Kinburn Spit - a place of legends and sea expanses
If the thirst for knowledge of new latitudes and discovering unknown routes exceeds common sense, it is useless to fight it. Therefore, when the next national holidays loomed ahead, we went to the exclusively national natural biosphere reserve on the Kinburn Spit. We were not even stopped by the fact that the route ran along complete impassability, among lakes, sand dunes and dunes, periodically replaced by impenetrable jungles of lush vegetation. But we are not looking for easy ways, we definitely need an element of extreme sports in order to fully experience all the delights of domestic car rental and indestructible off-road. From Kherson to the village of Geroiskoe, where we were supposed to start, we took a minibus, while the road from Rybalcha to Geroiskoe was a little rough, at first it even seemed that it didn’t exist, but after driving along the route Heroskoe - Pokrovka, we realized that it was . But then... We change into a cargo SUV Gaz-66, which has seen all the tourists and wild animals, popularly referred to as the "Ural", and set off on a fascinating route "Paris - Dakkar" "Heroic - Pokrovka - Kinburnskaya spit" to see a unique natural wonder.
Kinburn Spit is a sandy peninsula located between the Dnieper-Bug Estuary and Yagorlytsky Bay, about 40 km long and almost 10 km wide. So, the spit narrows so much that on its spire you can stand with one foot in the fresh water of the estuary, and with the other in the waves of the Black Sea. The name of the peninsula "Kyl Burun" in Turkic means "sharp nose".
Well, we set off along the route of the national park "Svyatoslav's White Coast". On the way, bouncing on potholes, clinging to all the available handrails and ceilings in order to somehow stay in place, we are trying to feel the history of this region. Our guide, with a beautiful ancient Slavic name Yaroslava, tries her best to share her knowledge, simultaneously drinking water, hordes of mosquitoes that flock into her mouth. Mosquitoes attack us too, but we, unlike her, only feed them, trying not to ask questions. We are trying to somehow protect ourselves by spraying ourselves and space with repellents. But insects don’t care, they have long adapted to our sprayers, so we only disinfected ourselves. I don’t know in what century mosquitoes appeared, but since these places were chosen by the ancient Greeks and Scythians, then perhaps they were not here at that time.
Although the Scythians-farmers firmly settled in these parts, who called "Gilea", which means "land under dense forest". Gilea was well known to Phoenician merchants and pirates, they say that the Scythians considered this place sacred, and even hid their main treasures here - the notorious "Scythian gold", which adventurers are still trying to unearth. But we don't need gold, and I don't know what we're looking for here. Yaroslava advises to look around, it turns out with difficulty, since with one hand you still need to hold on tightly to any strong mount, with the second to fight mosquitoes, while somehow keeping your head in balance, which randomly rotates 360 degrees from shaking, and, gaping, you can pierce the airspace with your head, easily slipping through the flimsy lining of the truck. To tell the truth, riding on dunes and quicksand hot sands is a dubious pleasure. Well sho porobish. Bachili eyes sho bathed)))
The nature around is certainly beautiful and unique. Most of the spit is occupied by steppes with wild flowers and numerous lakes, among which there are fresh and salty reservoirs. The lakes are shallow, so the water is just hot in summer.
However, the so-called salt lakes are of particular interest. In ancient times, along the famous “Chumatsky Way”, Chumaks came to these places for “white gold”. Salt is mined here to this day, however, exclusively for industrial purposes. Although before, the locals did not even think about buying salt in the store, everyone went to the lakes for it.
And the spectacle is really amazing, everywhere there are “Martian reservoirs” of pink color. This shade appears due to the presence of Dunaliella saline algae, which grow in lakes. This is almost the only living organism that can survive in such a concentrated salt solution.
Salt lakes were chosen by another inhabitant of the local fauna - the spider "Agrioppa". Despite its aggressive appearance, the spider is not poisonous, so you can get to know it better.
You can also take some crystals with you, there is no punishment for this here.
Salt mounds look lifeless:
Salt mountain looks like an ordinary sand dune, so I decided to get some salt. But it was not there! The mountain turned out to be just stone, with cave manholes, which I was simply afraid to climb into. So I didn’t manage to stock up on healing salt.
After admiring the cosmic landscapes, we move on. It's hot, there are endless steppes around, and the sun begins to bake, replacing bloodsucking mosquitoes. Around is a continuous desert with rare pine trees in the middle of sand dunes and dunes.
Constant heat, high air humidity and sun contributed to the rapid growth of grasses in sandy soils. Such places are densely overgrown with ferns and form mythical mysterious Sagas in the middle of the desert.
Even Herodotus, having visited the Scythian lands in the 5th century BC, wrote a lot about these places and to this day it is called the "Forest of Herodotus" or "Volyzhin Forest". The remains of relict forests can still be found with small groves of oak, birch, alder, which are spread among the sandy expanses of the spit.
The nature here is certainly unique. There are 500 species of plants growing in the reserve, many of which are listed in the Red Book. And in May, a wild orchid blooms here, commonly called luboks. And the students in armfuls at the last bell give teachers bouquets of wild orchids. The local fauna also boasts diversity. At the moment, there are about 250 species of birds, mainly herons, pelicans and eagles. But in ancient times, lions and rhinos were found in this savannah. Now there are about 50 species left - mostly wolves, raccoon dogs, foxes, beavers, turtles, and wild mustangs.
Due to its geographical location, the Kinburn Spit has always been of great importance. So, during the reign of Prince Svyatoslav, merchant ships stopped on the Berezan Island before entering the Black Sea. However, there were endless wars over these territories, especially the Russian-Turkish military campaign contributed to the constant change of hands of protected lands. In the 15th century, the Turks built their fortress “Kil Burun” on the island, hence its name. In this fortress, Suvorov's troops, together with the Cossacks of the Black Sea Cossacks, defeated the Turkish landing in 1787. However, during the war, the fortress was destroyed. And at the beginning of the 20th century, Old Man Makhno was hiding in the local forests with his gang. In general, many beautiful and unusual legends are associated with this area. Rumor has it that the Amazons even lived here, sacrificing captive men to their gods. And once upon a time there was a temple of the goddess of fertility Demeter, and the waters of the Black Sea saw the victory of Achilles in a grand sea battle.
Many tourists choose Kinburn because of the seaside beach holiday. And if you are already tired of the endless shaking on the truck, then you can stop at Yagorlytsky Bay.
This, of course, is not the sea, but it has its advantages - there is always warm water, in addition, the almost complete absence of civilization. So, if the rest of the "savage" is your format, then why not. Moreover, primitive conditions for recreation are still available.
Even chem. mosquito treatment is carried out:
We decided that there was absolutely nothing to do here, and "a little more, a little more, the last battle, it is the most difficult", rushed to the Black Sea coast. Well, what I want to tell you. For fans of untouched nature, this is, of course, a paradise. A place absolutely remote from civilization is probably an incomparable pleasure. And if you love virgin nature, and the spirit of freedom and adventurism is inherent in you, then you are definitely here! Here is the cleanest sea, in which we even met dolphins, and for many kilometers there is almost no one. But there is also no typical beach infrastructure here, but no one yells "baklava", "tubes with condensed milk", "corn" and so on.
There is no drinking water here either, it is imported, so the reserves are strictly limited. A five-minute shower will cost you 20 hryvnia, although those who wish can always find accommodation for any budget - from an absolutely free tent to an apartment in the five-star Pelican Hotel. The sea is really fabulous there, which I personally confirm. However, you need to be prepared for difficult “getting” and a partial lack of civilization. I am a bit of a “climber not in these mountains”, but every summer my children go to rest on Kinburn, probably after all, youth = romance. But to visit this unusual place is still worth it! Here you can see unique relic forests, numerous lakes and pine groves, feel what "Dakkar" is, and you will also find the emerald sea and long virgin beaches with white sand.
From the cycle of stories "Amazing Ukraine".
