AN EXCURSION TO THE MOUNTAINS: I can't believe how limited my access to the internet is here. I have 3 cell phones (including my TREO), and a laptop and yet, I feel like I'm in a deep cave under the ocean, or perhaps on top of a mountain. That's where I went yesterday with Sergei and 10 other people in a small minivan. We almost didn't get on when we arrived at the meeting point at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning. We had purchased our tickets the day before, but apparently, the office where we purchased them did not communicate with the tour operator and they were overbooked by 5 or 6 people. The first four left before I even arrived - apparently willing to settle for the explanation and give up. I didn't understand the deal when I got there and jumped into an empty seat in the van. At that point, they were never going to remove me.

When I understood what had happened, I calmly made it clear that I paid for an excursion to the mountains and they should figure something out. She tried to talk me off the bus, but I guess they figured it was no use. Fortunately, there was only 1 seat to find - the tour guide was given a small stool which was placed in the aisle. Poor guy - what an uncomfortable day for him. He managed to speak almost the entire time - 2 hours up and 2 hours back and everywhere in between.

Our first stop was a small cafe with attractions - the most unique being a cage of domesticated raccoons that ate bread from your hand! I can't even imagine how they came up with that. They had another cage with 2 small pigs, some doves, some chickens, a rabbit and a peacock. Apparently, they keep themselves entertained - the peacock bullying the two little pigs around the pen. The Turkish coffee was good and some of the gardens were quite lovely as well. HOwever, a little detail like plumbing for the bathrooms, was still missing and I realize how much I take our Maryland Houses on I-95 for granted.

As the day began, we realized that the 450 rubles, or $20, that we paid for the excursion, did not include any of the entrance fees, camera fees or coat rentals. Sergei and I did make sandwiches (both of us did) - so when we got to the top of the mountain with 45 minutes for lunch, some of the folks we befriended joined us at a table and all was shared around. The cheese and sausage sandwiches, cabbage salad, fresh sliced cucumbers and tomatoes from someone's garden,pickles, bread, peppers, eggplant and boiled potatoes were all washed down with warm Nevsky Beer. It was a lovely picnic and I ended up being given more food to take home than I came with.

Our next stop was another cave for another 100 rubles, or $4.00 with optional coat rental for $1. I opted out and took a long walk up the mountain further to a great panoramic view. There were several tourists there, so I tried to walk further along the edge of the cliff, but found the path ended about 10 minutes along. As well, I began to envision some undesirable creatures - either furry or not, and a bit of anxiety set in.

I will have to finish this story another time. My hour is almost up and I am still trying to download some US news about the situation in Northern Ossetia. WHat a nightmare! I'm sure you all have heard about the Georgian (or Russian - depending on which news you are listening to)invasion and slaughter happening over the weekend.

I've been watching Russian tv - between the Olympics, Russian reality tv, foreign movies dubbed in Russian and the news (last night hours and horus of UN talks) - it's still a challenge to know what's going on. I'll have another post for that later as well.

By the way, if you are reading this - drop me an email! It get's lonely here without outside communication.