So what's been happening for the last 2 weeks - rather a lot. Firstly, I want to say that Warren, the guy who fell, was given the all clear to continue travelling and is doing well:-)
After our extra night in Goreme we had a long drive day ahead to make up some time. We had a spectacular drive through the mountains where we stopped for a brief photo stop and snow ball fight!
After that we had 2 final camps in Turkey before tackling our first border crossing into Georgia. Our first stop there was Batumi where we met one of our local guides who asked if we wanted to have a Georgian feast for dinner. The answer was a resounding yes and it was quickly arranged. We checked into our hotel and Jo and I went for a wander round the town, a former Soviet resort town on the Black Sea. It is our first taste of the former Soviet countries and the differences from Turkey are apparent almost immediately. Batumi, and Georgia in general is very much a mix of the grandeur and dilapidation all within a few yards of each other. You can see that there has been investment in restoring old buildings etc but there is still evidence of the former Soviet regime everywhere - be it communist housing blocks or abandoned buildings. It will be interesting as we go along and see how other former Soviet countries have fared in the 22 years since the fall of the Soviet Union - my belief at the moment is that they have not done as well.
Anyway, back to the Georgian feast - a great night was had by all. Great good, decent and very cheap wine and lots of dancing was the order of the evening, with one of the group even getting up on stage to sing with the band........
Our venue!
Feast laid out for us
Spike and Andy
Teresa and Andy
Little local girl dancing the night away
Mahala, Teresa, Louise, Becs, Fiona, Julie and Me
Pernille, Louise, Kelly and Alex
Anna, Jo and Phil
Locals showing us how it's done
Hayden, Phil and Alex
Needless to say there were a few sore heads the next morning. Georgia was off to a good start tho! A trip to the Azerbaijan embassy was required for most of us the next morning as we had visas to sort out. Once that was done we had a few hours to stock up on supplies before we were on the road again, this time heading for Mestia in the north for a few nights bushcamping and a homestay. It was the quietest journey we've had as there were still a few hungover bods!
We arrived in Mestia quite late so we quickly set up camp and got dinner going and it was an early night for most. The next morning we got full view of the mountains from the tent - stunning....
Calypso, our faithful truck
Chilling round the campfire
My tent with sleeping bag being aired!
It's also worth showing some of the views we encountered on the drive up to Mestia....
Some of the more adventurous of the group headed of for a 7 hour hike to a glacier, some chilled around the camp. Mary and I decided to walk into town, which was about 3km away. It was a pleasant walk. The town of Mestia can only be described as a work in progress. It is trying to establish itself as a ski resort and in a few years it will be great and still relatively cheap for skiing but it is not there yet!
Mary and I then headed back to camp for wine o'clock! Once everyone returned we had a nice meal and a good night round the campfire.
The next morning, 9 of us went up to the highest village in Europe called Ushguli. It was a very bumpy 3 hour 4 wheel drive up but it was worth it for the views. Once we got there we headed to the café for lunch but they had no food so we asked where we could get something to eat and were directed to a guesthouse. Thankfully he had our local guide with us and he spoke to some old woman who told us to come back in an hour. So we wandered around a bit - this place is really remote and the only industry is farming and the odd tourist. We really are off the beaten track now. We went back for lunch and it was a great Georgian home made meal which we ate in the lady's kitchen. It was a really lovely day.
After our day out we were dropped off at our homestay where we celebrated Fiona and Anna's birthday with cake and more local wine!
That's it for Georgia part one - more to follow as soon as I can!
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