Kazantip



nest of eggs atop spaceship in Kazantip

to the Star Wars like moon like residences- Kazantip



(check out this video of the scene in Kazantip- from day to night)

Drugs-

kazantip Bar on "skyway"

Sex

yes please

Flying bicycle- Kazantip

﻿Electronica

Bliss

Me, Kate, and two Russian friends

Stars in the night sky above Kazantip (Big Dipper)

The party began almost twenty years ago when some wind surfers at a summer competition started a bonfire on the beach and added music. The celebration grew and grew, day by day, summer after summer, until today it is the premiere party in Eastern Europe, lasting from the end of July to almost September.The party consists of two parts, one being the recently added sports games, an eight day event, the former Soviet Bloc's answer to the American X-Games; the second being a huge rave, where Kazantip ﻿Nation attracts in excess of 10,000 youth a night.There's a very small subset of Eastern Europeans that can afford the $250 for the month long KaZantip ViZa (everything here has a "Z") , not to mention additional money for lodgings, transport, food, alcohol, drugs, and the vacation time needed to make the long journey out to the middle of nowhere. Why do they make the trek? Aside of probably the nicest, least polluted beach on the Black Sea, it's like pilgrimage for youth, the Mecca of raves, something you can always say, "Yeah I did that."Many compare being here to Burning Man in the States, or the party in Ibiza. Over the years this two square kilometer "nation" has really built up some infrastructure- bars, restaurants, sculptures, a skyway, and stadiums that line the beach. It's actually quite impressive.Many of the creations in Kazantip are modeled after drawings drawn-up by Soviet engineers who imagined what life would be like on the moon; from the rocket ship below-A plethora of drugs exist. I was warned not to consume any drinks that didn't come straight from a bartender as they could very likely be spiked, namely with Speed.Fortunately, I never have to worry about being offered drugs, I know I'm not cool enough. (plus I don't speak Russian)Boobs. You'll see lots of boobs on the sand here. I told you it's a nice a beach, right? It's clothing optional in the Z.However, due to the huge expense associated with Kazantip, the majority of girls that arrive are attached. According to Dmtryo, very few Ukrainian women can afford to make it here on their own, but that doesn't mean hooking up is unlikely.In my last post, I told you I was viciously attacked by mosquitoes at dusk, and while purchasing my pass to the sports game portion of the party ($25) I was taking my revenge on the little vampires resting on the walls, swatting about six of them while i waited for my ViZa to be created. I turned around and exchanged eye contact with a blond girl who was looking at me horrified."What are you doing?""Killing vampires."My ViZa is ready so I walk away, probably looking like a weirdo in her eyes.She sees me on the dance floor the next night. "Hey, you're the American that was killing mosquitoes!""Maybe.""Can I talk to you?" she asks.Great, now I have to explain my Hitler like actions towards these blood sucking parasites. She takes me aside, and sits down with me, but thankfully insects are the last thing on her mind.She's a 25 year old Russian diplomat, hence the good English, recently divorced, and is here to party cause she's "too young to stop drinking and having sex." And that's what she's here to do ...﻿﻿ ﻿ ﻿﻿24 hours a day, disc jockey's are playing electronic music in every bar on the beach. Aren't grooving to one DJ, walk twenty seconds, you'll find a different flavor. Unlike city clubs, even in the evenings, you'll find very little male/female grinding, most people are trance dancing by themselves, and there are some really excellent dancers here. I don't happen to be among them, but I love it when I allow music to take over my body, and I just let go. When thoughts cease, the dance of pure expression take place.I'm trying to decide whether to stay for the rave portion of the party, and pay the $250 for the new ViZa. Outside the ticket office, I run into Kate, a Russian girl. She and her friends are leaving in a couple days, and can't afford the fee. She strikes up a conversation with me and invites me to hang out with them. When people invite me to do something fun, I'm usually a Yes Man.We go and get some Koniak at the loca﻿﻿l store, and head to a neighboring beach. No English is spoken aside of Kate, who speaks poorly anyways, so I'm just enjoying their company. We're the only ones there and it's well after midnight. The sky here is clear, and outside of the lights coming from the party area, the entire ﻿region is shrouded in darkness for fifty miles in any direction.I have never seen so many stars. It's magnificent. ﻿As I sit there with my new friends, ﻿looking at the night sky, and its glowing stars, I think about how I am created of the same energy that created the dynamic lights that illuminate the cosmos. Their size, the billions of miles of distance, their age, and me, a tiny speck of a microcosm of this vast expanse of space, yet in total unification. There is no separation, I feel part of a greater whole.Tears roll down my eyes, a release of whatever negativity might have been in me, the problems of my mind dissolving as the purifying gratitude of existence washes over me. Some people have panic attacks, I get bliss attacks. Right Now, is holy. I need nothing, there is only deep peace and love. Kate looks over at me. I smile. "I see the Universe in your eyes,"I whisper back, "You're no different than me, are you?"