Thursday 28 June 2012

Cheget: Simerka Hotel

Our room was quite sweet-although gave a little growwwl as we had leopard print blankets haha! Luckily no telephone in the room so we didn't have to worry about any friendly ladies giving us a midnight call!

Twin beds, a small table, cupboard, bathroom with shower and a tiny balcony was all we needed for the two nights we would spend here now (another one night after our summit).

We left our bags and went down for a walk to the small local market stalls. The babushkas there sell all handmade items like knitted products, all pure wool, fur and cotton! There was also a few shops selling trinkets and souvenirs and prices generally cheap!

I bought stunning handmade cotton tops, a gorgeous beanie and Joe got some fur and wool booties etc! We will go back after we climb Mount Elbrus! The ladies can hassle a bit but nothing unfriendly-Joe even taught one to call 'Kom hier' ha ha which she did to me haha!

Dinner is strictly and yes I mean STRICTLY at 7pm sharp-the ladies were not impressed when we got in 13 min late-doc Nick came looking for us saying they got into trouble haha!
It's in the basement and a typical dinner consisted of bread, salami, cheese, borscht and either potatoe salad or coleslaw. They also love a thick pancake with cream cheese, tasty wheat porridge, and fried potatoes!
Hearty food, but not everyone's cup of tea!

The best news is that there is FREE wifi in reception-although Funnell and son did get reception on their balcony!
Funniest thing was that you always found the couches in reception full of fellow climbers all on their phones and iPads! All sitting like ducks in a row!

It's quite loud in the rooms as the stairways echo and there's always people around, but I slept really well!
Ray couldn't figure out how the fancy jet shower cubicle water turned on (seeings he is an engineer and all haha-Ray reminded me of this!) so him and Joe popped down to inform the powers that be! Haha turns out you have to pull the lower lever-a nice tip if you are planning in staying there! But beware-the jets fire on all cylinders as you pull the lever so I was soaked from head to toe in all my clothes-cold and NOT fun!

Our hotel was right next to the chairlifts which we were going to use for our acclimatization hike up Cheget Peak which was also a bonus!

No comments:

Post a Comment