At 10.40 am, the Georgian Airlines Boeing departs for a direct flight from Schiphol to the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, located in the Caucasus. It will be the 6th time for me in Georgia via www.pum.nl volunteer organization. After a flight of approximately 4.5 hours we arrive at Tbilisi airport. Everything looks nice. Mako comes to pick us up, she works for the Ministry of Economic Development, Tourism Department. We are taken to the simple Hotel Europa, which is located a bit further away in a suburb. The hotel is old fashioned. It offers internet service, but doesn't really deliver it. The rooms are old-fashioned furnished, some have a hip bath and others a jacuzzi. But who cares, the rooms are clean and the sheets and towels are changed every day.
At 20:00 we are picked up from our hotel for a Georgian dinner. It is election day in Georgia and therefore it is very busy. After some time of waiting we get a table by the window. Many foods are ordered. The order is for all table companions and they all pick the food from the dishes. Typical for the food is that people take plenty of time for this and that they also drink delicious wines. During dinner we receive information about what our stay will look like and about the tourism seminar that we are going to give. We are back at our hotel around 10 pm. It is still pleasantly warm outside and we decide to sit on the terrace for a while. Suddenly I get a visit from Irina, an acquaintance I met more than 6 years ago in Georgia. We chat a lot and before we know it it is 00.00 o'clock. Time to go to sleep.
It is already light the next morning around 5 am and so is my room. At 8 o'clock I check whether the restaurant is now open and I am lucky, someone is present. She kindly points out to me that breakfast is not served until 9 am. We then stay in the restaurant and have breakfast around 09.15. Our tour guide Eliza, who I know from a previous trip in Georgia, is already waiting with our driver. Today we will make a trip of about 300 kilometers on the military highway to the Russian border over the highest mountains in Europe, the Caucasus.
Landscape of GeorgiaLandscape of Georgia
We drive out of Tbilisi and about 50 kilometers from the city we arrive at the Ananure fortress. In this fortress are several churches, of which only the largest church can be visited. Unfortunately, precious frescoes were painted over when Georgia was under Russian influence. The original icons are also no longer present, but there are a few replicas. The sun is shining brightly and it is warm. Outside the fort a few old ladies are knitting colorful socks to sell them to tourists. They also sell fake icons, fruit, candy and more. We continue again and drive on the military highway. Via many hairpin bends and even more beautiful views we eventually arrive in the snow-sure winter sports area of Gudauri. Before we can enjoy the white snow, we are served an excellent lunch in a small hotel. Gudauri is snow-sure from the end of October to the end of April and is a good winter sports destination for many.
We leave Gudauri behind us and the car takes us up further into the snow. The highest driving point on this mountain is almost 3,200 meters high. The peak of these Caucasus Mountains is slightly higher than 5,600 meters. There is a lot of snow, a nice sun and little wind. I decide to get out of the car and go for a walk in the snow. We continue our way. Slowly the snow walls disappear and we drive into the valley. We see gigantic flocks of sheep that are also on their way to Kazbeki. After arriving we drive to the center of the town. At a lonely height lies the Gergeti Trinity church in the mountains. We first walk around in the village where the edges of the village are surrounded by the many snow-capped mountains. Very peaceful. We decide to drive towards the Russian border, there must be a very narrow, exceptionally beautiful pass. The trucks used to drive through the narrow mountain caverns, now we are alone. Yet we have to abort the attempt, there is no further road to Russia that can be driven on.
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