Last days in Georgia

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Monasteries have been the main feature of our last 2 days touring rural Georgia.We hired. car and set out yesterday to find the David Gareji monasteries near Udabno about an hour and a half from Tbilisi. Udabno means 'desert' in Georgian. We drove across vast green plains and rolling hills to get here. The fist wide valley was planted with hundreds of acres of small trees...fruit trees? Scattered wide over the next were herds of cows, tended to by men on horses...quad bikes don't seem to have a place here. Horseback riders are much greener, and more picturesque.

Entering Udabno, a small town in the centre of the plain, was like entering rows of empty concrete buildings... Rundown sprang to mind. But closer observation found hostels, restaurants and a school. We are staying in a delightful triangular pod with pigs and dogs for company. Pigs seem to roam the town freely.

We visited the Lavra, one of the David Gareja monasteries, amazing place with monastic cells dug into the hillside. as well as functioning monastery buildings. A spectacular aspect of the visit was the view of the beautiful coloured layered rocky hills on which the monastery is built. There is a sad history of problems with Azerbaijan over the ownership of the 15 monasteries that constitute the set up. Two soldiers with guns emerged from a vehicle while we were there. It seemed better not to try to visit the second Udabno monastery over the hill in the debatable border land.

Today we set out to visit Sighnavi which wasn't in the guidebook but appeared online as an interesting place to visit. Quite a drive, but worth it. We got caught up in pilgrims visiting Bodbe monastery there - about which we had no previous knowledge. A vast site with lovely gardens, ancient frescos and a wow factor view across the valley to the towering Caucus mountains. Bus loads of Russian pilgrims were there plus priests and nuns various. Religious parties were getting preferential treatment in the cafe.

We moved on to visit the town...it is like an Italian town spilling down a hillside. It is clearly a place in which there is a lot of investment. Flat pavements, restored balconies and walls, cobbled streets, guesthouses, amazing views across the valley. Picture perfect.

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