Further explorations in Georgia

  Tbilisi, Georgia
Friday, June 13, 2008

Saturday 7th June                            Mestia - Kutaisi- Bush Camp

01. Morning camp on football field Mestia

02. Towers at Mestia

03. Towers below Mestia

Away 8am on a cold, but clear morning, with good views of the mountains and early sun on the towers. Make sure we get at least one seat on the preferred left side of the bus, MP on the left back, K on the right. MP wary of the wrath of another passenger, so only opens window

04. Lower village near Mestia

05. Road over landslide

06. Cow waiting for a bus

07. Cantilever road from Mestia

08. More cantilevered road near Mestia

09. More cantilevered road

10. More cantilevered road

11. River reappears below coffer dam

occasionally for exceptional views, such as the precipitous mountainside below the bus, the village on the valley floor, and the lower gorge. In particular, opened the window fully, copping some dust as well as cold for the  cantilevered section of the road around a rock outcrop over the river. Resist too many photos as retracing our route, although once again was exceptionally scenic.  Return to Zugdidi for a lunch of cheese pastries (khachapuri) while DP's team chases up the trimmings for tonight's pasta. Back to the Dadiani museum (2 GEL) in an old palace, with interesting old walls  and circular, conical roofed bastions that MP had noted

12. Walls at Dadiani museum

previously. The long suit of this place is Napoleon's death mask, which looks thinner in the face than any of his portraits. One of the portraits could pass for Marlon Brando. It's now 3.30pm, and ZsaZa the guide has told the museum guide we only have 15 minutes to tell us all she knows, so it is a rapid-fire commentary - only stopping momentarily to draw large breaths.  It was so fast we could hardly understand a word, and in fact became quite comical. The building itself is interesting, but rates no comment. Full of very heavily carved furniture, ornate possessions of minor royalty, plus some interesting ethnographic artifacts.
   Back on the road again, through Kutaisi, on the bypass road with lots of abandoned industry and decrepit high

13. Decrepit highrise near Kutaisi

14. Abandoned buildings near Kutaisi

15. Factory near Kutaisi

rise apartment blocks.  Some of the disused plants include steel and cement plants.
   Have an interlude in a service station toilet, which has two loos, with a low partition. Meets resistance from Natalya, but MP and DP use together, running out of light halfway through. Natalya must have used it on her own later, also with no light. Maybe she had a torch with her.
   Stop just past Zestanumi for 10 minutes. Think is another breakdown, but is just to transfer fuel between tanks, then pass through a very long and rough tunnel, presumably over the divide between the Black and Caspian sea watersheds. Happened upon a road accident with a damaged car, and a bridal party.
   Just before dark, about 9pm, get off the highway, down through grass and scrub to the bank of a large river. Jim manages to negotiate a T-intersection in the narrow road which forms a levee, and parks the van in a grassy area beside one of the regularly spaced walls of large concrete blocks which protect the river bank. There is a horseman on the river bank. ZsaZsa goes down to talk to him, but he and his horse seem to take fright, galloping and bucking past us and back toward the highway.
   MP does the camp setup duties, DP start cooking pasta, meat sauce, and making salad, Fulvio does the tomato sauce, using two large jars of tomato paste, all the tomatoes, including those for salad, plus onions. The meal was ready by 10pm, washing up done by 11. The meal was very well received, with seconds, and the balance retained in tupperware for tomorrow. It started to rain not long after the tents were set up, and the team had to withdraw from the fire to eat standing up under the truck awning. The tents were set up on the grassy berm beside the block wall, and this worked well.
   In the night, DP, who'd been lying awake since 1am, had to recover the toilet trowel from the bus, waking Kathryn who had commandeered the back seat for sleeping. The night was warmer - able to sleep just in nighties in the thin sleeping bags. Lots of noise during the night - frogs, traffic and a few trains.
   Sunday 8 June Kutaisi Bush Camp- Tbilisi
   MP up early for his first Bush Camp toilet experience. On the road early, and arrive 8.50 at the Stalin Statue in

16. Bushcamp near Gori

17. Uplistsikhe cave compex

18. Uplistsikhe cave complex

19. Church at Uplistsikhe

20. Ruins at Uplistsikhe

Gori for photos. Too early for the museum, so out along the road to the Uplistsikhe cave complex up on the north bank of the Mtkvari river, 10km east of Gori. An interesting long, steeply inclined tunnel with wooden stairs rises from the river level to the occupied cave levels.  Town was founded around 1000BC, but developed mainly from the 6th century BC to the 1st century AD. A main caravan route from Asia to Europe ran just north of the city. We are accompanied by a brown dog with an exposure complex, who is encouraged by the Poms suffering dog deprivation. The cave area is extensive, with a decorated theatre cave with imitation wood log ceilings. There is a 10th century church on top of the hill, with an interesting structure, and strong iron-clad doors. Lots of noisy teenagers on a Sunday outing.
   From the top of the complex, can see across the river to a pumping station and 4-pipe rising main for an irrigation system, but it, too, looks abandoned. Good photo on the way out of the cave complex from across the river.
   Back to Gori to see the Stalin Museum, (he was born in Gori) in an immense, fancy building specially built for the purpose in 1957. Were allowed photography here, and a slower speaking, large female guide. The whole performance was pro-Stalin, although it was admitted "some mistakes were made".  Omits most of the negative

21. Stalin Statue, Gori

22. Stalin Museum, Gori

information in our guidebook. Photo of the impressive stairway, Stalin statues, his death mask, original house in which the family had one room, his personal train carriage and the building itself. Lots of historic photos of young Joe the bohemian poet, expelled seminary student, international figure.

23. Attempts to improve housing look

24. Hiltop monastery near Mtskheta

25. Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Mtskheta

26. Orthodox priest, Mtskheta

Next stop on the way to Tbilisi was the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral at Mtskheta, from the 11th century, a really impressive tall structure, with proportions much like Gothic, but more massive. Photo inside, particularly the not-so-round dome, and columned openings in internal walls. Lot of marble plaques on the floor with carving and inscription, presumably tombs, frescoes on the walls, lots of candles and devout worshippers.
   Outside, photos of the structure, with a hilltop monastery or church beyond, bell tower, and an ancient orthodox priest dispensing holy water to the penitent. Back at the truck Dan and Jim have been amusing themselves, clowning around to entertain the troops.

27. Dan, our serious driver/guide

   Retrace our path back over the bridge, and head on into Tbilisi, the capital, population 1.7 million, almost ten times the size of the next biggest town.  Looks pretty grim on the outskirts, but more charming closer to the centre. Have to battle with traffic in the narrow road to the GTM hotel, with a wedding going on across the road, and lots of traffic. Unfortunately find the camera too late, as the wedding party was traditionally dressed, and singing national songs as they marched down the street.
   Considerable delay booking in as there is a problem with the room being ready, then a problem with neither Jerri or Katherine prepared to accept a portable cot and double bed in the same room. We end up in a smaller double room, Jim and Dan get ours, which has more room for a portable cot, and Jerri and Katherine get the twin bed room meant for Dan and Jim.
   Check in, and immediately start washing, with DP out for a quick pastry takeaway. Long showers and 3 hour sleep (only meant to be an hour after the previous night's bad sleep). Into town about 7pm after changing $50, then finding the right bridge to cross to the Old Town, which was quite close. Run into Natalya on the bridge, who directs us towards the eating area. 

28. Tbilisi - St George column lit up at night

29. Tbilisi - TV tower lit up at night

  Walk the wrong way at first, then find the outdoor cafe streets. Walk up and down, but can't see what we want. End up walking up as far as the St George column, then a bit further in pursuit of internet for tomorrow. Walk back to where we ran into Paul, Nick and Katherine, and decide on soup and bread here, plus drinks, then walk back with them to the hotel.
   Sleep not too bad until 4am phone SMS from Australia, then awake for a while, with a lot of light from outside. Rig up a curtain extension with the pashmina and pins, but have uneasy sleep, not sure of breakfast timing
Monday 9 June  - Tbilisi
    Up at 9 for a typical Georgian breakfast. Rearrange washing for minimum impact to cleaning staff, then out by 11 on a walking tour led by a young girl student. She turns out to be Tamuna, the daughter of our hostess in Mestia, and is mentioned in the guide book. The walk takes us to the old town and up the hill, past old houses, a tiled mosque, and up towards the fort. A feature of the streets is the exposed steel gas piping, which runs typically 3 metres off the ground, zig zagging up the hill. Exceedingly ugly with a variety of sizes and shapes of pipe, joins etc.

30. Tbilisi - churches and fort

31. Tbilisi - modernist building

32. Old fort in Tbilisi

33. Ugly gas pipe infrastructure in Tbilisi

   Pay 1Lari each entry to the Botanical Gardens, and walk up along winding path and steps to a bridged waterfall, then up to the top of the fort for photos over the town. A lot of the structure is derelict, with a partially standing structure at the south end claimed by the "Hellenic Nation", and enclosed by a blue and white striped fence. The Greek embassy will go here.

34. Waterall in Botanical Gardens, Tbilisi

35.Unfortunate position of sword on statue-Tbilisi

36. Overview of Tbilisi

37. Another overview of Tbilisi

 
   Down hill past canoodling couples, and up to an old church, with a wall around it. Have a precarious climb up the wall for more photos.
   Back in town, walk through the same streets we covered last night, stopping at a restaurant, GMC, across the street from the fast food outlet we nearly used last night. It is not obviously a restaurant from outside, but quite swish inside. Leave the ordering to the guide, and have a great meal for about 10 lari each. Have a good pastry wrapped mince meat roll (kabob), cheese filled pastries (khachapuri), spicy meat dumplings (khinkali), bean stew with herbs and spices (lobio) which is soaked up with bread,  and various other bits and pieces.

38. Georgian wine - Badagoni wine label

39. Tiblisi - lots lovelyy old buildings

40. Tbilisi- interestingi streets

41. Tbilisi - lots of lovely old buildings

42. Tbilisi - lots interesting architecture

   After,  walk the main street, past the parliament house. Our guide leaves us then, after making sure everyone knew how to get home. The group splits almost immediately. We walk up the main road past MacDonalds and the Rustaveli metro station. Kept walking as far as a roundabout with a strange statue, then decide to have a go on the metro, in spite of there being very little information.
   Pay our .40 lari, then take a really long escalator down to the station, DP wants a photo, but MP gets a negative from the guard. Ask a young woman on the station which way to Avlabari. Indicates which platform, then we see the route on the wall in Georgian and Roman, so know we are on the right track. 
   The metro is pretty basic Soviet technology, noisy and rough, not crowded, but no seats. We only go two stops, and exit via another long escalator to a square with a familiar long, blue balconied 8 storey building. We have seen this from the far side of the city, and is quite near our home. Have a quick look around the area, a bit seedy, but interesting. Walk through a dodgy tunnel, and back home. Play some pool. Decide to give the evening meal a miss, as still full from lunch.  To bed, not hungry,but not far off it.
    Tuesday 10 June  - Tbilisi
   Free day. Had read a week-old local paper, which said there was to be a major demonstration today, when the new Parliament is to sit, as people not happy with the election results. There had been a number of demonstrations since November, including three recently.  There have also been a lot of police in the streets since we've been here.  However, when we read the new paper, find that the Parliament suddenly, without notice, opened three days earlier, and people didn't  have time to change their plans, so only about 50,000 turned up, rather than the 300,000 at an earlier demonstration. Hopefully all will be  quiet today.
Make a late start, then walk up the hill past our Metro stop, through rough, narrow streets, with a lot of perilous derelict houses, and up through the still unfinished side gate of the new Tsminda Sameba (Holy Trinity) Cathedral.

43. New Holy Trinity Cathedral, Tbilisi

The interior is fairly plain, but impressively tall (84 metres to the top of the gold-covered cross above its central dome). The main gate and belfry on the city side is massive, and more or less finished. The plaza is surprisingly elevated, with good views over the city. Walk downhill past the new presidential palace with its mini glass "gherkin", where there is a heavy security presence. See a local pulled out of a car from

44. Old and new of Tbilisi

45. Decrepit buildings, Tbilisi

46. More decrepit buildings, Tbilisi

47. Underside of bridge in urgent need of repair

which he is filming something. He is escorted away, but the tone of the "arrest"seemed pretty friendly. MP careful to ask before taking photos in the other direction, of a precariously bulging building wall. Further down the street photo a tall building with the verandah posts hanging in space.
   Try to cross the road here but pretty scary so try an underpass, but it has a vehicle parked in it, and an apparent dead end. Up to street level, no obvious way out, then follow a man back into it. Find it's not a dead end, but leads onto a lower pedestrian gallery on the bridge. MP is amazed at the deterioration of the structure. Takes photos up through access panels at holes in the structure.
   We decide to head  for the funicular, walking through the narrow back streets. Good photos of old houses, derelict church full of burnt books, photo in hot, humid bakery cellar of the classic oven while buying bread.

48. Inside a lovely old church

49. More decrepit old buildings

50. Old decrepit church with burnt books

51. Dianner at the bakers

Chew on hot bread all the way up to the funicular entrance. Find it a work site, with the heavy Soviet concrete being covered by a metal flower form. The funicular should be operational, but behind schedule. We are now a fair way up the hill,  so continue up the zigzag road to the Mamadaviti church (1850)near the mid-station. The church is being rebuilt, and the road is pretty rough.The church is pretty, well-situated, and we are taken over by a cheerful old priest who shows us into the 5th century cave church, the hermitage of St David Gareja, with a spring and deep pool with steps down into it. Supposed to be good for the eyes,  but DP doesn't bite.
  Back down to internet. Run into Rob in the first place, internet is slow, and can't engage the quick photo upload so takes forever to upload a couple of photos.
   Move on to another internet, and find the operator a lot more helpful, gives us administrator privileges which are required to install ActiveX, and upload a lot of pictures. Have a break for a while to go to loo at MacDonalds. and get a shake and chips, back to find he is having a half-hour break. Up to the supermarket opposite MacDonalds. More sparkling plonk, cherry juice, water, then back to finish internetting to 9pm, then onto the tube after dark, and back to the hotel.
   Tub up a bit, then out to the flash restaurant opposite, but find they are closed, in spite of the sign in the window.
To the Kopala Hotel, which we know has a restaurant. Get directed to the roof terrace, where the hostess  has decided it is too late. Has second thoughts, finds there is still an hour to go, so we proceed to the terrace, where we find Paul, Jerri and Kat. They have finished, Jerri leaves, while Paul and Kat stay a while. MP has a good Beef Stroganoff, with excellent chips, DP an "interesting" local dish. Good wine by the glass. The restaurant has a wonderful location, with great views over all the special buildings and monuments, which are floodlit every night,

52. Tbilisi by night

53. Tbilisi by night

54. Daphne in front of our hotel, Tbilisi

which looks great. Take photos, then back to the hotel to prepare for tomorrow's early start.
Wednesday 11 June                      Tbilisi - Telavi
   Away on time, out of Tbilisi. Stop on the outskirts where there is a massive covered market selling cheap Chinese goods. We stop for a look, have to be careful not to get lost. Buy a Mercedes cap for 2 Lari, 2 glasses chains for 4 Lari each, no reduction for quantity. Back on the road, up into the mountains, come upon an escarpment with wide views over the flat Alazani valley floor, with the Caucasus beyond just visible through the cloud and smog. Actually stop for photos and comfort. Further on, take photos of Bodbe Convent, a very tall building set in tall pencil pines. 

55. Vineyards outside Tbilisi

56. Bodbe Convent

57. Sighnaghi, Georgia

58. Sighnaghi, Georgia

59. Sighnaghi, Georgia

  Come to the heavily restored 18th century town of Sighnaghi, very Disneyland-ish, but picturesque. Find most of the buildings in the centre either new or rebuilt, with old Mediterranean tiles stacked in heaps, and new imitation tiles on all the roofs. Take a long walk looking for the town wall, finally finding it a km out the exit road, then back down to the lower north-east side of town to look at the picturesque 19th century St George's church, wall gate, wall bastion - all more authentic than the rest of the town. Back in town, getting hungry, run into Nick and Jerri in a simple restaurant, just about to leave. They seem to like the food and wine, apparently happy with the price, so we order the kebabbi, a double sausage, and bread, plus a glass of wine, and inherit the remains of Jerri's khachapuri. We are short on cash, just have a $20US note plus small change, but can't change at the bank because we don't have our passports with us. Borrow 20 Lari from Paul. Ask how much before we get too involved. Find the bill comes to 20 Lari. Shocked, ask how much without the wine, price knocked back to 18. Refuse to pay, ask for a detailed bill. Another older woman came in to have a say (suspect she was telling the woman she had overdone it) then the bill was written 6 for kebabi, 2 for bread, 3 for sauce. Paid with a certain amount of rancour, DP made up kebabi sandwich, against MP's advice that they were cooked pretty quickly, with suspect ingredients, but she scoffs the lot, and has no problems. MP ate the khachapuri leftover, but left the rest.
  In the small town, we have run into 5 of the 9 foreign tourists in town in unlikely places.
   Back in the bus, proceed to Telavi on narrow roads lined with farmhouses on either side, fields and vineyards behind. Lots of fruit for sale on the roadside, looks colourful, but unable to get a good photo. Finally stop to buy some, but all strawberries, don't really need a 30 Lari bucket of them.
   We are following ZsaZsa in his little blue car, through the centre of Telavi, and a long way uphill on a divided road with a central canal, and a collection of large, Soviet era pipes in it, some have been cut and shut for re-use for some purpose, possibly gas.
   Turn past a scary looking recycled Soviet building, possibly full of refugees, then along half a km to a large, 2 storey house with a large garden - our homestay. Move in -we, again, get the flash double room, with ensuite, if right off the dining room. Several people check out the room to see what we are getting that they aren't.
   Have a look from the top floor out over the valley, but the massive mountains across the valley are too obscured by clouds for photographs. MP sees an interesting step-powered toy on the back verandah.
   As we have 4 hours till tea, decide to chance the long walk into town and find more Laris and the internet. Have trouble orienting the map, as we know where the town centre is, and can see what we think are the landmark ruins. Figure either the map is wrong, or the North point of the map, or the compass. Find the town centre OK, find banks, but can't exchange without passports. Get some info from a girl at the bank, go to the quite good market, looking for an exchange place, expecting it to be obvious. After 2 circuits, ask at a booth on the street, fluke the right place. Buy a kilo of cherries, go in pursuit of the internet on the way to the ruins. Find a derelict industrial building with layabout hoons, the street of the bakers, finally stand on the baker's woodpile to see the ruins, but it still seems all wrong. Back in the main street, find enough landmarks and distinctive streets to indicate the map is not upside down. Follow our newly vindicated map to the internet to find it is available, but the server

60. Batonistsikhe Castle, Telavi

61. Homestay dinner, Telavi

62. Daphne outside our homestay, Telavi

is down. Walk to the real Batonistsikhe Castle and ruins for photos, then back the long haul up the hill, now thoroughly exhausted.  Pass Kat and Natalya up the hill, resting, then meet Paul and Rob, who have found that the place on our corner is a bar. Music cranking out, 50p beers, free wine. We give it a miss, and Paul pays for it later, as by the time the toasts start at tea time, he is already half malo.
   Another excellent homestay evening meal, interesting food, including sweet pickled walnuts (green, still in their shells), sour plum sauce, mince-stuffed tomatoes and peppers, salad, thin soup with mutton, cheese, aubergines,  heaps of wine, and a grappa which tasted like Scotch. Since Mestia when Jim and Dan overdid the local wine, and Paul was OK, because he said he knew his limit, others have been trying to make him drunk.  This night he finally found, and then exceeded, his limit, not helped by a horn which was filled with wine, and then downed in one go. MP managed to keep his drinking to a manageable level, in spite of multiple toasts, and one go of the horn.  No hangover, although not real flash in the morning.
Thursday 12th June              Telavi- Bush Camp near Azerbaijan border
    Drive through dense forest in the hills up to the isolated Akhali Shuamta monastery, which is now used as a convent. Women have to don shapeless wrap-around skirts, Paul has to borrow stained but relatively clean jeans from Dan to cover his shorts. The church in the convent is fairly typical, dark, with Russian whitewash removed to reveal almost continuous 16th century frescoes in the lower sections, but no photos, and no loud noises. Photos outside, group of schoolkids in a bright yellow bus cranking out loud rock music. A teacher asked if we wanted the kids to dance some traditional dances for us. One couple were quite good with an ethnic pas-de-deux, the girl with expressive hand and arm movements. 

63. Badagoni winery

  On to our winery visit, a great disappointment. We were expecting a couple of hundred year old traditional winery, set in ancient vineyard, and instead got a brand new factory/office building, made in the form of a St George cross, set in a cow paddock. It has an impressive modern gatehouse with bottle sales, and a new, but shoddily built glass and timber office in front of the factory. Given the promo on modern enterprise, look at photos of the heavy hitters, including our guide Zsa and his brother the Archbishop or similar, at the opening, then into the factory for the tour of a flash new stainless steel winery, and cellar below, with complex brick wall patterns, and a timber beam false ceiling covering the concrete beams.
   Do a tasting upstairs in the large tasting and entertaining room, with a wood floored verandah with glass balustrades and stainless steel railings. Sounds good, but the external flooring was badly weathered, the stainless railing was sagging, the internal flooring was low quality veneer planking, starting to dog-ear at the corners, and the air conditioners in the ceiling had big gaps around some of them.
   The wine itself was Badagoni, which we have seen and drunk throughout Georgia, and found acceptable, if not brilliant. Tried 3 types of semi-sweet white, one of semi-sweet red.  Wines tried were Vazisubani Dry White 2005 (our favourite), Manavi Dry White 2005 (bit like chardonnay-didn't like), Tsinandali Dry White 2005 and Saperavi Dry Red 2005.  Also had some nuts, and some churchkhela, which is mad of nuts surrounded by a mixture of grape juice and flour, which was quite good.
On top of last night's effort, didn't feel the need to drink all of every glass, though Paul did, which saved him from having to sober up from last night. The tour cost 18 lari each, which was pretty expensive for 4 glasses of wine. Ended up buying several bottles, semi-sweet white and red. Already have some of the champagne.

64. Alaverdi Cathedral

65. Small town near Georgian/Azerbaijan border

66. Tower and church, Gremi

67. Daphne in front of tower and church, Gremi

   Passed the Alaverdi Cathedral without stopping - photographed as we passed.
On to the defensive tower and church at Gremi, for photos. Saw a classic old lady selling souvenirs at the carpark. Rake thin, nose almost touching chin, but weren't game to photograph her. Paul decides to buy a large, black plastic revolver, just the thing for a sensitive border crossing.
   Lunch al-trucko. Stop for Dan to make an expedition into the bush - comes back with an old steel bed frame to use for the barbecue they have promised for tonight. Meat has been marinating all day in the fridge.
   Before finding our bush camp, send Jerri and Paul off in a taxi to negotiate for a 20 litre jerrycan full of local wine. Costs 35 Lari, and negotiations include a few more drinks for Paul, who really doesn't need them. They also have shots of grappa, and come back with authentic farm fruits as a present, but they are pretty ordinary.
   Our first attempt at a bush camp has us following a track beside an irrigation canal beside cornfields. At a turn in the canal, find a deep rut in fairly damp ground. Spend 10 minutes trying to turn, with a lot of wheel spin. Finally have to reverse all the way to the main road, watched by a couple of bemused locals. Hit a big bump and pull the muffler pipe free from the exhaust flex, so have a very noisy trip to our camp.
   Our next try is on a better track, which takes us to the edge of the hills, and a water supply dam. Set up camp

68. Free-camping near Georgian/Azerbaijan border

in a field of wildflowers which disguise a lot of ruts, prickles and rocks. In pursuit of firewood, MP goes half a km across the flats to the forested hills. Finds them picked pretty clean of firewood, and full of very thorny trees. However, he is able to drag back a respectable load for the barbecue fire.
   Dianne's group (Dianne, Fulvio, Paul) is cooking -do potatoes in alfoil with sour cream, salad and a savoury cabbage dish knocked up by Fulvio with a large dash of cooking oil.  Paul was excused as he was still drunk from last night, topped up at various times during the day.  However as he's a happy drunk, and one of the most popular people on the bus, there was no bad feeling. The BBQ wasn't a hell of a success - not enough time on a decent fire, and ended up being finished off in a pan on the gas, which worked out OK, in spite of the gas cooker rings being   ineffectual, with cool yellow flame, rather than hot, blue ones. MP may have to look into this.
   Get into the bulk wine with the meal, DP improving the taste of hers with a generous slug of cherry juice. 
After more than two weeks together, the group now has some major fractures.  One person in particular has run out of people to team up with, as she's annoyed everyone.  Six of the nine peope are going to be together for three months (we're only going for six weeks) - can imagine some real fireworks before then!
MP again is late up to quench the last log in the fast running water supply to the dam, and bury the coals. Late at night a group of drunk local wandering minstrels wander through the camp, singing loudly and drunkenly, but go on their way without challenge.
   Friday 13th June                      Bush Camp to the Georgian/Azerbaijan border
   Away fairly early. Drive down to the dam wall and down the outside face of it, and through the small town nearby. Stop for enough Diesel to get us well into Azerbaijan, then on to the Georgia/Azerbaijan border, which is

69. Rural Georgia near Georgian/Azerbaijan border

70. Near the Georgian/Azerbaijan border

quite close to the foothills of high, snow-clad mountains to the north.  We are trying to get to the border before the shift change at 10am. Make it in time, but they are having a break. ZsaZsa manages to get us ahead of a few busses, but still have to wait.  No real search of anything. Wait after immigration for the drivers to pass, then bring the truck through. At the Azerbaijan side, passports taken on the truck, check made for stowaways in the back seat, but didn't have to get out, no bag or truck search. Gave ZsaZa the tip collected by DP in the morning. Seemed pleased, bid us farewell. Out of customs - the whole exercise didn't take much more than an hour.
Summary of our thoughts on Georgia
            We had no great desire to go to Georgia, and didn't know much about it, other than that it had had a civil war after independence from Russia. We only went there because the tour we chose went there, as well as the countries we WERE interested in.
We have been pleasantly surprised, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Svaneti and the Caucasus Mountains are incredibly beautiful, if somewhat hard to reach.  The homestays have been a highlight, helped along by copious quantities of bad home wine.  The food at these has been great, giving a great insight into how the people eat. Tbilisi has lots of fine architecture and interesting backstreets and alleys.  As the word gets out, Georgia will get a lot more Western tourists in the future.