MIR Trip Notes: After a hotel breakfast, transfer to the border of Abkhazia and continue to Gagra.
In a 1992-93 war a year or so after the Soviet collapse, Abkhazia, a lush region on the Russian Riviera, broke from Georgian control. With a population of some 240,000, the de facto republic of Abkhazia is recognized by only Russia and a handful of other countries. Russia recognized it as a republic jut after the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia , and sends major subsidies to Abkhazia. Its subtropical coastal lowlands extend stretch up into the Greater Caucasus Mountains, whose snowmelt has created deep, forested valleys.
Originally established as a Greek colony located on the coast of the Black Sea within Abkhazia, the resort of Gagra was known as a popular imperial and Soviet resort. Due to various conflicts in the region due to the breakup of the Soviet Union, this once bustling Russian Riviera town has lost most of its Georgian population to forced relocation. Today Gagra enjoys status as Abkhazia's largest city and main resort town.
Take a walking tour around the city, admiring its historical buildings, palm-lined streets, monuments and then head on up to Lake Ritsa. Up the winding road in the Lishipa River Valley, this alpine lake is surrounded by a forested nature reserve. One of Georgia's deepest lakes, the cold and clear Ritsa is a popular site with Russians and Abkhazians. Josef Stalin had a dacha on the lake, now owned by the Abkhazians.
Enjoy lunch on the lake before visiting Stalin's dacha. Hidden on the forested coastline of Lake Ritsa, this is where the Communist leader and his family spent their summers from 1947-1951. Stalin ordered the exterior of the cottage painted green so that it would blend in with its surroundings and prevent it from being detected by surveillance. Today it is owned and maintained by the Abkhazian government and offers a fascinating glimpse into Stalin's private life.
Drive over scenic Anchko Pass, stopping for tea and photo ops on the way back into Gagra.
Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant and overnight at the Kontinent-Gagra, Prospect Ardzinba, 49,Gagra, Abkhazia
Meals: B,L,D
Driving time: 7-8 hrs, with longest stretch 2 and 1/2 hrs along Anchko Pass.
Tip from Rami: zitromycin to replace cipro - 500 mg 1st day; if not better, another 500 mg
in the Mostovskoy shopping center
k-ch Dombay village 1st mosque
Today I woke up even earlier, around 5:30 am but managed to force myself to go back to sleep. I woke up at 7:30 am and then wondered what to do. I did manage to add photos to the first day's blog and that is all before going downstairs to breakfast a bit earlier than 8 am but most of our group was already there....a recurring theme. I managed to find a salad with tiny mushrooms plus some omelet and Russian cheese pie. I think I missed out on the fruit. I went back up to my room to finish the last bits of packing before our scheduled departure time of 8:45 am, only to find my big bag left standing alone in the lobby. Luckily Michel came down then and I was led to the minibus.
I am a little vague on what followed, but I think we drove to the border with Abkhazia and Olga left us in the van to deal with immigration...or that might already have been in Abkhazia.
In any case, we didn't have to leave the van for some other van on the other side of the border - we could continue with ours, but we had to walk across the border with our luggage. When we got to the Abkhazia passport control, we waited in different lines. When it was my turn, I had a pleasant young man and he looked at me and checked various things in my passport, then said just a moment and made a call. There were conversations with other officers. They said it was just routine but no problem, but I waited for quite awhile. My smile was fading. Olga came over to check and found hat the young man had made a mistake on a number and couldn't figure out how to correct it. More time went by and then finally he handed over my passport. Olga gave us Abkhazia visas but someone said we had to return them when we left. We want to keep them. Michel gave us background on the history of Abkhazia's breakaway state. In the early 90's, Russia had fomented rebellion in the North Caucasus, with the outcome of Abkhazia breaking away from Georgia as well as an area called South Ossetia farther east.
Only a few countries recognize Abkhazia's independence. I remember Nick in Georgia telling my former tour group about this.
Once we crossed over, we drove along the Black Sea for a bit. Somewhere along the way we got a photo stop at a famous bus stop covered in mosaic and designed by a famous artist: Suhavbateli. . We also saw more of his works in the form of a children's playground. Then we drove through a more forested major road with houses that reminded me of rural Georgia and lots of beehives and grape vines. The beehives came in the familiar blue boxes and also a little wooden hut version.
We stopped at Abaate church - now Georgian
Orthodox with Abkhazian liturgy - but built by Romans as a fort in 1st c
AD and lived in by Pushkin when he was exiled to the Caucasus in 1825?
Did we make any more stops? We may have. Oh, somewhere we transferred to 4 jeeps. I sat with Jim and Paul. Jin
had an intermittent conversation in Russian with our driver.
We drove up to higher elevation where we went to lunch at a building not far from the dacha - our
lunch was family style consisting of a bean dish, the Georgian cuisine
mainstay - khatchapuri, lake trout from Lake Ritsa, and something else
that I can't remember. We also had some pear-flavored carbonated
beverages. We then visited one of Stalin's Abkhazia dachas. This one was also painted chickpea green and was large and two-storied, set in a landscaped garden with cypress and other large trees.
This dacha had the original Stalin part with quite a few large bedrooms - all dark and curtained - with two small twin beds side by side. There was hardly any furniture in these rooms. It seemed as if there were a bathroom for every bedroom but all the doors opened off the corridor. There was also a large room with a long table under chandelier light fixtures. It was not a hospitable cheery place although Olga said that Stalin did have parties there. Before we got to the old Stalin part through a long enclosed walkway, we were in the Khrushchev addition. This was notable for its pool table, a trophy from the Nazis in WWII and the pink bathroom sink and tubs, chosen by Mrs. Khrushchev.
After lunch we drove to the Anchko Pass. The drive to the pass took about 3 hrs - at least 2 hours it seemed on a very bumpy dirt track. But we all (except for 2 and Michel) were happy to have gone because of the spectacular scenery. This is how I imagined the Caucasus mountains to be: high mountains covered with pointy coniferous trees, deep gorges with massive rock faces, and mountain streams cascading downward. The water was a milky green-blue. Right after we reached the pass and after I had mentioned not seeing any goats or sheep, we saw a bunch of sheep on the high alpine meadow. We had some herb tea at the pass and took photos. When we arrived the sun was out for fantastic views and then a mist started covering and clouding over the mountains.
Since we were rushed for time, we didn't get to spend nearly enough time up there but it was good to have made it. As we started down, we ran into a herd of cows crossing the track. The driving was quite intense - bumping along and passing cars on the very narrow track. We crossed at least one stream in the road and went through lots of pot holes as we bumped along. I did ot ever hit my head on the jeep roof though.
Once back down, we were driven to our hotel, where we dropped off bags and then set off for the restaurant. This was an old-fashioned building built in 1902 and maintained in its original form. There was an orchestra playing - all types of music - and some very loud so that it was impossible to hear the person across the table. Olga had ordered a traditional Abkhazian meal for us and we ordered some dry red Abkhazian wine to drink with it. Everyone who had the wine seemed to agree that it was good. There were assorted grilled meats, fried potatoes or grilled maybe, grilled zucchini, cheese and khatchapuri.
I love the khatchapuri. Hami provided a watermelon because he said dessert was never provided and he thought we should have it. He ended up offering what was left to some attractive ladies at a nearby table. He loves to flirt with all the pretty women.
We managed to catch a local bus to take us back to the hotel instead of having to take taxis as planned, or walking, but no one was really up for walking along that main highway. There was confusion over our destination and Michel and the bus driver got into a bit of a tiff with local passengers putting in their two cents. I really couldn't tell what had happened - whether the driver took us past where we wanted to go and then turned around to get us there or whether we hadn't gotten as far as the hotel yet. Michel is quite good at expressing himself in Russian as he battled with the bus driver.
We got back a bit before 10 pm. I retrieved my day pack and Michel brought my red bag which had returned to the hotel with his jeep earlier and I started trying to recharge all my electronics.
First the phone. Then my camera battery. I went through 3 batteries today before the camera died yet again. I had a problem with the phone where the camera wouldn't work, the flashlight was on and I couldn't turn it off, until after I had turned off the phone and let it cool down. Maybe that was the problem - I don't know. But it was a frustrating photo day as I missed photos when my electronics failed me.
So now I have finished blogging and hope to upload the camera pics before I go to sleep. We have 8 am breakfast tomorrow so maybe I can pack up before breakfast if I get up at 7 am. We don't leave until 9 am.
It was another really full day. It was great to get a taste of the mountains - the Caucasus!
2025-05-22