the eyes scour the trail in search of a foothold and the optimal trajectory of descent. There is a high probability of stumbling, stumbling, stepping on small gravel and
just ride it down, losing your balance. All the problems are on the way down!
This must be remembered and taken into account! It was on the descent that some of the girls from our team had a nervous breakdown and the first thoughts about leaving the route arose. Perhaps the idea of ​​the gathering was still fueled by simple physical
fatigue and the thought: “One peak is enough for me.” And also because some came with us “for company,” which is highly undesirable to do.
Error Three, by the way, Kirill published a small anti-advertising article on his website immediately after our hike, and so this was written off from our team. Don’t go to the Mountains “for company”! Don't tempt doubting friends! There is a possibility that you may lose them as friends! Although this medal also has a second side - with whom you reach the end you will be imbued with even greater respect and trust. But I still recommend taking children with you to the mountains, looking at you, and they will get stronger, and you will be proud of them! And if dad started nagging, then why talk about
daughter or son... The mountains do not forgive this, and there will be no next time! In this case, it is better to love the Mountains from below... and admire them while lying among human bacon on the beach, leaving all the bravado at home!

So, our group divided up like a child, dividing at the same time all the product purchased the day before. Seven people, having found, as it seemed to them, a good reason, went down to the foot and moved towards Alushta.
Maybe it was better that way, that there were only six of us left: me and my wife and two daughters, 12 and 14 years old, our friend Sergei and guide Volodya. By the way, I suspect that Bukovaya Polyana, through which the path to the Angarsk Pass went, repeatedly took on part of the burden of responsibility for travelers leaving the route. On the path about 300 meters from
of the pass itself there is a metal structure that vaguely resembles a bus stop... on one of the metal walls, probably at the climax of a debate with oneself in hearts in huge letters
a revelation was written: “Mom, I didn’t get there!”... very understandable!

After the separation, the pace of our progress increased, no one moaned, no one blew snot... and no one bargained for kilometers... people got involved... We began to rejoice at every step. Or maybe Volodya changed the route a little,
adding elements of radial outputs to it. Ahead of us were several more climbs to the peaks with crazy descents... mountain rivers with waterfalls and baths for swimming and other goodies... And one of these
delicious raisins, the majestic Demerdzhi with the protruding rock “Catherine’s Head” and the mysterious “valley of ghosts”.

The ascent to Demerdzhi was accompanied by encouraging cries of pseudo-tourists, who were taken in crowds in jeeps to see the delights of Demerdzhi. It is from Demerdzhi that a stunning view of the coast opens... Ayu-Dag - Bear Mountain! A clubfooted stone bear decided to drink some water - you have to see it, somewhere there is the famous Artek! Everything is at your fingertips! I stood on the site of a topographical marker (a platform on the top with a verified height and coordinates), the wind tore off my Panama hat, my breath was taken away from the sensation of the height and the awesome view at the foot... Somewhere below are the remains
Our group sadly moved towards the beach in the heat... this was perhaps the last sad thought! We were proud of ourselves! This is our first time in the Mountains! Guys, this is a Fairy Tale...

Then we moved towards the Jur-Jur waterfall. Volodya was pleased with our pace and suggested that we go to the waterfall not from below, as most tourists do, but to approach it from above, killing three birds with one stone (of course, in the figurative sense of the word). Firstly, we passed the cash desk for taking money from tourists, and secondly, we saw how the mountain river was gaining strength! Well, the third bonus hare was the Dzhurla waterfall with huge swimming bowls. Unfortunately, there was little water and Jurla looked like a timid baby... but his bowls were full of well-warmed water! A little girl of about 8 years old from a nearby camp was sitting near the waterfall. She told us that her parents were sleeping in a tent, but just above the waterfall itself there were several huge thickets for swimming and it was not at all difficult to climb up the rocks. Her voice literally rumbled, talking about nearby attractions... We washed ourselves with the waters of Dzhurla, wished
Have a happy holiday to each other and set off further... The transition along the yayla passed almost unnoticeably, Volodya still collected grass for his brew - herbal tea, which is drunk in three
mugs at a time! We were approaching the sources of Jur-Jur.

The descent from the yayla went quite quickly, although the path was very steep, in some places you even had to cling to the protruding roots of trees, some sections were especially difficult to descend, it seemed that just a little more and your legs would give way and the descent would go much faster. But Volodya made stops on time, making them more for children than for adults, although in my opinion the children needed them least of all, they, like goats, almost skipped briskly over the treacherous sections. A large group of tourists was coming towards us from below. The vanguard of the group was good
an equipped couple of about 30, a guy and a girl. Probably husband and wife, because every step they took was accompanied by continuous reproaches and lectures... it was cool to hear. Behind them were another 30 people. And among them
A real grandmother of about 60 years old was walking, and behind her shoulders was shaking an ordinary, stuffed to the brim, green kolobok backpack, which is worn almost at the fifth point. Having wished each other a safe journey, we learned that she was already in
this is the second time in these parts and she really liked it. This is what Tourists are like! And they had been walking from below for half a day, and their climb was steeper than ours in the first days, and everyone was moving quite closely! Nice to watch!

We stopped for the night near a mountain river. Fatigue was easily relieved after plunging into the icy baths near the waterfalls. The water was so cold that our bodies didn’t allow us to really soak in the water - we flew ashore like a bullet. What struck me were the stones. The surface of the stones was so worn away by water that there was no trace of water on the stones.
droplets of slippery mucus, and moreover, all the stones were in small potholes, which made moving along them barefoot very comfortable and safe. This is a fairy tale...

It took a long time to fall asleep; the body was invigorated by the scalding water, and the sound of falling water was reminiscent of a birch grove during a strong wind. But gradually the alarming noise gave way to a soothing one, and the camp sank
into a sound sleep... In the morning the Drur-Dzhur waterfall awaited us.

The waterfall itself is beautiful, the water drop is about 15 meters, and we would have admired its view for a long time, but the screaming crowds of pseudo-tourists and the constantly wandering people did not allow us to relax. How we have become unaccustomed to people and civilization. And nature, it must be said, also saves itself from human locusts by building natural obstacles. From the waterfall up from where we came) there is a stone cliff about 300 meters away and idle people, not risking walking further along it, are forced to take baths directly, as they say, without leaving the cash register. But we already know that the coolest baths are behind the rock! The rock, by the way, is so-so, but in my sandals with soft soles it did not seem so light, the backpack was pulling down and my feet were constantly trying to slip. If Volodya hadn’t picked up my backpack, I would have gone by water, although I didn’t remember whether it was possible, and probably didn’t look there at all - I was too worried!

Leaving Jur-Jur behind, we moved on. The road from the village of Generalskoye went uphill through a pass in the Kara-Tau region to the huge Karabi-Yayla plateau. This is a separate story, I’m talking about the road for now... Heat, heat, calm, open areas - sizzling sun. It seemed that nature was testing our strength, the pace was getting slower, the stops were becoming more frequent and the halt was already dragging on, so it was difficult to get into the rhythm. And here are the first streams... and “Oh God!!!”... Source! It was I-Alexi! Ay, translated as Saint! Truly Saint Alexy, translated as Saint!! Oh God...
Source! It’s hard to climb, you tried to slip down! Our joy knew no bounds... Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of the Source itself, but its memory will remain for life. From the stone iconostasis emerge two
pipes that abundantly irrigate the land. There is a niche in the iconostasis in which kind people have installed two icons and a metal mug, you know why... so as not to rummage through backpacks. Water is a fairy tale, no
It’s possible to break away... I was so drunk that there was no room left for lunch in my stomach. There are such moments in life that you become sentimental to the point of tears... Ai-Alexy and going to him is one of such moments! Guys,
This is a fairy tale...

After having a snack and agreeing with the instructors at a nearby children's tourist camp about the temporary storage of our backpacks, we went to the radial hike to Mount Kara-Tau. Again almost 1300. And a view to the north of the vast Karabi-Yayla plateau. According to Volodya, the entire plateau is dotted with caves with depths of up to 500 meters, and what’s most interesting is that in some caves there is ice even in the fierce heat! The entire plateau resembles the surface of the Moon only because it is completely covered with many low hills... and the roads are like strings... The beauty is indescribable...

On the way down, my children were already collecting herbs. St. John's wort, Oregano, Schisandra and other stand-up herbs that grow only in the mountains... Down by the coast you could buy all sorts of beautifully packaged herbal infusions, but woe to the merchants there was no faith, and Volodin's herbal tea forever remained out of competition.

Probably the poor reader is already tired. Let me briefly say that there were also the picturesque Springs Suat and Suuk-Su and the majestic Mountains Big Gate, Small Gate and Mount Likon, which wished us a good journey
at the crossing. There were rocks in the shape of Shark fins and mountain lakes with emerald water, where we camped for the night... And another time we stood in a parking lot completely strewn with used adhesive plaster... yes, for some
got it for nuts. And there was also a good spot being vacated by a group of students in one of the parking lots. They went to the vineyards at night, slept during the day and returned to civilization in the evening... And this is our inheritance
they left a habitable place and a huge bag of ripe grapes... How we pounced on these free grapes... I thought there wouldn’t be enough toilet paper, but everything turned out okay.

Somewhere below we could see the outlines of our final point, the village of Rybachye, and in the evenings we could hear the low bass of a booming disco from below. Soon access to the sea. How quickly time flew by... and it’s only been a little over a week.
Well, even if we aimed at the New World, we only reached Rybachy. We have made so many discoveries for ourselves, we have seen so much that this more than covers the untraveled kilometers, and then, as they say, “good little by little”, we must leave something for the future.

It is especially worth noting that many tourists walk along the Trail at the same time. We met lone, lathered cyclists and groups of students, and even met a woman tourist from Zaporozhye walking alone from
Pike perch. And it is considered good form on the Trail to greet each group and exchange good parting words... This is very touching and to some extent allows you to think that you have somehow become related to this restless Brotherhood of Tourists. I am proud of myself, our team, my wife Sveta and especially my daughters... Vika and Nastya... We did it! We did it! Guys, This is a Fairy Tale... whoa!

Coming out to the sea, I’ll be honest, we were in for some disappointment; accustomed to relying on Volodya for everything, we were left alone with this crowd of vacationers. Longing for ice cream and raving about the endless flow of beer, we quickly became fed up with these pseudo blessings of humanity. After swimming in the warm sea, throwing on the usual movement
backpacks on our shoulders, we walked along the shore towards the horizon. After walking for about 40 minutes, we noted for ourselves a backup parking option near the Source oozing from the rock. We swam again... Around the next turn of the rock, resting
at sea, we saw the Kanaka boarding house, which became our shelter for the two days remaining before the train.

Having agreed with the caretaker of the boarding house to place tents on the territory for 10 hryvnia per day per place and 3 meals a day for 50 hryvnia per person, we went to the beach to fry our mortal bodies. The sea without cold beer and live food is a waste of money, it gets boring quickly. Boredom. How do people relax... I don’t understand this type of vacation. Although I guess that the misunderstanding is mutual! They really don’t understand me and that’s all, because they are terribly far from Nature! Take care of Nature... Your mother!

And once again fate has prepared for us a moment to be proud of ourselves! Well, what would we do without it now! We returned to Simferopol by minibus. And while we were driving along the coast, we passed by those places that we had walked along the top. And all the minibus passengers, as if on the instructions of the guide, turned their heads following our comments: “But Demerdzhi... we were there!” “But there was fire in three places, we saw the fire!” “And here is Ayu-Dag!” “And here’s the turnout to Generalskoe, there’s Dzhur-Dzhur, next to... and... Ay Alexi...” It’s nice, damn it!

Arriving at the station, we met a fragment of our group. With foam at the mouth and admiring eyes, they told us how wonderfully they had a rest, what excursions they went on... But it is difficult to deceive yourself and hide envious glances, especially since they were all a little tanned, and each had a sore throat (a consequence of excessive and inept use of the fruits of civilization in the form of air conditioning). Oh, damn... and we had nothing to share... the leapfrog of what we saw, felt, and experienced stirred up such a Cocktail in our brains that it was not possible to pull a more or less coherent story out of our heads... The cocktail of Crimean delicacies was just beginning to leave an aftertaste...
which will last until my next vacation!

PS: An anecdote from Volodya, the guide. A tourist, exhausted from the route, walks, almost falls. Suddenly he sees a corked old bottle. Well, of course I opened it. It’s clear that Jean is from there, and says: “Ask for something.”
If you want, I will do everything! You gave me back my freedom!” The tourist, without hesitation: “I want to go home!” Then Jin takes him by the hand and says, “Well, let’s go!”, and pulls him along. To which the tourist whined: “Not like that! I want it quickly!”... Good Gin
replies: “Well, okay... don’t worry!” Curtain!