To the mountains - Telavi to Gudauri (Sunday 4th May)
Randy Crawford's version of "Rainy Night in Georgia" is undoubtedly one of the finest songs I've ever heard. Her silky voice just just massages your soul to the point where you can barely feel more chilled. It is, of course, written about the state of Georgia in South Canada/North Mexico. So very clearly it's not the Georgia where I wake up to torrential rain, and clouds so low I can only see about 200 metres. Nevertheless, this is the song that always goes through my mind whenever I think about Georgia (Europe), so to me it's kind of poetic.
Over breakfast, there's much moaning about the quality of the hotel, and it failing to be up to Intrepid's standards. We depart under clouds; physical and metaphorical. On a more upbeat note, the rest of the group went out to eat in Telavi last night and reported back very favourably about the town. Apparently there is a nice old centre to the town; probably no more than 2 minutes from where I got my beloved SIM card. Typical! But I'd forego a castle and some statues for taking in a game in a far flung place like Georgia.
Nice parts of Telavi (not my pics!)
It's a very brief journey to get to our first destination of the day, Telavi Bazaar. It's still raining, albeit not so heavily, so it's good to be under cover. This place was much smaller than yesterday's bazaar in Sheki, and only had stalls selling food. It was, of course, characterful and good for a few people pictures. What was very noticeable, was that our guide was far more animated about things now we were in his native Georgia.
By the time we time we'd emerged from the Bazaar the rain had almost abated, and it was another relatively short journey to the Tsinandali Estate. This consisted of an old Stately House, now Museum, yet another winery and a couple of top end hotels. Although the exterior was attractive, the interior of the house was a really rather tedious museum. However the old cellars of the nearby winery were far more enchanting. Containing 15,000 bottles, the oldest of which goes back to 1814, the place was very very atmospheric.
Given 20 minutes free time to wander, and then get back to our minibus, I happened to notice on Google Maps a little label saying "Lenin's Head". Whilst the others went their separate ways I headed out to the side of the estate to find dear old Vlad. There he was. As in so many ex-Soviet places, they couldn't quite bring themselves to just getting rid of these ubiquitous statues. Instead, they were either just moved to a diminished position (usually behind an important building), or pulled down, and the head deposited in an undignified way "out the back". In this case it was the latter. Poor old Vlad! On my way back to the bus I told a couple of the others who I bumped into, and they scuttled swiftly over to see him. Our, almost secret, little treat. Oh, and maybe Google Maps isn't so bad after all!
Leaving Tsinandali we now headed up towards the north of Georgia. We stopped at Alaverdi Monastery. Normally this is one of Georgia's highlights, but a few months ago it was hit by a tornado which caused substantial damage. Sadly, the exterior really was a shadow of itself; most of it covered by scaffolding and protective netting. Very disappointing, but can't be helped. Nevertheless the interior was impressive, sadly no photos allowed. There was a service in progress, and the atmosphere really was something special. Deeply reverential.
Now we headed up the "Georgian Military Highway". This road is of more than a little strategic importance to a number of countries. In particular, the Armenians, as it's the only route to get their goods and supplies in and out overland. Having hostile relationships, and therefore closed borders with 3 of their 4 neighbouring countries (Azerbaijan, Turkey & Iran), the road up through Georgia to Russia is their lifeline. The Russian's also have a keen interest in this route as it gives them access to Georgia's Black Sea ports. Although most lorries have to use this challenging road at night, it was easy to gauge how busy it was with goods transport. Lierally hundred of HGV just parked up on the side of what was not a very wide road. We climbed and climbed up through numerous hairpin bends. More and snow could be seen. This what I had come for. I desperately wanted to get photo's of Gergeti Church with backdrop of snowy mountains. That's why I chose to come at this time of the year. More of that tomorrow!
We arrived at our ramshackle looking lodge - home for the next two nights. What it lacked in external appearance it more than made up in its wonderfully snug interior. The Dutch have a word, "Gezellig" which is perfect to describe this place. Broadly it means homely and comfortable. The rooms were basic, but we all expected that. Most important though were the views and the hospitality. Our host was Zuzve, a cheeky, cheerful and playful bloke who delighted in winding people up with his deadpan comments.
Our Lodge........................... and the view from my window
Tomorrow is the big day. The one I'm now really excited about. Our visit to Stepantsminda, and Gergeti Church. That's what I've come to see. Let's hope the predicted bad weather doesn't materialise.
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