Ushgali and wrap up

 I finished my 4 day, roughly 45 mile, trek through the Caucasus Mountains in the small UNESCO designated village of Ushgali. It was a rainy 8 mile walk mostly on the road. I walked a good deal of it with a  nice young Danish couple who were quite interested in U.S. politics.  They asked me whether I thought Trump was a danger to democracy and whether abortion was now banned in many US states. I said ”no” to the first and then asked them what was the abortion law in Denmark (they said abortions were mostly banned after 12- 18 weeks or so). When I told them that abortion on demand with no time limit was the law in some US states (e.g. Mass, Calif, NY), they were incredulous tho they described themselves as in the center politically.  They truly were shocked by my statement as what they heard from the Danish media seemed different.  Huh.  Picture of this nice Danish couple below 

The village of Ushgsali is famous for its medieval Svaneti towers-

Some Georgian establishments don’t look like much but have solid neon signs nevertheless-

You gotta love the "Sweet Home" sign.  

There seem to be Danes everywhere in the Caucasus Mountains. Perhaps a 21st century Viking invasion, albeit without long boats. I gave a lift back to Tbilisi to my 2 young (28 years old) Viking hiking friends and quite enjoyed their lively company which I found more to my taste than one young, mostly humorless Frenchman I encountered at my guesthouse in Adishi.  The Danes were not so fond of the French saying the first thing the guy would probably do when he returned to France was go on strike. 

Had dinner with the Danes in Tbilisi as well.  They were about 6'3" with maybe 1% body fat between them. 

Good news- they may be coming to a lake house near you next year. 

Did a wine tour and a visit to a famous church high in the Caucasus Mountains. The church is supposedly the highest Eastern Orthodox Church in the world at about 8000’-

Evidently You have to be multi skilled to be a monk at the church and good at adapting old coke bottles-

The tour to get to the church and Mt Kazbegi took us by some impressive scenery, a Russia- Georgia “Friendship Monument" (now a bit in abeyance after a few wars), and some old churches and villages 

I really wanted one these shepherds hats-

This “Kaz Burger” place looked strangely familiar-

Looking north to Russia only 7 km (4 miles for you Americans) away-

The trip to the primary wine region of Georgia- Khaketi- was fun as it included some bread making methods if you don’t have a bread making machine- 

Apparently they have heard of Sam’s wife here-

And our minibus driver was apparently a fan of some obscure English car show-

A few final pictures of this beautiful and fascinating country that truly does feel like it is at a cross road of the world-

Kind of a tight squeeze if you are a mason building defense towers-

View from my guesthouse in Mestia (poles are ski lifts) where I started my trek to Ushgali-

My fine guesthouse in Mestia below, albeit missing a few stones in the upper floor-

I met people from all over the world while hiking and touring in Georgia- Denmark, UK, France, South Africa, Serbia, Israel, Guatemala, Russia,  Egypt, Australia, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Spain, Romania and probably some others that I have forgotten. It was a fascinating trip through an extraordinary country.  At a lunch on a tour, they asked us to give toasts and I gave a toast to the Georgian love of freedom and to their country's survival, notwithstanding their juxtaposition to much larger countries and their being subject to many invasions- e.g. Greek, Roman, Mongolian, Persian, Russian-  over the centuries.  Quite the country.  That's all from Georgia!

 

Adeshi to Ipari

 Every town or village in Georgia seems to end in a vowel. Maybe they never got over the Roman conquest and they just like Italian 

Long hike today (7+ hours ).  The signs on the trail seem to make no sense. It will say 2 hours to Ipari and then after hiking for 2 hours you will find Ipari is still 1:50 hours away.

You had to cross a rushing mountain stream to get to Ipari and one way was to hire a horse to take you across. With my riding skill, that was a no brained-

If glaciers are your thing, the Caucasus have them-

But if you want entertainment while hiking, they also have movie theaters on their trails-

And of course your everyday alpine scenery-

Georgians don’t skimp on food which is served family style in the guesthouses-

Zhanbeshi to Adeshi to Ipari

 I am doing a 4 day roughly 50 mile trek (you have to add on 10-20% for the usual getting lost, however - kind of like tipping the amount varies by th hike) through the high Georgia Caucasuses. It started in Mestia and overnight stays in the villages of Zhabeshi, Adeshi, and Imari- all household names in the trekking community. . It ends in Ushgauli and then you return to Mestia by shared 4x4.  I can’t remember or pronounce any of these places and I am staying in all  

The hike to Adeshi started with trail blocked by a fierce wild beast-

No direct eye contact was made  

Overcast with some rain which made the trail mostly a slippery muddy mess but still offered some great vistas-

I did walk by this interesting outdoor cafe with a roof of local ingredients-

My lodgings in Adeshi wouldn’t remind anyone of the Ritz-

 But beer and a nice view-