Personal experience: economical family vacation in Gagra. Personal experience: economical family vacation in Gagra Don’t wait for a trip to Gagra
We chose Gagra because... our friends were already there and praised this particular city. In order to experience the whole flavor of the country, we decided to stay not in a hotel, but with local residents. Upon arrival, we began to walk around the courtyards of the private sector and look for housing. After an hour of searching, we stopped with an Armenian family. The large house is divided into several parts with separate exits. Kitchen and shower in the yard. Because The owner of the house is a builder, then everything was built with taste and for the convenience of vacationers.
No matter which direction you go, amazing parks surrounded by incredible greenery await you. Everything was abandoned after the war, both parks and some sanatoriums, but this makes it even more colorful. In your head you immediately begin to imagine how wonderful it was here 30 years ago. Yes, Gagra was not valued for nothing in the times of our parents. There are places that have been bought and are starting to be rebuilt, and this cannot but rejoice. So in five to ten years, I think Abkhazia will turn into a luxury resort, just like many years ago.
It’s definitely worth a trip to Lake Ritsa. There will be many attractions along the way: Blue Lake, Maiden's Tears waterfall, mountain river, boxwood grove, Stone Bag, observation deck with stunning views. Everything is surrounded by greenery.
You can buy a tour by bus. Or you can bargain with a taxi driver, who will drive you and stop wherever you say. I recommend taking a taxi. There are many advantages. If you are a company, then a taxi will be even cheaper. Stop where you want, stay as long as you want. For example, on the observation deck you don’t need to stand and wait for the whole group of 40 people to take a photo. The taxi driver, of course, will tell you about the sights differently than the guide, but you will still hear many interesting stories. I was especially pleased with the stories that boxwood is the only tree that drowns in water, eucalyptus honey is found only in Australia and Abkhazia, and that only one person in Abkhazia has the most delicious chacha - our taxi driver.
It is also worth visiting the New Athos Monastery in New Athos. When you plan a trip to New Athos, plan for the whole day, because there is a lot to visit. For example, caves. We went there and back on a regular minibus. We also visited Pitsunda. There is a very interesting embankment with tall pine trees and a 9th century temple.
You can write endlessly about the beauty of Abkhazia, but I want to devote a separate chapter to the people who live here. They are an amazing people from whom we have a lot to learn. I have visited many countries, met different peoples and nationalities, but Caucasians are special. When we were traveling by minibus to New Athos, there was one more place available. We passed a stop, a man and a woman were standing there. The driver stopped. The man was closer to the minibus, when he began to enter, the driver said to him: “Sorry, I only have one seat, and I stopped for a woman.” When we were driving to Lake Ritsa, we stopped near another tourist spot, I noticed that the taxi driver did not lock the car, but we had cameras and backpacks there. To my remark, he replied that there are no thefts here, and if something is stolen, then out of shame for his people, he will compensate for everything. Thefts are extremely rare here; if they are stolen, it is by visitors. What to talk about if you can go to a stand with watermelons, and there is a wad of money there and no one is there. The seller just walked away for 10 minutes. And when he returns, the money is still there. In a local store, if you forgot your wallet, they may give you something like this, with the words: “You will bring it later.” But right there at the local market they can sell you a turtle. An ordinary turtle. When asked how I can take her home, they won’t let me cross the border, you will hear the answer: “Yes, they won’t let me in, you’ll have to bring her back to me.”
Despite the low standard of living, Abkhazians do not lose heart, they continue to live and enjoy life. We boarded a minibus to Pitsunda. The driver asks: “Shall we go with or without music?” Everyone, of course, answered that it was with music. He: “Za-pe-wai!” and starts singing. So we rode happily, listening to his songs, and not some kind of radio. When asked what you do in winter, when there is no tourist season, the taxi driver, with his colorful accent, answered: “Well, what? We go to visit each other, eat tangerines, drink chacha.”
Do I miss Abkhazia? Of course, but not for beauty, but for warmth! I also really like to visit people, eat tangerines and drink chacha.
I spent a day and a half “VISITING THE MATCHMAN” and spent all this time on the Seversky Donets River. On March 6, the sun came ashore at 15.00, complete calm, blunders...... This place, not far from the village of Ust-Bystryanskaya, is very popular not only among local fishermen, sometimes in an area of 2 km. up to a hundred people gather. The fish bit reluctantly, or there were none at all. It seemed that the river was empty; during the day, shameless caralina lovers filled their bags on this section of the river on the right bank, and at night, poachers committed atrocities along the left bank. And my first impression was “The river is empty”; only at sunset I began to enjoy the occasional angry bites in the spring. 
To be honest, there was one little thing that pecked me. 
Without really understanding the situation, I go “VISITING THE MATCHmaker.” The whole evening I was gnawed by the topic of no bite, of course it was colossal pressure, but the spring weather was also unstable. The morning of March 7 was overcast and calm and slightly colder compared to yesterday. Fishing started off shaky and slow just like yesterday. The task was to find the pike. Here she gathers for the winter and stays until spawning. Why pike? Well, I love this thing. Most fishermen in this place are more keen on lead rigs and are determined to catch at least some bass. In their bycatch, they often have zander and occasionally catch pike. So as not to interfere with catching only toothy fish with a light jig. Various small things pecked here and there. Nearby anglers had a couple of cuts and one catch of pike. In the end, this turned me on and I changed tactics, began to actively move along the shore and, when I came out of a hole in the shallows, I discovered what I had been looking for for so long. The fish was completely covered with leeches "TERRY PIKE". The pike was very passive due to the bad weather. The weather was jumping like a cardiogram, today there was a real show of light, twelve months came to visit at once, there was all the sun and wind and snow and drizzle and calm...... I was also pleased with the animals living here who woke up from hibernation. 
I caught it on a VARITA VRT-702M, in principle, not bad at all, but in a strong wind on shallow water 1.5-2.0 m with a head of 5 degrees. and it was difficult to catch with bulk bait. By the end of the day, I caught two more “TERRY PIKES”. 
There is only one conclusion, Kostya, “DON’T WAIT FOR A TRIP TO GAGRY...” LOOK FOR FISH, DON’T LOOK AT THE WEATHER AND THE CONCLUSION OF THE RESERVOIR.