All in a day's worth

Once again, I was unable to get much sleep (3 hours), on account of the jetlag, so while Eric fared much better, when I woke up this morning in Stepantsminda, I was anything but ready to face the day. However, things ultimately worked out better than expected. For one, the sun shone most of the day, which helped a lot with our activities.

We started immediately by taking the mountain road to visit the famed Gergety Trinity Church, set in a stunning location on a mountain top in this breathtaking Caucasus environment.

The church is millennial. Although the interior was much more subdued than the lavish cathedral in Mtshkeda, you could feel the sanctity of the place. The highest mountains in its surroundings were covered with snow (maybe icefields), but the clouds kept playing peek-a-boo, so sometimes you saw them, others not. But certainly, this is one of the prettiest environments on planet Earth.

The central cupola

The town of Stepantsminda

Eric, who is big-time into hiking, had wanted to check out a waterfall (Gveleti). It is located about

an hour’s hike from the parking lot, and I would call it a moderate to difficult hike, but certainly all uphill, with many rocks to climb over. I had doubts that I could make it in my state, but ultimately, I endured. While I almost puked, I nevertheless succeeded and was happy to do so. In the end, the hike somehow invigorated me, and I felt better the rest of the day. Gveleti waterfall sits right on the border with Russia, and it is well-known for its picturesque setting amidst rugged cliffs and greenery.

We took the same road back to Tblisi (the only road), and were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery, much of which we had missed with yesterday’s downpours.

Open air lamb butchery

We stopped at the amazing millennial Bebristsicke Fortress and enjoyed every minute.

Once in town, we took the time to check out the imposing Soviet-era Chronicles of Georgia monument from where we enjoyed a 360 degree view of this city of 1.2 million inhabitants.

The detailed artwork shows 3,000 years of the country. The lower part of each column details the religious history, while the upper part outlines its political aspect.

This body of water is called The Sea of Tbilisi

By nightfall, we made it to our hotel. What happens next will be detailed in the next blog.

Спокойной ночи (Good night in Russian) to all.