I wasn’t going to bring this up, but I developed a somewhat severe ear infection in Moscow about 10 days ago. I went to see a doctor and she gave me some antibiotics and ear drops. It seemed to be getting better until the plane ride to here, I guess the air pressure changes had something to do with it. Well, the last three days were pretty bad. I was staggering around running into things, hurting like hell, and deaf. Even worse, the ear drops smell like vodka, so I appeared drunk. My work kind of suffered from it, but I’m proud to say that I made it all three days. My workout regimen kind of took a hit, though. Today I am markedly better, and I finally got out for a walk after work. It was sunny and warm.

I’m staying at the Hotel Hyundai, and I have a pretty nice view of the harbor and the mountains on the other side:

Yesterday the fog never let up:

It is really hilly here, “going up the street” takes on a whole new meaning:

There is a street that leads down to the (small, but nice) beach:


The water is a lot warmer than I expected. Maybe I’ll go swimming once I have recovered (except it is supposed to be cooler this weekend).
Here’s a Babushka diligently making sure that nobody pees for free (and you think YOUR job sucks):

I like this place. It’s got kind of a rustic grunge harbor city kind of thing going on, a slightly dangerous, living on the edge kind of attitude - sort of like Baltimore. The people are generally nicer than in Moscow (and a lot less European), the women are even more beautiful, and there seems to be a bit more financial equality. They could turn this into a real tourist town, but that would kind of ruin the whole experience - sort of like Baltimore.
That’s all I got for now, but the weekend is coming up...