Conquering the Caucasus

It’s been nearly a week since the last blog update, time flies, internet has been in short supply and we’ve crossed out of Georgia into Armenia and back again with lots of stops in between. We are currently all sheltered in the truck whilst the rain once again hammers down in the darkness outside. Supper has been cooked against the odds, Georgian dumplings and a two-hour pasta due to the wind whipping around the gas cooker making the heat less powerful. Oohs and aahs ring out with each lightening strike as we shelter from the elements. So where have we been hiding all this time…

Rush hour in Georgia

The group had a great couple of nights exploring Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. We commandeered fleets of taxis a few times, Zaza hailing them down, giving instructions and negotiating. 4 people jumping in at a time and speeding off to unknown destinations, Freedom Square, restaurants and the Kazakhstan embassy, overtaking each other and weaving through traffic. Occasionally catching a glimpse of a fellow traveller in a car across the lanes, feeling like we were in a movie car chase or on some undercover mission in a foreign city. Kazakhstan visas were successfully obtained to much relief, another one down. We were lucky enough to see some more traditional dancing one evening, the local dancers gliding impossibly smoothly across the floor, as if on ice, changing costumes, the men sword fighting, sparks flying, a great evening’s entertainment but with far less falling down than the previous traditional Georgian evening.

Beautiful buildings and sculptures in Tbilisi

Tbilisi by night

View over Tbilisi

Chris

Rowan

Zaza took everyone on a walking tour of the city, his home, before we left. The Georgian government is investing heavily in renovating and restoring the old buildings of Tbilisi sympathetically. Every corner you turn dust flies out of windows and craftsmen work away repairing the ornate wooden balconies. Other buildings lean precariously into the road but the authorities persevere to keep the original façade and feel of the city. It’s really a place worth visiting now and again in the future. Although you only have to step away from the main streets and wander the old town to see how much work there is to be done.

After lunch it was time to leave the city and head South towards the Armenian border. Our destination in marked contrast to the previous night was Samshvilde, an abandoned town dating back to the Middle Ages. With not a sign to be seen, it was almost as if perhaps we were not meant to find it, and leave it hidden for a few more hundred years. After stopping to ask for directions and making a few u-turns, fairly tricky in a 35-foot truck on rural lanes, we were positive we were on the right track. Track is a good way to describe the road we now found ourselves on, a combination of smooth rocks, mud, gravel and some narrow twisty corners with a few steep sections thrown in too. It was most definitely a path more suited to a 4WD Land Rover, on realising this we had already passed the point of no return so had no option but to go on, in the hope of finding the ruins, or at least an area wide enough to turn or a clearing suitable for camping. To lighten the load the group walked the last few hundred metres up the hill, to the point where we could finally go no further. A crossroads with a few grassy areas for tent pitching, it was time for Calypso to rest her weary clutch which was by now emitting a telling smell, enough is enough, we’d need it the next day to get out.

Walking the path

Nearly there!

The group went off on foot in search of Samshvilde and found it just a few hundred metres away. Ancient walls lining overgrown paths guided them in. The town, said to have been abandoned when the leader lost power and importance, had an eerie feel with a small church still containing shrines and religious icons. Some were brave enough to venture back to the town after dark and explore further. Spectacular nighttime storms have become a bit of a feature of late, and we were treated to another good one here, intense lightening as the rain relentlessly hammered down. Those in the deserted town took refuge in the church til it passed in the wee hours.

The ancient ruins of Samshvilde

We awoke the next morning to find the puddle behind the truck had turned into a pond, suggesting trouble ahead. Our first challenge, to turn the truck around proved trickier than anticipated, partly compounded by the heavy rain and partly due to our over optimism the previous day that it wouldn’t be so hard. Previous employer’s wise words rang in my head “always park facing the direction you want to leave.” Overlooked on this occasion for valid aesthetic reasons so the kitchen could face onto green grass rather than a muddy track. We had no option but to get out so there had to be a way. Managing to inch our way a little further up the truck to a wider space we to’d and fro’d and measured the areas available. A 25-point turn might have been an option prior to the rain that had turned the track to mud, meaning we’d be at a risk of getting stuck sideways with no traction. The rear wheels had quickly filled with mud and spun freely as the truck slid seemingly lightly from side to side like the Georgian dancers. We were left with no option but to carefully dismantle a stick and stone wall allowing access to a rock strewn field, startling a snake who’d been coiled up in a cool, damp spot, and who then thankfully slithered away. Creating another way out of the field, again barely the truck’s width meant a tight turn to get back on the track. The front of the truck slid forward towards a bank when it needed to go left, all hands on deck, some strategic pushing front and back and shoring up of the corner with rocks we made it round. The first hurdle out of the way, we were now at least facing in the right direction. We knew what lay ahead having driven in the same way the day before, but this time we didn’t have dry earth, gradient or traction on our side. Two hours later and we’d made it back to the nearby town without so much as a scratch to Calypso. We considered ourselves lucky for being the first and last Odyssey group to visit the ruins of Samshvilde. A round of applause for Rogan for some seriously skillful driving and sliding, we gathered our muddy shovels and shoes and were finally on our way to the Armenian border, hopefully they wouldn’t look too closely or care for our appearance. Georgia’s duty free was raided of a shelf full of rum after such an exciting morning.

Building up the corner of the road

Sliding around the corner - everyone push!

Clearing the way - Jody climbs on Kev to hold back the tree, with Jim assisting

Mud, glorious mud

Success! One obstacle averted

Wall? What wall?

The sun moved towards the horizon and we hadn’t make it quite as far as planned so instead found a beautiful bushcamp in Northern Armenia, surrounded by crimson red poppies and other wild flowers, thanks to some help from a car full of local boys, who later returned with a bottle of Cognac as a gift, one of Armenia’s most famous exports. The delightful generosity towards travellers continues. Just by chance, a lot of the duty free that had previously been bought vanished that night…

Cher feeling at one with the wildflowers

Cottage pie - with Julia, Pip, Gareth and Mikkel (and implements!)

Jase, Laura, Nick, Pip and Shelagh enjoying the campfire - sitting around the campfire, chatting over the day's adventures and those to come is just one of the reasons overlanding is such a great way to travel

We then headed into Yerevan, the laid-back capital of Armenia and another impressive city. Cafes and fast cars lined the streets giving it a European feel with impressively turned out people sporting high fashion. An afternoon and a morning there had people dashing around taking in whatever they could including an excellent free city tour. A popular comment on these trips is “oh I wish we could have stayed longer!” which applies to so many of the places we go and one that was heard again as we rolled out of Yerevan. Definitely another City to put on the list to explore further one day. One thing we’ve noticed in both Georgia & Armenia is their love of statues, monuments and sculptures, classic and modern, they seem to brighten up every street corner and high pass.

The men in black - Kev, Ryan and Gareth

Ryan, Jody, Kev and Gareth in Yerevan

Yerevan is home to some wonderful sculptures

Kev

Armenian policeman, the Soviet style hat lives on

Steak for dinner

Buying vegetables out of the back of a Lada

We drove out of Yerevan for just a few hours to Lake Sevan, a popular Armenian holiday destination, and one that doesn’t quite hold the sparkle out of season and when the sun isn’t shining, but we saw through the rain and cloud and had a jolly evening celebrating Dianne’s birthday. Pip, Shelagh & Laura hatched a plan to make chocolate oranges and persevered through the rain to cook them on the fire, and delicious they were, fluffy chocolate soufflé oozed out of the oranges. The next day another short relaxed drive and back into sunny Georgia, where we were most disappointed to find we had no access to the duty free shop.

Chris, Laura, Pip and Shelagh making chocolate oranges

Cooking in the rain, Zaza, Cindy and Pip (still smiling!)

Di's birthday rabbit

We arrived at our chosen bush camp for the night, near Lake Kumisi just South of Tbilisi in good time so decided to have what Rogan describes as a “truck party”. But it’s not really a party. Everyone picks out a piece of paper from a hat which has a chore written on it. If you’re lucky you pick DJ and bar, and unlucky you get cutlery & utensils. It was a good chance to get everything sparkling again and keep the bugs at bay, accompanied by good music, a bit of enthusiasm and gale force winds, we hurried about with sponges and Dettol. Job done and some might actually admit it was quite fun, the beers felt well deserved afterwards when the wind eventually died down, it was also a chance for the braver ones to have a go with the unicycle. With some decent grub a relaxed evening was spent around the campfire. No bush camp is ever boring, guest appearance this time was six army Humvees, who hovered close by observing for a bit before leaving us to our party.

Gareth getting those windows sparkling

Jeff and Jody dealing with the kettles

Kev and Gareth cleaning windows under Mikkels' able supervision!

Too much fun! Rowan and Jim

Rowan's horror after dropping the clean cutlery box

Disaster!

Ryan, Nick and Shelagh cleaning (or is that wearing?) the pots and pans

Shelagh and Julia enjoying a well-earned drink

Di having a go

John, the most senior member of the group, still game for a laugh!

Oops!

Rogan showing how it's done

Bypassing Tbilisi the next morning we headed into the mountains of Davit Gareja in the South Eastern corner of Georgia, the Azerbaijan border guards visible on the hill alongside us. The trees disappeared and the landscape opened up into green rolling hills as far as the eye could see, the hilltops strewn with monasteries. An unexpectedly spacious and peaceful monastery lay at the end of the track, one of the few to still be inhabited and coincidentally where Zaza our local guide was married so held special importance. Mikkel was up to his usual shenanigans with a hat trick of catches all in one day, a tortoise at lunch followed by a lizard and finally a snake in the grass, non-poisonous according to Zaza. Once again the wind started up and the heavens opened which takes us full circle back to the beginning of this blog. Bring on the heat of Turkmenistan. Before then, a few more nights in Georgia followed by a short stint in Azerbaijan and some fun on a ferry across the Caspian Sea. We can’t wait.