Another early wake up. A quick breakfast, and there was already the Jeep
Taxi in front of our home stay waiting for us. The ride downhill went far
faster then the ride up hill: 3 hours vs. 5h… that must be the reason why
I felt somewhat nauxious during the ride, that and the fact that the other
passangers (and grandmother and her granddaughter) had to throw up every now
and then. But the driver was considerate enough to stop the car and let them
out, so that no bad smell invaded the van…

We arrived back in Zugdidi around 10am, called our friend Koba and took the
same taxi as the day before to go to his place. There he was, and there were
our bikes. As if keeping our bikes in his garage for free wasn’t nice
enough, Koba and his family invited us for a coffee (Nescafe of course…),
and we then did a photo session in front of their house (check out the
pictures). We left Koba’s place a little later and headed directly to
Batumi, in a hurry to check out the beach there.

The ride through the countryside (partly along the coast) was lovely and
comfortable, since a slight wind and the fact that we could ride a 60km/h
average somewhat cooled down the hot temperatures. So, we made it to Batumi
around 2pm, quite easily found our homestay, and without losing any more
time, headed to the beach (which was only 300m away from the place we were
staying). We laid down on the stony beach, put some sun cream, and started
our “Far Niente” session. At first, the beach was almost empty, and started
to fill up as the afternoon advanced. At 6pm, it was packed with locals
coming there after work. We left the beach around 7:30pm, headed home for a
quick shower and then in search of a restaurant, which we found on a lovely
beach promenade.

After dinner, we then ran to the internet cafe to update our posts and
pictures, only to find out that because of some weird computer settings
(that no one seemed to understand) our blog was in Georgian characters and
the pictures would not upload… We solved the first problem, but not the
second. So, I guess you all now have to wait until we reach our next
internet cafe to see the new pictures… and this will be in Turkey, where
we are entering tomorrow. Ciao!

Svaneti is a region in the northern part of Georgia, just west from the autonomous region of Abkhasia, famous of late due to the sad war last year. The road to Mestia, a town tucked away at the very end of one of the valleys, was rumoured to be very bad. Indeed, 2 dutch travellers we met in Tbilisi had told us that they helped 2 english motorcyclists load their bikes onto the small plane that ferried goods and people from Mestia to Kutaisi and back: having ridden up, they were damned if they would ride down… We focused on the good news this message brought: there IS a plane! So today’s first task: get to the airport and try to catch the plane.

I’m not sure what we were expecting from Kutaisi’s airport, but it suffices to say that there was no port. It could perhaps be called an airfield, but that would be doing a large injustice to many small operations that actually qualify for this name. In fact, it was a field, complete with sheeps and cows, ONE sad looking hangar, 3 flying machines that looked like they had been built for Bleriot. They were BIPLANES for goodness sake! I am no plane expert, and perhaps I am mistaken, but I thought biplanes were a thing of the past… the last models dating from shortly after the first world war… Still, as positively ancient as the planes looked, they outdid the helicopter that rested just behind, looking mighty naked in the absence of all its rotor blades. There was no entrance, just a gate manned by 2 georgian (and ONLY georgian) -speaking guards. Nevertheless, we felt rather deflated when we finally made out that there was only 1 seat left on the flight. We bargained and pleaded, pleaded and bargained, but there was nothing to be done.

Back to the homestay we went, pulled the motorcycles out of the garage we had carefully packed them, felt sorry for ourselves as we pulled the motorcycle gear on in the blazing morning heat, eventually hitting the road. Being both stubborn, we weren’t going to give up the idea of seeing Svaneti, in spite of the bad roads. Still, in spite of our stubbornness, neither of us has a deathwish, so riding the bad roads all the way into the mountains was not too much of a turn-on. The solution? Ride the bikes to Zugdidi, find someplace to store them overnight and hop on a mashrutka (shared minibus) for the 4 hour ride to Mestia.

The road to Zugdidi was pleasant enough if uneventful. Finding the mashrutka stop and a mashrutka was a little more fun… At first, we were told there were no more mashrutkas today. Really? Then what are all those people over there waiting for? Hmmm… it all fell into place when we realized that the guy feeding us this information was a taxi driver! His ambition: “You leave your motorcycles at my home, I drive you to Mestia. Not expensive: 130 GEL (90 dollars)”. Mashrutrkas cost no more than 20GEL a person… we were damned if we were going to accept! When I pointed out it was SLIGHTLY too expensive, his only comeback was  “I have to eat…”. Well we have to eat too and somehow we manage with much less! After much poking around, we finally found a mashrutka that was leaving in an hour. Perfect! That gave us time to figure out what to do with the bikes. The first attempt was unsuccessful: one of the many grocery stalls opening onto the street where all these minibuses stopped seemed to belong to a house behind it, with a driveway gated off. We asked the lady, who deferred to some guy in the house: no came the answer. The conversation was overheard, however, by Kuba, a robust young Georgian man. “Garage?” he said, and then signalled that we should follow him as he hopped in a taxi. A couple blocks away, we put the bikes into his garage, changed into “tourist gear” and headed back to the bus stop in the taxi, not before carefully photographing his house and getting his mobile phone number. Did we trust him? Dunno… but i guess we were going to have to! His refusal to let us pay for the taxi was comforting… or was it really? What is a taxifare of a couple of GEL when you have 2 very expensive motorcycles sitting in your garage…

Eventually, the 4×4 minibus rumbled off packed with an excentric collection of folks: 2 strange swiss tourists riding bikes from beijing to Istanbul and 3 generations of a georgian family. A toothless grandfather, the grandmother, the father, the loud and volubile granddaughter and 2 3 further guys. To top it off, the driver, dressed in black and sporting Ray Charles-like black sunglasses looked exactly like one of the blues brothers. The toothless grandfather was drunk before getting on the bus, which didn’t prevent him from sharing in the 6 large bottles of beer the gang had brought along to make the journey happier. Clearly he enjoyed every gulp of the gold color liquid as he punctuated every gulp with a loud and gurgling belch. The loud and volubile granddaughter spent her time giggling over a mobile phone, probably discussing the latest hot georgian boy-band with her equally loud and volubile girlfriends. The grandmother complained that the toothless grandfather took up too much of the bench seat (which he did) and was perhaps chastizing him for drinking too much, although our georgian is not quite good enough to tell. Clarisse tried to sleep and then stared out of the window and I delved into my book, having only once to politely refuse to partake in the beerfest. Fortunately, and much to my surprise, nobody was sick. After 5 long hours of winding up a magnifiscent gorge, we had arrived. . Although we have ridden over much more difficult terrain, the sheer length of  (130 km) partly paved partly non narrow road combined with the terrifying speed of the cars and busses and the sheer cliffs plunging into the gorge below made us glad not to have ridden up, especially since we will have to ride down tomorrow morning.

After a fantastic feast at the homestay, by the end of which we had managed to get the 3 stuck-up older english folks who shared our table to engage in trickle-thin conversation with us, we headed out for a walk, our only chance to take in the wonderful scenery. We ambled through the village, gazing at the interesting and attractive Svan towers (each family here apparently has a square-based, narrow tower rising about 20 meters high), the purpose of which we have yet to really discover. Some were even lit up, which made for some very picturesque sights (see photo album). With night falling fast, we headed back, in need for rest to prepare for tomorrow’s long journey down the mountain.

Starting reasonably early, we had decided to go on the search of the Safara
Monastery, which our guide book and map indicated on the road from Vardzia
to Alkhatsikhe, but which we had failed to locate the day before. After
asking the manager of the hotel, it appeared the road to the monastery
started in Alkhatsikhe itself… No wonder we couldn’t find it. So we went to
the said intersection, and the road leading uphill was not paved… We took
our chances and took the road. Of course, as is to be expected with mountain
roads, the quality of the road degraded as we climbed up the hill… But since
we had started, we thought we’d also finish. After 10 km of hybrid riding,
and MAGNIFICENT view of the lower Caucasus mountains, we reached the
monastery. The monastery itself was not particular, but its location, lost
in the middle of the mountainous green forests, and the difficulty to reach
it, nevertheless gave it a special flavor. The ride down went somewhat
smoother than the ride up, but all in all, it took us almost 2 hours to ride
up and down.

So, we left Alkhatsikhe around 10:30am heading towards Kutaisi. We made a
lunch stop in Borjomi, famous for its sparkling, slightly salt mineral
water. There was said to be a “water park” in borjomi with a swimming pool
of source water up the hill. We reached the park, and engaged into a lovely
walk through the park and 3km up the hill to reach the swimming pool,
consisting of two basins in which source water was flowing. We did not swim,
since we had not bothered to unpack our swimming gear, but we nevertheless
enjoyed the walk through the park woods. After a quick hot dog at the park
entrance we continued our way.

We reached Kutaisi around 3pm, but the map in our guide book was not very
precise. Added to the fact that we could not figure out from which side (on
the map) we had entered the city, navigating it was quite a challenge. After
finally figuring out where to go, we discovered that the road thereto was
“paved” with stones and dust, and little rivers… Fortunately, after sending
Mark on a scouting mission by foot, we figured there was a second road
leading up the hill… There we went, and eventually found the home stay we
were looking for. Luckily, there was still a room for us, although the place
was quite full with 2 other Swiss, 2 Finns, 2 Turks and 1 Mexican (who we
had met already at the homestay in Tbilisi). We had a lovely dinner prepared
by the landlady, and some Georgian wine….

About Georgian wine: Although it looks like a rose, it is actually a white
wine and it is pink because of the making process during which the skin is
left on the grapes. However, I did not know this and therefore believed this
pinkish wine to be a pink version of our red wine. As such, I must say that
I did not like it very much (to say the least). Now, considering that it is
supposed to be a white wine, I would need to try it again…. and reform a new
judgment. Anyway, although I had only 3-4 glasses, I woke up with a headache
that followed me the next 2 days… So, no more Georgian wine for me on this
trip. Ciao!

Having crisscrossed Tbilisi & some surroundings in the past few days, our last day in this decidedly pleasant city was spent relaxing, organizing, interneting and conferencing. Only few days of “rest” are left before we get to Istanbul and much organizational points remain outstanding. Our morning and early afternoon was spent taking care of some of the sailent items.

Our first challenge of the evening was to find the New Art Cafe, where CENN’s Green Cafe was to be held, at which we had been invited to speak. We did find the place in the end, but not without asking half the town’s population where to find it. To our great (or perhaps not actually…) surprise, most people shook their heads or shrugged their shoulders, in spite of the very central location of the street! Perhaps was it our pronounciation?!?

In the end, we arrived… with time to spare too! People trickled in and we chatted with members of the Swiss Embassy staff, through whom we had gotten this gig, while helping CENN to set up. With around 30 faces staring at us, we kicked the event off, briefly introducing our trip, how it came to be and talking about the environmental aspects of it. The format being a discussion, we hoped to introduce a dialog, not only between us and the audience but also amongst the audience. The talk, veering on the short side, seemed well received and few decent questions were asked. Though I would have liked to foster a larger, longer discussion on climate change, I think at least we managed to get our point accross: EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS, SO WE MUST ALL CONSIDER THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE LIFESTYLE WE CHOSE TO LIVE. First and foremost all of us enjoying very privileged lives. We urge you, ALL OF YOU, to think about the environment next time you get in your car, buy a plane ticket, open the tap, run the shower etc. etc. and do what you can to minimize your impact!

Following the Green Cafe, we retired with some new friends to a neat restaurant/bar called Pur Pur, set in a building in Tbilisi’s old town. The hours ticked by, as they always do in good company, and soon it was time for us to head “home” in preparation for morning tracks that should take us to Armenia, our 7th country! Woohooo

We woke up early and after some fresh and still warm pastries for breakfast, we took the subway to the bus station looking for the bus for Mtshketa, a village near Tbilisi known for its churches and therefore famous place for pilgrimage. We quickly found the bus (although pronouncing the word Mtshketa was not easy and therefore not straightly successful), which left fully packed. We arrived in Mtshketa half an hour later and walked around the village visiting the churches. One of them was situated on the top of a hill, about 1 hour hike from the village. Since it was still early and we had nothing else to do, we opted for the hike, which took us firstly through a park, then through a river, after which we had to cross the high way, before finding the final path trough a prairie (with snakes) and a forest to the church. The view was really nice and the atmosphere very peaceful. We rested there for a moment and made our way back to the village, where we had lunch: some Hajapuri (the georgian version of quesadillas). We went back to Tbilisi early afternoon and by then it was so hot that we again fell for a nap in our cool hostel room. We emerged only a few hours later and decided to try out the local baths. Since we felt a little guilty to have slept the whole afternoon, we went there by foot and crossed almost half the city. On the way there, we noticed an interesting phenomenon: What do georgians do when their is a traffic jam? They drive on the side walks!

After 45min of what i would call power walking, we arrived at the baths in desperate need of a shower! We paid the entrance fee, 2 lari for women, 3 lari for men and each of us entered into the corresponding gender section. After a changing room with lockers, the stairs led to a underground shower room where 10 (mostly elderly) naked women were washing themselves. In the back there was a stone bench, obviously the massage area. There, an elderly overweighted woman immediately identified me as a massage target and quite authoritatively ordered me to come over. I obeyed, led down and she started. She first peeled my skin with a straw glove, quite painful, but according to the layer of skin that got off, also quite necessary. She than washed my entire body with my soap and simultaneously massageg me, while regularly pursuing the peeling session, this time using her nails rather than the glove. This all sounds quite harsh, it also felt this way, but although i did suffer a bit during the massage, i felt great and envigorated afterwards. After our bath experience, we ended the day with a cocktail in a funky area of the old town.
Tbilisi definetly seems like a nice place to hang out. Ciao!

Posted by Wordmobi

The sun was already hot as we set out to explore the city. Armed with the “trusty” Lonely Planet, we decided to follow the Walking Tour of the city it recommends.

The first quarter of the pleasant walk took us down the main street, strewn with elegant shops, the academy of sciences (a beautiful stalinist construct), the opera, a concert hall and the parliament. In front of the latter a few stands had been erected with people calling for the resignation of the Georgian president, Michael Saakachvili. Completely independently of any political perspective we may have, it is good to be in a country that visibly allows its popoulation the right to protest and organize manifestations!

At the end of the street, freedom square opened up, with St.George killing the dragon atop a tall white marble column. From there, we swung into the narrow windy streets of the old town. With most buildings yet to be renovated, zigzagging in the shade of these at times rather decrepid houses was most enjoyable.

Eventually the old rickety buildings gave way to a small but very atmospheric neighborhood of new cafes & restaurants. We promised ourselves to come back here one evening to check out the local night-life!

Finally, we wound past Heydar Aliev square (him again?!? he was the former leader of Azerbaijan!), where Tbilisi’s famous sulphur baths are located. Another place to try out!

Throughout the walk, we visited any number of lovely Georgian Orthodox curches, complete with dark frescoes, icons, the heavy smell of incense and always a goodly number of faithful in prayer.

Once done with the guided walk, we strolled back to the hotel, following the river where a surprising number of locals were happily fishing. They seemed to be having a ball of a time, despite the rather minute size of fish they seemed to be catching.

As for us, we took refuge from the hot air and opted for yet another delicious nap before our evening appointment. Invited by Anita Schluechter of the Swiss Embassy, we enjoyed a very pleasant dinner in the company of a number of local environmentalists and some members of staff from the Swiss Embassy. With a couple of hours of good food, good food and excellent company under our belts, we were ready for another rest

Woken up by the sunlight and the noice of the traffic on th adjacent road, I sneaked out of the tent. The rain had stopped a few hours ago and had left no trace. Everything was dry already, although the sky remained somewhat covered, letting only a small room for a timid sun. For once, we would not ride in the burning sun. A nice change.

Eating my bread and chocolate for breakfast, we received the visit of yet another neighbour farmer. Although communication was somewhat difficult, as usual, he seemed very friendly and it seemed to us that if he had known we were staying there in a tent, he would have invited us to his house and shared his food. After a thorough look at our tent and our bikes, he disappeared and came back a few minutes later and offered us some apricots. What a nice gesture.

We packed our stuff, and rode off heading towards Tbilisi. However, we made a small detour to the monastery we visited the day before, hoping to locate my gloves, which I couldn’t find anywhere. Strangely, I have absolutely no memory of what I did with my gloves… There weren’t at the other monastery either. They seemed to have disappeared… Luckily, I am sure Tbilisi is big enough a town to be able to find some replacement.

So, we headed off for Tbilisi, under a covered sky, which offered us some fresh air as we rode through a very green mountain pass (1600m). The road was not as nice as the scenary, but we got used to that.  So, we arrived in Tbilisi shortly before noon, and found our way to a little home stay, situated near the river in a very lively street. We unloaded our and bikes, went to lunch. After a series of unsatisfactory lunches and dinners, we opted for a traditional georgian restaurant, where we ate Georgian Dumplings (quite ok, but not as good as Ding Tai Fung…), eggplant mousse (delicious!), Lubjana (bread with black bean paste inside), and baked cheese… Quite a treat! We came back to the hotel, and after such a treat, you can only do one thing: a nap. So we slept the remaining part of the afternoon, and spent the evening reading and revising our route plan.

Quite an ordinary day. Peaceful and smooth. Ciao!