This entry is really best explained by the photos but I will also pen a few words, padding if you will. Settle down with few nibblies and a good cup of tea and enjoy.
Now I know life is about the journey and not the destination but there does come a time when the destination is also of some importance. So it was for us Calypsoites as we bumped and crawled our way up from the Black coast along what will one day be a road to the stunningly located mountain village of Mestia. 12 laborious hours of toil with the gain of a mere 100 km, just where were we going!?
Some passed the time by celebrating a birthday. The party kicked off by meeting a group of local men at lunch. Armed with wine and vodka they passed the time that was for the rest of us made acceptable, ok bearable, by the knowledge of a home stay awaiting us. It did not let us down, warm and with great food, it was just what the doctor ordered. Mestia was lovely, a chance for laundry and walks as well as a guided tour round one of the siege towers which are typical of the region.
Now stay with me on this one, yes the road was terrible but it did have its good side. Namely some great trucks...I will not bore you with all the details that, for some of us work, but just look at the photo of this beefy Graz...come on that is pretty cool....
OK CJ get back on track, so where were we...oh yes the road from Mestia. It was an early up and off. Making slightly better time we dropped back down and made our way to the oldest palace in Georgia, Senaki fort, where we bush camped for the night. Along the way we had dropped Jim and our local guide off as they were headed into Tbilisi with Azerbaijan visas on their minds. The sun was out and we had a police guard all night...so a good sleep was had by all.
From the camp it was a gloriously sunny day’s drive which started with a police escort and ended with one too. We stopped and shopped in one of the oldest cities in the world, Kutaisi as we made our way to a riverside bush camp next to the caravanseri rock hewn city of Uplistsickhe. A great BBQ feast was prepared and I realised that nothing has really changed. Here we were, a group of people travelling the globe as they did in times gone by. The only difference being that our beast of burden does not have four legs but rather 4 tyres!
From our camp we headed in to Gori, the birth place of J Stalin. His statue has gone but there is a good, if slightly biased museum charting his life, as well as his train carriage and the house where is parents rented a room for the first four years of his life.
From here we had more mountains on the menu. Our destination being a bush camp and chance for some walks up at the mountain village of Kazbegi and the highest church cum monastery in Georgia. Kazbegi is located along the military highway that links Georgia and Russia. It is a lovely location but a tad chilly it must be said, check out the photos of the pass, 2400m, that we went over to get here! We are however well seasoned overlanders and this did not stop the Red party that was organised by the Calypso party committee. It was a blast, although I must now try and get the red nail polish off my toes, or should I just leave it on?
You still with me...cool. So what are our thoughts of Georgia? Well the friendly people are all over and so are animals! Pigs, cows, sheep and humans, not to mention dogs all live in harmony. The roads are for all, there are no fences.
Again check the photos out. As to history and scenery Georgia boasts both, and in spades. Great snow capped mountains, churches and old cities. Put all this together and you have a traveller’s paradise...which by the sounds of things is rather good for us as operation Azer visas is not going so well. Jim is down there doing his best but paperwork has its own rules. The battle continues and so as we chill, quite literally, we await the outcome. I guess in the grand scheme of things it does not really matter. Our more immediate concern is keeping the cows out of the kitchen!
Great quote from one of the group, Sally, when talking about the drives we do: “We are overlanders and have a lot of land to over.”
Ok will send this entry off now, but expect another one soon. We have just arrived in Tbilisi after four bush camps so there is a lot of personal admin ie washing going on! This entry ends as if we are still up there in the mountains and the next will bring us all down via some forts and other great sites to Tbilisi...oh and we have met up with Jim again...right, laters, CJ out.
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| Tea time |
Now I know life is about the journey and not the destination but there does come a time when the destination is also of some importance. So it was for us Calypsoites as we bumped and crawled our way up from the Black coast along what will one day be a road to the stunningly located mountain village of Mestia. 12 laborious hours of toil with the gain of a mere 100 km, just where were we going!?
 |
| Calypso, built for the job! |
Some passed the time by celebrating a birthday. The party kicked off by meeting a group of local men at lunch. Armed with wine and vodka they passed the time that was for the rest of us made acceptable, ok bearable, by the knowledge of a home stay awaiting us. It did not let us down, warm and with great food, it was just what the doctor ordered. Mestia was lovely, a chance for laundry and walks as well as a guided tour round one of the siege towers which are typical of the region.
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| Birthday on the truck |
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| Mestia, siege towers and mountains |
Now stay with me on this one, yes the road was terrible but it did have its good side. Namely some great trucks...I will not bore you with all the details that, for some of us work, but just look at the photo of this beefy Graz...come on that is pretty cool....
 |
| Big rubber in Mestia |
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| Ahh, not a road for the faint-hearted |
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| Oops, roadworks on the road to Mestia |
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| Other road users |
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| Road users, Mestia |
OK CJ get back on track, so where were we...oh yes the road from Mestia. It was an early up and off. Making slightly better time we dropped back down and made our way to the oldest palace in Georgia, Senaki fort, where we bush camped for the night. Along the way we had dropped Jim and our local guide off as they were headed into Tbilisi with Azerbaijan visas on their minds. The sun was out and we had a police guard all night...so a good sleep was had by all.
 |
| Senaki fort, bush camp view |
From the camp it was a gloriously sunny day’s drive which started with a police escort and ended with one too. We stopped and shopped in one of the oldest cities in the world, Kutaisi as we made our way to a riverside bush camp next to the caravanseri rock hewn city of Uplistsickhe. A great BBQ feast was prepared and I realised that nothing has really changed. Here we were, a group of people travelling the globe as they did in times gone by. The only difference being that our beast of burden does not have four legs but rather 4 tyres!
 |
| Colin BBQ'ing up a storm |
From our camp we headed in to Gori, the birth place of J Stalin. His statue has gone but there is a good, if slightly biased museum charting his life, as well as his train carriage and the house where is parents rented a room for the first four years of his life.
From here we had more mountains on the menu. Our destination being a bush camp and chance for some walks up at the mountain village of Kazbegi and the highest church cum monastery in Georgia. Kazbegi is located along the military highway that links Georgia and Russia. It is a lovely location but a tad chilly it must be said, check out the photos of the pass, 2400m, that we went over to get here! We are however well seasoned overlanders and this did not stop the Red party that was organised by the Calypso party committee. It was a blast, although I must now try and get the red nail polish off my toes, or should I just leave it on?
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| Awesome views enroute to Kazbegi |
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| Brrr... the pass to Kazbegi |
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| Four seasons in one day... this is the best one, summer! |
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| The red party |
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| Just chilling |
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| Kazbegi bush camp (complete with mountain dog) |
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| Kazbegi bush camp |
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| Jen |
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| Jim, always well turned out! |
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| Ladies that lunch, in Kazbegi |
You still with me...cool. So what are our thoughts of Georgia? Well the friendly people are all over and so are animals! Pigs, cows, sheep and humans, not to mention dogs all live in harmony. The roads are for all, there are no fences.
Again check the photos out. As to history and scenery Georgia boasts both, and in spades. Great snow capped mountains, churches and old cities. Put all this together and you have a traveller’s paradise...which by the sounds of things is rather good for us as operation Azer visas is not going so well. Jim is down there doing his best but paperwork has its own rules. The battle continues and so as we chill, quite literally, we await the outcome. I guess in the grand scheme of things it does not really matter. Our more immediate concern is keeping the cows out of the kitchen!
 |
| Brilliant, expect the unexpected and never forget where you are |
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| Zoe cooking up a storm |
Great quote from one of the group, Sally, when talking about the drives we do: “We are overlanders and have a lot of land to over.”
Ok will send this entry off now, but expect another one soon. We have just arrived in Tbilisi after four bush camps so there is a lot of personal admin ie washing going on! This entry ends as if we are still up there in the mountains and the next will bring us all down via some forts and other great sites to Tbilisi...oh and we have met up with Jim again...right, laters, CJ out.
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| Laundry day |
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