“I’m sure that the meaning of life for every one of us is just to grow in love.” – Lev Nikolaevithch Tolstoy. 

 As I wrote earlier, we spent one marvelous week of this Autumn with D’Arcy Benincosa, a great photographer from USA. Not only have we spent some very pleasant days together, but we also shot two amazing video clips. You can watch one of them if you follow this link.

Abkhazia is an insanely beautiful country rich in natural resources. We woke up early in the morning and decided to walk towards the sea that we could see from our windows. This walk filled us with joy and admiration. A narrow path ran past cozy yards of local houses. Like a small mountain stream, it meandered between vine-grown walls, gardens with ripe date plums hanging on branches that bended under their weight, between lianas with kiwis emitting sweet strawberry odor. Among such inspiration one wants to create beauty. 

Mountain rivers transpierce the country like cold, flying emerald threads. Sometimes they fall flowing into lakes with pure water. All of the streams flow through blooming meadows or between great mountains. One of the lakes became the second location for our shooting.  While the sun was high, D’Arcy explained some theoretical material and organizers cooked dinner inspired by Abkhazian culture – baked suluguni with vegetables and lavash. This is Ritsa Lake, with a chestnut forest not far from it. Our guide told us that this is the edible chestnut variety that can be fried. Ludmila gathered chestnuts in a large parcel and took them to Minsk. For a long time afterward, she told stories from Abkhazia to our friends; it was such a great trip.