Falling in love with Tblisi

Got in late afternoon and settled into a REALLY nice hotel. I got a king bed room all to myself. We went out for dinner in a cellar restaurant and enjoyed another Georgian banquet and entertainment. Great fun!

A lazy and late morning was followed by a grand walking tour of the old city. Hammans, churches, castles, amazing views, and some wild modern architecture. This is a happening town. We toured some of the old quarter as well with grand old stained glass windows and finely detailed carved wooden screens. The city is alive with sounds and color.

We stopped for lunch before breaking up and wandering around on our own. We discovered a flea market of art, Russian military memorabilia, and art. That kept us busy for a couple of hours and I found a couple cool items. Next I went in search if a good pillow-it's gonna be a long 110 more days without one. Tonight will be Italian night and we are in search of pasta!

Dumplings!

Back in the village we visited a private home for a cooking class. Lelia and her mother taught us how to make both meat and potato dumplings.

A simple dough of flour, water, shortening and salt was rolled and cut into circles. Then each circle was rolled out again and filled. The meat was a combination of pork, beef, onion, sage, and rosemary. Boiled potatoes and cheese filled others.

The dough with filling was then pleated and pinched to form round and crescent shapes. Boiled in salted water, it was served with VODKA and several toasts. It was a very fun event!

A drive back over the summit, once again through the narrow tunnels and muddy potholes. and then down into the plains found us in Tblisi, the Georgian capitol, by sunset.

Tonight we say goodbye to Justin and Clyttie, who travel back to Australia, and meet our new family member, Valeria.

Holy Trinity Church - a hike to the top of the mountain

This morning most everyone in the group is sniffling and sneezing and a cold has spread quickly. Cold tablets came out in scores. Our early day started with another terrific Georgian breakfast and then departure by 4x4s to the trailhead, some 2000 feet above the valley floor. From there it was a hike up another 1500 feet to the top of the mountain and the famous church. Gergiti Holy Trinity is one of Georgia's most visited sites, a pilgrimage for the faithful and a destination for tourists all over the world. Perched high above the valley floor the views were commanding. The location was chosen by its builders for privacy and security and it has survived many wars and invasions.

The current church was built in the 1600s however the site had been established centuries earlier. We toured the site for an hour before heading back down the mountain and on to our next activity. .

Stalin Museum and into the High Caucasus Mtns

It's a long one today.....We had a great sleep after having been totally inebriated the night before. Breakfast was a Georgian banquet of cold cuts, pastries, and the all too familiar boiled hot dog. We went to the local market to shop for lunch supplies. This is fast becoming one of my favorite things to do. The produce is amazing, the cheeses superb and the best part is meeting and talking with the locals. They are always so pleasant-especially when you are buying their goods!

We walked through a renovated section of town. It was so perfect that it looked like a movie set. At the Stalin Museum we met our guide who toured us through numerous photos, artifacts, books and letters. We viewed his death mask and then his childhood home. Afterward we had a special treat as she unlocked the railroad car and we were allowed to see the inside. This was his fortress, offices, living quarters, and communication station as he wandered all over Russia and Siberia spreading his special level of contempt for humanity. I had mixed feelings about the level of reverence given to this awful tyrant. However it was a piece if history, we were in his home town, and who am I to judge what should be displayed and not. Sorry, but the battery died so no photos of the museum and railcar. Google it!

Sura, now fully stocked and loaded began today's journey into the High Caucasus range. Today our destination is 7500 feet up into the snow where we will stay at a university dormitory, have a cooking class and get ready for tomorrow's big trek.

The drive was beautiful. We stopped at a fortress and church overlooking a huge reservoir. We had mufalata sandwiches with WONDERFUL sliced pork. Yummy!

Our climb into the mountains took us within view of the Russian occupied South Ossetia border. The military presence was vividly apparent. We stopped often to take in the amazing views as we switched back and forth to the summit and snow fields.

Halfway to the summit (yes, these photos are only halfway up) we visited the bicentennial monument and then got out and walked a way ahead of Sura. Even I could keep ahead of her with all the mud and ruts. Ten feet of snow flanked the road. The warm sun was great!

We made the summit six hours into our drive today and had only traveled 110 miles. Another hour, 25 more miles, and we arrived in Kazbegi. Our destination for today.

Kutaisi to Gori

A lazy start and a breakfast with real eggs, blintzes, dumplings, cherry compote, and walnut pastries began our day as we stepped off from the B&B for a walk up to the Bagarati Cathedral and the ruins of the old city walls and fortress.

Afterward we ventured into the local market for produce, supplies, and vodka. A fellow was selling "cha-cha" (Georgian fire water) so who could resist. Our livers will probably all explode!

We then hit the road and were on our way to Gori, birthplace of Stalin. Soon we were into the Caucasus Range and climbing fast. On a meadow overlooking a small valley we stopped to make lunch. Cows were grazing amongst us and along side the road. It was very peaceful under the blue sky.

Back on the road we started a chess match. The roads were a myriad of potholes and the going was slow. Soon we were in a canyon followed a meandering trout stream. The architecture changed and for a while I thought we were in Tennessee.

We arrived in Gori at sunset. Rainy and bleak, the city is a complex of rundown former USSR government buildings. Our hotel is on Stalin Ave. and was at one time the only hotel in Gori. Marble columns and chandeliers in the lobby, no furniture, and a stark marble stairwell to the third floor. The second floor was closed and had no lights. Flashlights were required to get further up. Surprisingly our rooms were quite nice with full baths and really comfy beds...AND...hot water for the first time in three days! Dinner was next door, included, and was a nice braised chicken breast with shroom sauce and a "few" glasses of wine! Can't stop thinking of that Beatles song, "back in the USSR."

We ended the night with a room party to sample the vodkas we has purchased earlier! Ugh....long night and an early start. LMAO!

Argo House in Kutaisi

Our stay has been at a really lovely B&B high on a hill overlooking the city. The hosts have a spotless twenty-room home and served an amazing included dinner and breakfast. The views from the marble tiled terrace were very nice.

Prometheus Cave

A leisure morning was wonderful. Slept in, did some sorting of my pack, shopped for some supplies and had lunch. Batumi was busy and not as pretty in daylight. We left around 1pm and drove across the huge coastal plain passing quaint villages and farms. The price of independence from soviet Russia was evident in the disrepair of buildings, homes, and roads. Georgia is still struggling economically.

We turned northeast and headed for the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains. Sasa wanted share us a Georgian natural wonder that not in our itinerary. There we enjoyed an unplanned visit to a recently discovered and opened cavern. We descended some 300 feet touring cavern hall after hall fill of magnificent formations and crystals. The cave was dramatically lit and piped in flute music serenaded us as went up and down hundreds of steps. It was great exercise after a bumpy four hours in the truck.

Our destination tonight was another hour to Kutaisi, an historical and cultural center. As we wove through the narrow streets and valleys we jogged under low power lines until being stalled by a huge open drainage manhole. It took some time to pass and then maneuver through the parked cars, often with less than inches to spare on each side of the truck. Dave and Frenchy are amazing drivers!