Georgia Day 3: Mestia to Tsvirmi

It was a sunny morning with good visibility, and we set out on our journey!

 We took the cable car up to the top of the hill, had a coffee and some cake, and then headed off on the trail.

 There were plenty of people up there doing the same thing. We learned that it had been raining for a full week and today was the first clear day! We are so lucky with the weather.

 But soon the crowds thinned out and we were alone on the trail. We walked along a ridge top with stunning mountain peaks on all sides of us. It was absolutely spectacular!

 We contoured along the ridge top and then the flank of a mountainside, then dropped down into the village of Tsvirmi where we would stay the night.  The spectacular peak of Mt Tetnuldi dominated the skyline.

Roza had booked us in to stay at Lili's Guesthouse, so as we entered the village we started asking the people we saw for this place, and they pointed us down the road.

 At last we found it, and were delighted to meet a smiley woman carrying a baby on her hip. Turns out the baby is called Lili (named for the grandmother, who we also met). The smiley lady, Katia, showed us to our rooms and we happily dropped our packs there. 

Here is a view of the house from a distance - it is the one in the center of the photo below:

We left the kids to relax and Rhods and I set off for the alleged market for some beer. We were surprised to discover that this tiny shack with an umbrella was the market! We met 2 Belgian ladies who had the same idea, and we sat with them in the shade drinking beer and chatting.

 Eva and her daughter Mumtaaz were on the same journey that we were on, and we had a fun time chatting with them.

 We returned in time to have showers before dinner at 7 pm. The food was outstanding but it was served at a table in someone's bedroom. A bit strange!

 After dinner, we played some Yatzee and cards and then went to bed.

The 4 day trek overview

In doing some research about Georgia, I came across the mention of a 65 km trek from Mestia to Ushguli, which is in the Svaneti region in the north of the country near the Russia border.  I talked Rhodri into it, and he took over the logistics planning in order to book our accommodation and transport for the entire trip. The photos of this trekking route just looked too gorgeous and exotic, and we decided to go for it! We chose to do a variation of the main route which started with a cable car (chair lift) up from Mestia as the first leg.  Here is an overview of the route from another website..

Georgia Day 2: Kutaisi to Mestia

We had breakfast at 9:30 am and then tried (in vain) to find an ATM to get some cash. Jabba picked us up at 11am and we drove 5 hours up north to Mestia.

 We were very cautious about crossing the street, but an old man in front of us just took off in front of many moving cars and slowly made his way across the street!

We saw many street dogs and statues while we drove around Kutaisi looking for cash machines.

It was pretty cozy in the back seat of Jabba's Toyota Prius but we survived the 5 hr drive

We stopped for a bio break in the mountains and Rhiannon learned about squat toilets! That was a new low for her. The houses here look really different - many interesting windows and staircases.

 

Finally we made it to Roza's Guesthouse

 

 We settled into our rooms and relaxed for a bit, then headed out into the town to find dinner.

 We decided to eat at a place on the main street that had a ping pong table, although we never got a chance to play.

 And then we walked back to Roza's place, encountering some cows, dogs and pigs on the way.

We settled in for the night and prepared to get a reasonable start in the morning as we get our 4 day trek underway!

Georgia Day 1: London to Kutaisi

We are off now on holiday in Georgia!
First we did some serious kit checking in the nights before...

Some final text messages...

And then we drove to Gatwick, took the train to Luton, and flew to Kutaisi.
Jabba the driver met us at the “David the Builder International Kutaisi” airport and took us to the Hostel Mandaria.
Here is a little haiku I wrote as I was trying to fall asleep:
Long day but we’re here
Curly-wurly words on signs
Neon lights and rain

 

It was a 5 hr flight, and we landed in pouring rain. It was nice to see a sign which had 'Rhodri Lewis' written on it! Jabba drove us to this hostel in central Kutaisi.

 

They had some strange signs on the walls at this place...

 

We had a good time laughing at some strange Georgian music videos while we got ready for bed.

End of school

After the play the Year 6 kids went bowling in Crawley. Rhods and I came along to supervise.

Then today was the Leavers Service in the church from 11:00, followed by a picnic lunch at the Rec and the annual Parents v Kids game of Rounders. I had to leave early to get back to work, but Rhods led the Parents side to victory!
The service was really special because of all the care and effort that went into reflections and comments about each of the 9 graduates. The finale was a video that featured the whole school but focused on the Year 6 kids.
Here is the parade of children walking from the school up to the church.

And now, some sharing of memories by each of the year 6 kids

These are some of the lyrics to the Leavers Son. It does get everyone choked up as the school honors those graduating and all the efforts that made their years in primary school successful.

And after, everyone signs the school shirts of those graduates. Here is Tryfs with his little buddy, Charlotte.

Afterwards, we all walked down to the Rec for a picnic lunch and the Rounders game. It was a warm, sunny day - perfect for a celebratory picnic!

Plastic Pirates

Tryfan’s class put on a play today after just 2 weeks of practice.
I arrived back from my work travels just in time to see it!
Tryfan played the part of Captain Clingfilm.

He even had a solo song

Abu Dhabi for the week

From Siberia, I flew with my two colleagues to Abu Dhabi for a week of workshop

 We had some good times!

Tyumen for the week

 I've had a great week visiting the Siberian Training Center.