Ragnar's World: Here I am

The story goes that Queen Tamara, when she was a child, went with her father hunting in the mountains.She got separated from the others. When called for, she answered "Ak var dzie!" or "Here I am, uncle!" from the caves in the mountain. Today, the place has the name Vardzie. Those observant enough, will remember that the taxi-driver yesterday tried to get me to go here. I said no. Not because I didn't want to go, but first of all because I didn't want to go yesterday, and secondly, I didn't want to go by taxi. Marshrutka is the name of the game in my book.
I found that the hotel I am staying, is not very sound proof. Probably to make it easier for the KGB to eavesdrop on the guests in the old Soviet-era. But today, this means that the couple next door became very loud. The spent half the time fighting, and the other half... You get the picture. I was planning to go to sleep early last night. But the noise they made rendered that option impossible.
So when I woke up just before 7 this morning, my eyes felt like sandpaper. I seriously considered sleeping in and just forgetting about going to Vardzia. But Vardzia was kind of the main point of going to Akhaltsikhe. So after some short powernaps, I got up, and ventured into the bathroom to try and figure out the hot water system. There was definitely something lost in translation. I got no hot water. I tried opening one of the knobs on the wall. After some huffing and puffing, water that had a hint of warmth in it, came rushing out of the tube beside the fossit in the sink. But no hot water in the shower. I managed to clean up somewhat. Yesterday, I shaved for the first time on this trip.
With a freshlooking image, I packed my bag for the day, and headed out. At the reception, the baboushca was gone. Replaced by three elderly guys. When I passed through the reception, they all stopped talking, and stared at me like I had just landed my flying saucer on the front lawn. "Morning!" I said and walked down the gigantic stairs. I walked into the nearest shop and bought a couple of buns and a couple of bottles of water for the day.
At the bus-staition, I enquired for the marshrutka for Vardzia. I was directed to a car with some Georgian writings on the front. Suddenly, the letters made kinda sense to me. I recognized the 'a' and the 'r'. Then the rest gave itself. I cannot claim to be able to read Georgian, but it made more sense to me.
I had to go to the toilet before we left, and was directed to the back of the bus station. How do I describe this toilet? Lets just say that if a Norwegian farmer had let his cattle live there, he would be charged with animal cruelty. I tip-toed over the wet spots to one of the "cubicles", which by the way didn't have any door. And relieved myself. After I had finished, I realized there was a guy sitting in the next cubicle with his pants around his ancles. No handwash basin when I left. I am very glad I decided to bring a bottle of antibacterial gel wash. It has come in handy at times.
The trip to Vardzia consisted of the usual crazy joe mad dash. The scenery was beautiful. Green pastures all over. Steep rock-faces. And a river to complete the picture. 1.5 hours later, we arrived at Vardzia. I paid my 3 lira for the entrance ticket, and walked up the long and winding road up to the monastary.
I probably should explain why Vardzia is so special. On the sheer rock face, caves have been dug into the limestone. Caves and stairs. And long tunnels and even a small church. Monks have stayed here for centuries. It is quite a magnificent place. I walked on the pathways dug into the rock. Sheer drop on one side, straight up in the other. It was magnificent. The church was like most orthodox churches. Packed with icons. Complete with an orthodox priest. Dressed in black. With a huge beard. Trying to get connection on his cell phone...
On the rockface, birds had their nests too. I took some pictures of the parents feeding their young. The birds displayed som impressive aerobatic skills. Flying up along the wall, then doing a 180, and nose-diving down the face of the wall, just a few inches from the rocks. They were catching insects for their offspring.
After an hour and a half walking, climbing and jumping, I had finished the walk of the caves. My legs tired to the shaking, I walk the path back to the entrance. Bought an ice cream and just enjoyed the view. The area is just beautiful. Right now, I am sitting by the river, writing. Enjoying the sound of the water flowing passed me. The view of the hills in front of me. The rushing winds through the trees. The smell of hay drying in the fields.
The marshrutka driver just alerted me that he was leaving in 25 minutes. Time to go back. I will probably have khinkali for dinner tonight too. Tomorrow, I am getting up really early to, hopefully, catch the 07.20 bus to Yerevan, Armenia. Another day, another country.
Here are some of the pictures I shot today. Enjoy!