The rest of our Crimean trip

So here is what happened on last week Friday when we headed toward Garry's planned cable car ride near Yalta. We took off before nine am, heading toward Sevastopol (pronounced Se- vas- tow-poll in Russian) and decided to take the GPS's advice on finding a point of interest, following the British lady voice's instructions we ended up in a parking lot after a u-turn up the street. We walked up following other tourists and discovered our fortress was beneath an Orthodox church/monastery, so we didn't have to pay but we did have to don wrap-around skirts before going through the gate, I was wearing my hat, so I didn't grab a married women scarf for my head too. Garry and I were both wearing shorts, both improper dress. We really wanted to get to the fortress at the top of the hill, but explored the church a bit, it is like the one in Baktchisarai, built into the limestone mountain.

Garry asked a couple people for directions up to the top, there were a couple groups touring the grounds, and a number of workmen doing restoration work. We finally realized we had to go through the cemetery grounds and climb a path that followed a wall behind the buildings.

climbing up looking into the monastery garden- see the beehives?

almost to the fortress

PAMYATNIK

That's me in the purple skirt

we walked around the site

  We were all alone, still wearing our skirts, and enjoyed exploring what looked to be a number of tower ruins, and walls, along with some stone Garry thought might be rejects from the surrounding quarrying work. There were a number of old cave rooms and stairs leading down to the monastery, and even an old graveyard site near one of the towers.

Garry in his gray skirt checking out the rubble

Stone has been mined on the back side of  the mountain

grave stone

 Garry walked the whole mountaintop, while I enjoyed the seagulls and peaceful atmosphere. We were rather surprised when some of the tourists from below turned up in marshutka vans for the rest of their tours. We headed back down on foot, returned our skirts to the rack, and bought a fridge magnet to add to our collection.

We aren't alone anymore!

Next we headed to Balaclava because Garry wanted to check out the old fortress there. We had gone there nnd toured the museum inside the old cold war submarine base the first time we went to Crimea with the boys. We followed the GPS's directions, which led us astray- trying to go down a pedestrian walkway. We ended up at the wharf, thanks to the GPS, when we couldn't turn the way it wanted to, going down the strip with the stalls selling stuff on one side--and the water on the other. Garry parked in the only spot he could find- right in front of the tour boat dock. We got out and took a boat tour first, it turned out to be the one hour tour, a ladies voice told all about the sites. The water was a little rough because it was windy, we got splashed by spray a couple times on the way back. The ride was nice with a good wind to cool off, since it was a hot day.

the boat in front of our parking spot

leaving the harbor

passing the entarance old hidden submarine base we toured with the boys

This si when we stopped so people could jump off

Can you tell it was windy?

We were quite surprised when the boat anchored for about 15 minutes so people could jump in the Black Sea- they climbed back up a ladder- explained why so many passengers were wearing swimsuits, I guess! Garry was wishing he knew about it, he would have worn his and jumped in. I wonder if the two hour tour just stopped longer for swimming!

Starting the climb up

Garry took this a little higher than I climbed I think

Me getting some sun while Garry climbed up

After we got back to the dock, we walked up to see the fortress. Well I walked to just past the first lower tower, Garry walked all over the hill while I did some sketching and got a little sunburnt sitting on a rock. I took a little tumble as we went back down, scaring the female tourists from leaving the safe sidewalk and steps part of the climb, for the steep trail.  but no real damage as I landed on my bottom.

Garry took this out a window in one of the towers

Garry climbed to the top and walked around the walls

I don't (want to)  know how he took this shot

Renovation underway at the top tower, check out the top

 The ruins are Genoese, the city was known as Cembalo in the 14th century. There are signs that the Greek were here in the 7th to 3rd centuries BC, but no ruins like there are in nearby Cheronoses (Sevastopol) where we toured in March 2011 with Garry's brother and the boys.

they have moved soldiers here form other places in Crimea

Some Dutch names on this stone- DeVries

Then we climbed back in the car, still hoping to find Garry's cable car ride that day. We stopped for a few minutes at a large cemetery for the Germans killed during WWII in Crimea. A group from Germany has moved about 40,000 from over 300 sites to this well maintained place with the names carved into the center tablets.

 The GPS led us astray trying to find the cable cars when we neared Yalta- it would help to know what they are called in Russian, really. We ended up getting room at the Alupka Hotel, where we have stayed before and getting a very late lunch- almost 4 pm at the pirate inn, Karamba. We asked the girl at the desk about the cable cars, but decided it was too late in the day, we'd try it the morning.

 However, we slept late after Garry was up sick all night, so decided to head home after breakfast- Garry had mostly tea- and  a walk in our favorite park to see the sequoia tree Garry found while staying here a couple weeks ago.

the Vorontsov Palace from below

a sequoia tree - planted 150 years ago?