in the rhythm of life

And I decided not to go and settled in the forest by the road. When I was climbing out of the Kamaz, my solar panel, which I use to charge my phones, broke, and now at a crucial moment I could find myself without a charge. Apparently, I accidentally stepped on the cable when I was getting out of the cab. And shortly before that, my stun gun also broke. The gear suddenly started breaking down… For the first time in the entire trip, I felt fear – I was scared to spend the night. Why – I don't know. The very atmosphere in this forest was unfriendly, oppressive, and the animals were acting strangely. The fear wasn't uncontrollable; maybe it wasn't even fear at all, but active vigilance. It felt more like a state of nervousness, I couldn't calm down. And now for an hour I've been in a state of combat readiness, keeping a knife and pepper spray at hand. It's very hard to fall asleep. I sense danger. Some animals around. An extremely unfriendly place…

IN THE RHYTHM OF LIFE = Day 17 =

Woke up early, at 6:00, surprisingly easily. Having eaten a few tomatoes and cucumbers that an old woman treated me to yesterday in Dakhovskaya, I packed my things and set off for Mount Monakh, located 7 km from me. I could really feel the accumulated fatigue in my body, especially from yesterday; walking was hard, every step came with difficulty. And there before me was the mountain, a very steep slope, about 70 degrees, if I'm not mistaken. Nevertheless, I climbed it quickly – it took less than 3 hours before I was standing on the summit.

I had little water with me; my flask was almost empty. The shops weren't open yet in the morning. There was just enough water to wash down some oatmeal cookies. At the top of the mountain, a little before reaching the very peak, I saw monks' cells. According to legend – two monks lived there, doing some kind of manual labor, and one day they were found dead from bullet wounds. The cells look like a small hollowed-out cave in the rock. Next to it, a small fire pit.

Going around the rock from above, I climbed to the very top of the mountain. From there, a great view opens up of the mountains opposite and of the stanitsa itself. The whole village was laid out like in the palm of your hand. It's a small settlement, and it blends harmoniously into the local landscapes. While I was eating, I saw many large lizards nearby. They were an unusual color, iridescent, with a green hue. I've never seen lizards like that before. Somewhere around here there were supposed to be dolmens, but I unfortunately didn't find them. Nor the "Cerberus Glade," which is also supposed to be somewhere on this mountain. Searching for anything alone is a pointless endeavor; all the trails here are overgrown with grass, and you can only get up to the top of this mountain without any problems. Beyond that, you need a guide who knows this forest. I headed back.

Halfway down, I met some tourists climbing the mountain, also looking for the "Cerberus Glade." When I told them that searching for it without a guide was pointless, they turned back. None of them wanted to keep climbing up at such a steep angle with no guarantees, and most of these people didn't look physically prepared for such hikes. After descending, I headed for the bus stop and the store. I could barely drag my feet. I ate a little and felt sleepy. At the bus stop, while waiting for the bus to Maykop, I dozed off. The bus wouldn't come for another 3 hours, as the shopkeeper told me. Near the store stood a few men, and I exchanged a couple of words with them. One of them was constantly downing vodka. Shot after shot. He treated me to an apple, and before I decided to go into the store and buy myself another cup of coffee, he said to me: "But we might never see each other again." There was sadness in his eyes. And at that moment, I caught a feeling of complete resonance, when movement along the lines of life happens in sync with the rhythms of the world. You are where you are now, you leave when you need to, and you appear on time where you're supposed to. Always on time and always in the right place. In that same instant, a certain reassessment of several other situations from the past occurred. The arising feeling of synchronicity and resonance with the flows of the world served as a prism, and moving in the rhythm of life felt especially acute. The bus was already 20 minutes late, and after looking at my watch, I decided to kill time with another cup of coffee. While it was being prepared, the bus pulled up. What irony. I noticed a certain pattern – as soon as I order coffee, the bus I need magically appears. Or a Kamaz, like recently in the stanitsa of Dakhovskaya.

I talked with the driver the whole way to Maykop. He shared one local and very interesting secret. The secret is that in these parts they collect an unusual plant – the orchid. The roots of this plant are tonic, give energy, and are very good for men's health. One elderly man, according to the driver, constantly comes here to collect these roots. He makes a decoction from them with milk and consumes it in small amounts. He feeds only on this decoction. He said that the roots of this plant give a lot of energy, contain a lot of protein, and have everything the body needs for normal functioning. Some say that it's largely thanks to consuming orchid roots that the Tatar-Mongols conquered so many lands. They also ate these roots… If the legends are to be believed.