My Precious, Wonderful Readers :),

After thinking about it long and hard, I’ve decided to add another, slightly more personal and, hopefully, fun, dimension to this blog – travel. After all, it is in travel where I find most of the inspiration for my poetry and prose. I believe it may be interesting to write about my travel experiences as I am having them, before I’ve had the time to process and refine or reduce them to something fictional.

I would like to start by taking you on a journey to the Caucasus mountain range in Kabardino-Balkaria with me. I am here to do a bit of mountaineering to prepare for a very challenging expedition later this year. I started climbing at the age of fourteen but have been out of practice for several years now. Last time I tried to climb was in February: I ended up badly injuring myself which caused me to spend almost six month without exercise of any kind and, on the bright side, to start this blog. I now have very little time to get ready for one of the most amazing experiences of my life – or, alternatively, one of the most epic failures if I can’t get my legs, claws and wings back.

Before I leave for the mountains, I’ll spend a day wandering around Nalchik, a small town which is the gateway to Caucasus. Like you, I have no idea what to expect as I have never been in this part of Russia before. Come join me if you’re curious ;)!

Love,

Mila