Georgia on My Mind

13 May 2009

Mestia in the sunlight is in fact a bit nicer than in the grey...but not my favourite part of this epic journey. They did open the local museum for us despite it being a national holiday (St Andrew) in Georgia, and provide a guided tour of the really pretty impressive treasury of ecclesiastical bits and bobs that have been stashed up there over the centuries. Also artifacts of the Svan people who live in the Caucasus—they speak their own unwritten language, completely different to Georgian. It was built in the Soviet period, and very stern a building it is. No HVAC or temperature / humidity controls, for the museum geeks who might wonder...but some impressive icons. Sitting in damp cases in the freezing cold.

            

David trekked up to the Cross alone, a 6 hour hike up and back, which he was specifically told not to do on his own. He came back in one piece, however, proving that he is in fact impervious to both injury and good sense. We went out to the only “restaurant” in Mestia for late lunch to celebrate his not dying. The “restaurant” serves only beer, orange lemonade, a nd meat bread. Which is in fact steak and cheese inside flatbread. And cost 3 lari for enough to feed a horse. Nice.

                          

Bushcamp last night on a little spit of land hanging precariously over a gorge, with no safety rails and dreams of erosion haunting me. The police came down in their pickup to watch over us, and brought us food and wine from a local wedding before they slept sitting up in the freezing cold. To protect us from the armed bandits who as recently as 2004 liked to attack tourists. Georgia: Only the Strong and the Bandit-Free Survive. It was pretty, though.

                          

Down the mountains today, to Zugdidi for lunch (cheesy bread) with Emma and Louise. Emma is such an intelligent and good looking girl (and did not in any way urge me to write that for the benefit of her parents who apparently read this blog). Then stopped at the caves in Satrapi, with some lovely Soviet-style loose wires lighting them, which was helpful to illuminate the dripping water all about the wires and thus the second threat of death for today. Now camping in the woods just above the caves, leafy and lovely and another good meal. The backgammon brigade are in full effect, beers are open and tea is being made. We're all terribly domestic in the Georgian forest.