Day 9 on the Minerva - a sea day sailing on the Black Sea

The one thing I have noticed about this cruise is the sea. All the time we have been sailing, we have hardly felt the ship move at all. The sea has been so calm it's been amazing. This has added to the quietly genteel atmosphere, making this the most relaxing cruise I've had the pleasure to accompany Peter on.

Today is a sea day and unlike yesterday, the sky is a glorious blue, complete with sun. It's been beautiful, and we have spent a fair amount of time on the back deck enjoying the breeze and sunshine. Exactly what cruising is all about I am sure. Once again the sea is still, and the Minerva is humming it's way across from South to North, heading for Constanta in Romania.

There's not a lot to report really, Peter's class went well, we've stuffed our faces once again on the wonderful food, and in the evening we enjoyed listening to the Minerva Strings, a piano violin duo who are exceedingly good.

The only other thing to report are the birds. There have been falcons and kestrels flying over the ship, as well as herons and bittens (I'm told). We've also gained a few stowaways in the form of a couple of yellow wagtails, (one missing his tail feathers), and a non descript little brown bird which I have taken loads of pictures of in an attempt to work out what it is.

One of the yellow wagtails

We're not quite sure what this little fellow is, it's been suggested that it's an Olivaceous Warbler

And a swallow landed just to have a nosy and take a breather.  

So that was today. Tomorrow is another sea day - hopefully the weather will hold.

Day 8 on the Black Sea - Sochi

We didn't arrive into Sochi until the afternoon..... A wet, miserable afternoon. The clouds had come down to meet the hills and we saw very little of them through the mist.

The thing about Russia is that you can't get off the ship unless you have a visa. Some people can arrange a visa independently, but most of us rely on the arrangement Russia has with cruise companies, that is, we can get off the ship as long as we are on tour. If you don't have a tour ticket, then you don't have a visa - so to speak.

So, like every other passenger, we were on tour. Peter was to escort the Agura Waterfalls tour, and as usual, I was escorting him. We've been to St Petersburg, and we remember the nightmare of immigration process from then, so we got off the ship well early for our tour.

It was a good job too, the queues were extensive. I remembered to tell Peter to remove his seaman's book from his passport as we went through. It would only cause problems as the customs people would not understand why he had it. It was a good job I did as well! One of thip's staff wasn't able to get through, because of a problem with his seaman's book. He was due to escort one the tour coaches, and because he didn't make it, an escort reshuffle ensued. So now I was escorting one bus to the waterfalls, and Peter the other.

Well, it was one wet walk! It rained the whole time we were out, and we got thoroughly drenched.  It's about 1.5 km each way, and took us around 30-40 minutes. The waterfalls were at their best though.

The longer of the Agura Waterfalls on the right.  >>>>

Back on board, we stripped off and spent another leisurely evening on the ship. A wonderful meal as usual, and an after dinner speech by an ex foreign diplomat whose name I forget (shameful) and bed. It really has been a busy few days with all the ports. Tomorrow is a sea day, which is almost a day of rest, except for Peter's class. Let's hope the weather is better!

Day 7 of our Black Sea Cruise on the Minerva - Batumi, Georgia

No tours today, so a leisurely start. Up on deck, Batumi looked wonderful, especially since the weather was glorious. Bright sun in blue sky - warm enough for shorts.

Looking down on the Minerva and the harbour from the cable car

As I said, we'd given ourselves a leisurely start and made our way to the first thing we'd planned to see in Batumi, the cable car which runs from the port up to a small hill nearby. There's a hotel/restaurant at the top and absolutely fantastic views of the city, the bay and the surrounding hills. It only cost 5 GEL each for the trip up and back. Absolutely glorious, especially in all that sun.

Batumi from the top of the cable car. 

Despite the wealth at the city centre, you can see there is still work to be done.  Those aren't roads, they are well compacted dirt tracks. 

Back in the port, we had to walk past the ship to go to our next intended destination, so we thought we might as well go on board for lunch. We sat on the back deck, watching the many Harbour Porpoises rise out of the water around us (it's called breeching apparently), as we ate.

The Minerva in Batumi, Georgia

Then back onshore, we turned to go look at Miracle Park and wander through the city to see architecture and buildings on offer. 

I couldn't resist this rusty old boat in the marina.  Awesome.

I have to say that I really, really liked Batumi. The park, the city, the buildings, absolutely gorgeous.

So much to see and obviously a lot of money being invested.

This ferris wheel is in Miracle Park. 

Alphabet Tower (left), lights up green at night.  

I would definitely recommend this place. In fact, I even suggested to Peter that it would be somewhere nice to live.

Unfortunately the heat got the better of us.

Not a beach in the sandy sense of the word, but the sea certainly tempted a few locals to swim.

I'm was delighted to spot this female Red Backed Shrike, although it took me a while to identify it.  

The Astronomical Clock

The picture to the left is the astronomical clock.  There were so many wonderful buildings in the city.

I'd have liked that we'd have the energy to walk more, but by 4pm we'd found a bar near the ship to enjoy a cold drink, and after a little bit more wandering to spend the leftover Georgian currency, we were back on board ship by 5.15.

A beautiful city though. I'd be very happy to spend many more days in Miracle Park and the streets of Batumi. Somewhere to look forward to coming back to, if we ever got the chance.

The picture on the right is Piazza Square.  The bells play every three hours, and we just happened to be there at the right time. 

Tomorrow we arrive in Sochi in the afternoon. We've a tour to see a load of waterfalls, something I'm looking forward to. Maybe the weather will be as good as it's been today too.