Hot Air and Full Bellies

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Moving on from Central Turkey we took the long, and very trodden road towards Goreme. Famous for its Mars like terrain with cave dwellings, rolling chalk and basalt hills and very very phallic like fairy chimneys. The town is well known on the tourist circuit for its hot air balloon rides over the amazing land and yep that's what we did! Getting up at 5am to catch the sunrise was worth every penny and we both got to fulfill dreams and tackle fears as we rose up in the air. It was breath taking, the silence and serenity as you drift 1800m above ground to then be taken on a tour of the valleys below, amazing, best thing so far! Oh, we also hired quad bikes and put our petrol head hats on which came in a close second.

A few nights in our cave home in Goreme were soon followed by a trek up to the Georgian border, on route we camped near the stunning Sumela Monestary perched high up on the side of a cliff. The icons and architecture of this holy place were amazing and were well worth the hour walk up to the top. Unfortunately the weather wasn't that great but still, it was pretty amazing! We also spent two nights bush camping high up in the hills in the centre of the country, sometimes it is easy to forget how big Turkey is and it isn't just the flat, dusty desert that we all think it may be. The mountains are snow capped, luscious and very, very wet!

Saying goodbye to Turkey was a bit of a love/hate affair. Parts of the country are stunning, the people are friendly and the food is to die for, but parts of it still make me feel uneasy. It is a country desperate to be recognised in Europe but still has so many ills to fix. Generally there was a boxing day feeling, i.e a bit over Turkey so onwards we crept into Georgia.

Instantly we felt a change. Having all the border guards say "Welcome to Georgia" was part of that change. Straight away the feel was different, yes it was a bit poorer, yes the roads are rubbish, but yes the people and countryside are lovelier.

So far we have travelled into the oil rich city of Batumi, travelled high into the mountains to Mestia and Kazbegi, and moved into the lowlands near Senaki and Gori and all have taken our breath away. The true highlight though has been the people highlighted by an impromptu roadside party with wine and brandy for Susan's birthday!, truckloads of food and even made friends with a few Georgian school girls who are now our number one fans on Facebook, (even making their profile picture a 'Luv you Zoe' photo - oh dear.)

For a country that was stifled by the former USSR, of which there are still many relics, it has now emerged from the dark. Sure it's run down but looking at Tbilisi as an example, it's a country on the move. Tbilisi is a stunning city which when lit up at night will rival any of its European counterparts. For a couple of days we explored the winding streets of the old town which is hard to describe, but on one side you have the polished cobble stones and al fresco dining cafes and just across the road are the ramshackle old houses which haven't changed since the early 1900's. The city would be a restorers dream and no doubt will become one of 'the' cities to visit in the future.

Reading the Georgian tourist brochure you can see that that is what they are aiming for, they boast, "Alps loftier than any in Europe" and "Wine that will tackle any others in the world", with ambitious views like that it's a win-win situation!

We have a few more days in Georgia waiting for our Azer visas, who apparently don't want us at the moment, so in the meantime it's off to Telavi famous for...yep, wine. See you next time, hic hic.

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