So we hopped the train to explore Khosta, a small town between Sochi and Adler. Piece of cake way to travel, and it was almost empty. We got there about dusk and watched as it got dark over the Black Sea. Then we found this great little shack called the Beerline where they serve homemade brews and horrible looking dried fish, which only one of us was brave enough to try.
We found a great place for dinner that was sort of Indian Barbecue - had to order something from the menu simply titled in English “For Thrill”. It turned out to be delicious spicy ground beef. As we finished up, someone noticed another menu that offered Hooka. The lady served us a huge community water pipe and demonstrated on her knees (oddly sexy). I couldn¹t come close to her smoking skill, but it made for a humorous addition to the meal and we were none the worse for it not at all buzz inducing.
The next day brought crummy weather again. Super foggy and a bit rainy, enough so that a lot of our cameras had electronic problems (I couldn't use a servo zoom, for instance, which poses a challenge). But for our final day, the sun broke out again. All in all, only 2 poor weather days for our venue. We all feel extremely lucky given the rough time these guys had in Vancouver 4 years ago, and it also just makes the footage so much more beautiful.
The strike went smoothly, except for a scary forklift accident (no injuries). And then it was the wrap party. A wonderful time had by all these new and old friends after a very well-reviewed show and fantastic working experience. I played harp with the band to everyone¹s delight except the owner. I suspect he has something going the lead singer and was a bit jealous of the attention
I was getting from everyone. Anyway he made a very scary threat that sounded like something right out of the mafia movies, so I also suspect there’s something to that possibility. Suffice it to say I became much more of a wallflower for the rest of the evening.
Today was spent packing and going over logistics of getting home. There will be 20,000 people flying out of the Sochi/Adler airport which is not a very big one. So they're packing us on a bus tonight at 11pm to arrive by midnight for a 4am flight to Frankfurt. Then, it’s a seven hour layover there before taking off for Denver. Three more hours there to wait for my last connection to Eagle. This will be a blast. Not.
Thanks to everyone for the messages of support and jolliness, and for sharing
this once in a lifetime trip with me. Spasibo (thanks) and Do Svidaniya!
