Causcasus Mountains, Fortress, Kittens and Stinky Water

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Today we had a self proclaimed friendly guide, Gorba and a very safe driver, Archie who can speak English but chooses not to. Koba certainly was very friendly and talkative. He also is an artist and created drawings for each of us whilst in the moving vehicle. We may laugh now, but in 10 years they’ll be worth €300 each. Our vehicle for the day was an 8 seater 4-wheel drive and we certainly needed it when later we were off road in the Causcasus mountains.
The other tourists were Pavel from Poland, Alex from Russia and a couple I thought were from the UK, but it turned out that the guy only sounded English but was from India. Gorba was quick to point out that we’re all friends and that no one was responsible for what their government do. I think that Alex was grateful, I presume he’s had some grief and he was a very nice bloke, with faded turquoise hair and a big ginger beard.Gorba talked about the history of Tbilisi and how the population is 1.5 million. He also talked about Stalin, people appear to feel that they have to, because the man was from Georgia and there’s a museum dedicated to him. Gorba clearly wasn’t a fan of Stalin and stated that the head of the KGB was even worse. Alex pointed out that this guy was also from Georgia and the topic of conversation quickly changed.We discussed the unique Georgian language that has 33 characters and some are harder to pronounce than others. Parts of the country have their own dialect, the most used is in Sveti.Our route took us north, along an old military road and our first stop was overlooking Zhinvali Reseevoir for a photo opportunity, drinks and loo. But oh my, the lady that I had to pay my 1 lari to had two tiny kittens playing beside her. The black one was rather nervous of me but the silver tabby climbed up my leg and was very affectionate. The loo lady also chased off a stray dog that was upsetting the kittens for me. I could have stayed outside that loo all day.We were now in the Causcasus Mountains, where Kazbegi mountain is the tallest at 5054 metres. At one point, we were just 13km from the Russian border, with no plans to get any closer.We briefly stopped for snacks as it was a long time until lunch, which actually turned out to be our evening meal. Further along was Ananuri Fortress which sat above the Aragvi River and was built in the 16th century with a church added around 100 years later. The church was standard and all women had to be practically in a shroud to be allowed in. There were great views and we could climb up to areas with narrow walkways and no railings. The watchtower was very popular with narrow and crumbly stone steps that in places were repaired with wood. Luckily there were intermittent rooms on the way up so that people could pass each other, although the floors didn’t look that safe. We were warned at the top not to climb up because the walls are too high to see over, not even for Glyn. But there were a few windows we could take turns to peer out of.A nearby Russian bridge gave me the opportunity to take a photo of the fortress from a distance. Gorba kept dissing Russian architecture, it’s all very utilitarian and ugly. I think that the stuff he particularly dislikes is from the 80’s and he’d like it all to be knocked down.Next stop was Black and White Aragvi, where two branches of the same river meet after having flown over differing landscapes making them very distinctive in colour. When they run side by side, one being a lot darker than the other. The water level was currently very low due to it be the end of summer, but I could still see the contrast. Apparently it’s a lot more impressive after the rain.We were in the mountains now where we overtook miles upon miles of parked up trucks waiting to cross the border to Russia. They’re only allowed through 20 at a time partly because of safety due to the narrow mountain roads with hairpin bends and partly because of how long it takes to get through border control. Gorba reckons these trucks will be queuing for 3 days, sometimes it can be a week. If the weather’s bad, the government supplies food and accommodation for the drivers.The mineral springs at Gudauri were our next destination, cream and orange/brown rocks by the roadside with water trickling over them. The colour was due to the build up of the minerals from the water. It wasn’t as slippery as it looked and Glyn tentatively risked walking up. It stunk a bit of bad eggs.On the other side of the road was a pipe where the water was gushing out and Glyn suggested I try it. After the hype I was expecting it to be good, so I threw away the tap water from my bottle and filled it up from the spring. Big mistake! It was absolutely vile, warm and tasting of sulphur. However, they seem proud of their water here and we passed a bottling factory of Kobi water. They also use the water here to make beer and lemonade, plus there is a Coca-cola factory.Our second wedding of the holiday was at Gergeti Trinity Church, up a hill, looking over the town of Stepantsminda. The proper road had collapsed and this is why a 4-wheel drive was most necessary. Gorba referred to the journey as a Georgian massage, not quite what I’d call it, I’ve been thrown around less on dodgy travelling fairground rides. And it took some time. The bride was in a massive dress that could be seen from space, the groom and other men were in traditional dress, similar to what the dancers in Gori were wearing. The steep path from the car park was incredibly uneven, covered in loose stones, yet many of the ladies of the wedding party made it up in some very high heels without anyone stumbling. Impressive.Again there were awesome views across the town and to the mountains. Gorba was convinced it would rain as some of the clouds were black, but that never happened and we were blessed with a day of sunshine. I took photos of the outside of the church, but couldn’t be bothered with the palaver of dressing up just to see a plain and mediocre interior.Instead I photographed the horses and their foals that were nearby, currently resting. Their work consists of lugging tourists around the mountains, however they look in good condition and happy enough. Later on I noticed that the horses didn’t have bits in their mouths, but they were loosely hanging below their chins. I guess tourists can’t be trusted to be gentle enough.The Georgian massage ride back down the mountain road was a little scary as Archie weaved around the road trying to avoid the worst holes, but not so bothered about oncoming vehicles. He even answered a phone call, not hands free, oh no, and chatted away almost all the way down. At one point, his call was quite animated and he let go of the wheel with his other hand to gesticulate. Gorba wasn’t concerned and joined in with the conversation. He joked that if we were scared, we should close our eyes, like the driver does. Lol.We only got to enjoy a smooth road for a while as we turned off into another rickety mountain road, this one with a steep drop on one side, to Truso Valley. At the bottom was a tiny village that’s the home to just three families. They have electricity but no shops. There is a church, built up the side of the mountain, a good 45 minute walk from the houses. I didn’t get to the bottom as to why anyone thought the location was a good idea. It’s not even accessible in winter and there’s no priest.We were warned to stay away from shepherd’s dogs as they are trained to be rock-hard to protect the sheep from wolves. Their ears are tails are cut short to prevent wolves grabbing onto them. But apparently no dog could win a fight with a wolf unless the wolf was injured or old and dogs are terrified of the mere scent of wolves. So it all seems a bit contradictory. I think the dogs protect the sheep from humans too. We were told a dubious tale about travellers in a van who tried to steal a sheep to make barbecue, only they accidentally hauled an alibi sheep dog into the car and almost became BBQ themselves, ending up in hospital. Questions were asked as to how similar in appearance a alibi dog and a sheep are, but the conversation got changed again.There was a campsite with a loo that’s “no fairytale” and I’d have been better off using a bush. A few hikers milled around, with the usual sleeping dogs, some cows and distant sheep. Here we climbed many steps made from sand filled tyres of many brands up the side of a hill. The sun was still shining, with a cool breeze as we followed the path to another natural spring. This one bubbles and no one knows why or how deep it is. It’s also very cold and stinks BAD.I walked a bit further to a nearby river and saw some frogs. In the distance I could see the hills to South Odessa and a bit further, rocky mountains that are the border to Russia.It was time to start the return journey, but we did stop at the Russia-Georgia Friendship monument that was built in 1983 to celebrate the ongoing friendship between Soviet Georgia and Soviet Russia. It’s a large circular construction made of concrete and would be pretty ugly if it wasn’t for the colourful mural on the interior, which depicts Russian and Georgian history. It overlooks Devil’s valley and again has great views plus horses.It was past 5pm and time for food. We were promised Khinkali, a Georgian dumpling that is a specialty in the area. As it takes a while to prepare, Gorba phoned the restaurant where we were to dine in advance. It was a lot further down the mountains and far less touristy, but I also think a regular haunt because the waitress seemed to know him very well. The meal was good, and feeling full and happy, we were all ready for the long trip home.We arrived at around 8.20pm, an hour earlier than Gorba had predicted. He claimed it was because traffic was good, but I think Archie’s fearless driving (fearless for him), overtaking anything anywhere had a lot to do with it!

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Comments

[Alan David Lawrence Rust]

Sulpha Springs?
Were the ones that smelled bad sulpha springs? Rotten eggs, pheewww !!

[RedPlanetClaire]

Bad eggs
Yes I think so!