Abkhazia late May- early June 2010

I took the late train from Krasnodar to Adler on May 26th and arrived early the next morning.  Then I took the short cab ride to the border.  The border crossing was the easiest and fastest I have ever had.  I always walk across the border with my bag, rather than sitting in traffic.  The morning of the 27th, I arrived before 6 at the border, so there were almost no people at the border and none of the small peddlers taking fruit and nuts from Abkhazia and consumer goods from Russia.  After walking across the bridge into Abkhazia and passing control there, I took another cab down the coast past Gagra to Sukhum.  It was very clear and the bright early morning sun cast shadows from the mountains on the Black Sea.

 It is about 20 kilometers from the border to Gagra.  After passing Gagra, we followed the road down another 80 kilometers to Sukhum.   Most of the way, the sea is visible.  However, the mountains are never far away.

 

That afternoon, I met with Nadir Bitiev, his second cousin and a friend that Nadir knew from his days in the army.  We had a long Abkhaz lunch at a restaurant with views to the sea.  Later that day, I returned to the Hotel Ritsa where I stayed that night and the next.   A group of mostly older men were playing dominoes across the street and near the water.  They gather every afternoon, weather permitting.  

After my meetings in Sukhum, I went back to Gagra and spent several days viewing prospective projects and enjoying the beach in my free time.  I noticed several things on this trip.  The number of guest homes in Gagra continues to grow.  Because there are not enough accommodations for the tourists, locals have modified their homes to add guest rooms and turned their yards into cafeterias.  The beach area continues to add new cafes.  A few years ago, there were a handful along the beach in the center of town.  Now this zone is many blocks long.  Abkhazia's restaurants would benefit from diversity of food and better service.  But it is plain that with the beaches, sea and spectacular setting tourists are flocking there.  Since Gagra is only about 15 miles south of the border with Russia (and the Sochi Olympics) tourism is going to continue to grow rapidly.  I was told that 2009 saw an increase of over 100% in tourism over 2008.  A big reason for that is the Russian Army base and the security that gives tourists.