9 Aug-23 Aug
Just after the Armenian-Georgian border we find (with the help of Google Earth) a small forest where we can pitch our tent without being seen from all over the grassy plain. Not only we are well hidden there, also there is the best bath tub ever. I don't know why, but for some reason the river we are camping close to has lukewarm water (note we are on 2000 m altitude). It is also deep, so I can swim and barely stand on the bottom. Really pleasant in the somewhat depressing, cloudy weather we have. The next day we pass through Ninotsminda and Akhalkalaki and from there we follow the Paravani river downstream through a small, lovely valley. Where the Paravani joins the Mtkvari river (this is the most important river in Georgia that flows to Tbilisi, then to Azarbaijan to flow into the Caspian sea) we follow the Mtkvari river upstream and stay a day in this valley to visit the most famous cave monastery in Georgia, Vardzia. This complex was excavated from Erusheti Mountain in the time of Queen Tamar (12th century). It was initially meant to be a shelter for the people living in the valley in case of hostile attacks, but in the time of Queen Tamar, the area was so safe that she decided that it would become a monastery. There is a beautiful church present in the complex with famous and well preserved wall paintings. Unfortunately, in the 16th century the Ottomans came to take over and the place was abandoned. This was followed by an earthquake, an attack of the Persians who completely destroyed the place and burnt everything, with exception of one book, followed by another earthquake. Still, there is quite a lot left that attracts many tourists.
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| Planes in southern Georgia |
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| Another example of recycling. It is barely visible, but behind the bushes is a train wagon that is used as a bridge to cross the river Paravani |
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| Relaxed ride down the Paravani valley from the southern Georgian plateau |
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| At the junction of Paravani and Mtkvari river |
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| Mtkvari valley towards Vardzia |
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| Overview of Vardzia cave city |
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| Paintings in the church in Vardzia |
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| Hide and seek in Vardzia |
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| We also visited a nunnery well hidden in a side valley. Looks like a good place for a retreat. |
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| And finally, we visited another cave church in the Mtkvari valley, for which we made a short but steep hike. |
The next day we continue to Borjomi, a Spa town on 900 m altitude and administrative center for a huge National Park. We pitch our tent in the garden of a guesthouse and start exploring Borjomi. We get a permit to hike in the National Park and we hike, 800 m up and 800 m down, in the rain and we see trees everywhere and get wet.
So, we don't like lots of trees and we don't like plains for a long time, so we try the Spa park in high-season the next day. There is a lot to see: many other tourists, from all over the world, tourist shops, unhealthy food and trees with open spaces.
We also see people gathering in pools with healthy water and sunbathing on healthy grass.
We like the sight of it and then go for a healthy visit in a very expensive spa hotel where we try the pool, the Russian and Finnish sauna, the Turkish Bath and the whirlpool,
After the healthy treatment I get ill and we have to interrupt our ride to a ski resort and rest to get my stressed gut in a more relaxed state.
The ski resort (Bakuriani) is another gathering of high season celebrations so we only stop there to buy some food and then continue. Actually from Borjomi we wanted to continue to the north of Georgia, to finally visit the Higher Caucacus, but since the weather is still not stable there we loop back to the south and visit the plateau another time. Indeed, a grassy plateau. We pitch our tent in the middle of it and are visible for everyone. But there are only a few shepherds and a million of cows and sheep. And spectacular clouds as well (followed by a thunderstorm)
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| Not even a tree to attach our bikes to |
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| An extremely tiring surface down. It took us ages. |
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| Fantastic road. No cars, good surface |
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| The yellow lines are not photohopped , but are real. They are gas pipe lines that you find everywhere in Armenia and Georgia. |
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| A moderate landscape, but the mountains in the background are over 3000 m high. |
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| Everywhere people are harvesting and haying |
We end up at an old, quite dirty Sovjet hotel and camp next door
with a nice view on the lake, a good meal in the nearby restaurant (fish and chips and salad) and a dog who takes care of the security.
The next day we have a beautiful ride to Manglisi, which is only 50 km from Tbilisi. The map promises us good camping spots, but the parks are just too full of trees, so we try the Manglisi Holy Dormition Cathedral, of which we have seen some very promising pictures.
We end up in a chaos of cars when we arrive. Some service is going on in the cathedral. We ask around but no one speaks English well enough to explain us the reason of the celebration. We observe people carrying baskets with very beautiful fruits and we guess that the harvest is blessed. The metropolitan (orthodox archbishop) has come over from Tbilisi to bless all the fruits and people.
We finally spot the sacrist and with the help of Google translate we ask him whether we can camp in the beautiful garden. He has to consult someone higher in the rank but comes back with a big smile on his face, yes we can pitch our tent in the garden.
Once we have done that another guy in a dress comes and tells us that we can't camp in the garden. Fortunately, a Georgian couple speaking excellent English comes to help us and we explain that we have already received permission. The man in the dress insists and says that the ground is holy, so you can't camp on it. The English speaking guy replies that the ground is Gods and therefore belongs to everyone. More men in dresses are consulted and it seems that we have caused a major power struggle in church management. But finally the guy who objected comes to us and apologizes and says that we can stay the night. The only problem with this spot is that I felt I couldn't jump around naked to wash myself. We had a good sleep. This time security was taken care of by the priest's German shepherd dog.
       
The next day we head for Tbilisi where we stay a couple of days with Rob, a cyclist from Belgium who lost his heart in Tbilisi while making a bike tour around the world. Her name is Maryam.
Tbilisi:
        
Peace bridge. The bridge is supposed to symbolize Georgia's (wobbly) transition from the past to a better future, but due to its unfortunate resemblance to a giant sanitary towel is referred to as the 'Always Ultra' bridge
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