Sochi – The Land Of Promise

If you bother to take the plane from any Moscow airport to the city of Sochi, you will definitely never regret about it. This town is rather small, though one of the longest settlements in the world – it is stretched along the Black sea coast for about 150 km.

Sochi is unique for its astonishing nature and spa facilities – few places on our planet can boast to have both the seaside and the mountains (the Caucasus – famous mountain system – is as little as sixty km away from the sea). Sochi is Russian New Zealand, except that it is not an island and not thousands km away from the Old World and there are no dangerous man-eating sharks in the sea and poisonous shakes and… ok, Sochi is much better than New Zealand.

Humid subtropical zone forms perfect climate – hot and sunny summers for suntan lovers and mild winters for mad-for-mountain-skiing ones. Water in the Black sea is known to have chemical composition almost similar to human blood – you can even drink it if you want to know how blood tastes (just kidding). However, you won’t have to close your eyes while swimming and diving, the water won’t make them sore as Mediterranean seawater surely would.

The famous Russian ski resort Krasnaya Polyana is situated near Sochi – come there for downhill and snowboarding, heli-ski and freeride – this place is paradise for winter vacations.

The town of Sochi is located near one of the largest Russia’s reserve parks. Its suburbs are a treasury of rare plant and animal species. You can find ancient gnarled yews and boxtrees, which are as old as eight hundred years or even more. Of course they are not sequoias, but their long mossy branches look fascinating – it’s like traveling in time to the age of dinosaurs and other strange creatures.

And now – hub a dub – it’s time to tell you about spa facilities. This little town is famous for its healing mud – the balneal resort is called Matsesta. Ancient Adygs named this place “fire water” and used it for improving their health, though they didn’t know that the water contained sulfur, iodine and bromine, which make it a cure-all. A beautiful legend reveals the mystery of the resort name: once a beautiful girl, whose name was Matsesta, lived in the valley. The time went by, and her parents grew old and their health wasn’t as good as it used to be when they were young. She decided to cure them and asked the Spirit of the Underground for help. The Spirit heard her and made some healing springs burst forth out of the earth but took the girl’s life for this favour.

10 things worth doing in Sochi:

1. Swimming, swimming and again swimming – the climate allows starting the swimming season in May and ending it in late October.

2. Drinking mineral waters and home-made wine – city natives makes delicious wines from all sorts of fruits and berries this area is rich in – plum, blackberry, blackcurrant, raspberry – worth giving each sort a try.

3. Eating Caucasian food – khachapuri (bread with home-made cheese inside, sometimes they put there eggs – yummy), lobio (spicy beans), shashlyk (or kebab – meat roasted on special sticks), satsivi (chicken or sturgeon in delicate walnut sauce) and many more – cheap and tasty, just ask the waiter for specialities.

4. Enjoying fruits – peaches, plums, grapes and apples in summer and autumn, pears, quince and tangerines in autumn and winter, feijoa (pineapple guava) and mushmula (medlar) in winter and spring, cherries, sour cherries, apricots and watermelons in spring and in summer – the variety will make your mouth water.

5. Touring the mountains – alpine meadows and mountain lakes will make your as calm as Buddha and clean your karma. Do not forget about the reserve park – no fires and rubbish, protect the environment, and you will observe nature wild and untouched.

6. Visiting the dolphinarium – who knows, may be it will be you who finally deciphers the language of the creatures, who are even more intelligent than human beings.

7. Rafting – wild mountain rivers will add a rush of adrenaline to your monotonous life. Some fishing is also possible – and after you can cook some freshly caught fish – enjoyable!

8. Yachting the harbour – rent a yacht or a small boat and go furrowing the sea. Bathing in the blue water, swimming with dolphins, who are friendly in this area, and taking the sun on a yacht deck – you will definitely touch the lifestyle of rich and famous.

9. Taking spa procedures – mud packs, hot hydrogen sulphide water baths, massage and fresh juice – your body will be grateful to you.

10. Wandering around the town and taking pictures – the place is hiding numerous secrets for a keen eye to reveal: a monument to Cheshire cat, a big wisteria, a bunch of endangered species of flowers, etc.