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!

Vardzie

Closeup of the caves

Three storey cave, for prominent monks...

Two bed room

Impressive build

Caves and stairs

Inside the church

Another view

The outside of the church at right

Private area of the monks

Some of the stairs were quite steep and slightly scary

Tunnel through the mountain down to the church

Long stairs inside the mountain

Long way down

Aerobatic bird in flight

Feeding the young

Still hungry

Where's your brother

Here I am!

Cave with carved out space for icons

More birdlings

And another

protective parent

Stairs down and out. Long and steep

Beautiful scenery

Typical marshrutka

Vardzia, Akhaltsie

The whole cave system

This building gives a whole new meaning to "western style"

Khinkali, before consumption

For the brand conscious : Aramani Jeans

The place for your smarty-pants

Reception at the hotel

Southbound

After tasting the Borjomi mineral water, it was time for me to move on. Next stop was Akhaltsikhe. Just 1.5 hour south by marshrutka. I got up at a more humane time this day. But found that my clothes were still not dry after yesterdays washing. The torrential rains last night hat rendered it impossible to hang them up on the clothesline outside my window. Also because of the rain, I had not bought any breakfast. So I took what I had available. A bottle of Coke. It has sugar doesn't it?
In addition, I had no idea how I should hand over the keys to someone. There were, after all, no reception. I only got the keys from the grey-haired guy on the first night. So I decided to wait until he came, if he came at all. Not to worry. Just after 10, he arrived, and knocked on my door. I opened up, and with me speaking English he didn't understand, and him speaking Georgian/Russian I didn't understand, between us we shared a number of handgestures and facial expression that communicated the main message: I was leaving. He thanked me for staying, and waved me goodbye.
I picked up my bags and left for the main street. A quick stop at the internet cafe to post yesterdays blog entry. Then on to a small shop where I had bought water and candies for the past couple of days. It was run by an a girl and her cousin. Refugees from Abkhazia. When I arrived, a serious looking big woman entered with a big clip-board. The girl running the shop was not her smiling self. So I bought a bottle of water for my trip and said goodbye. She said goodbye and turned her attention to the woman in her shop. My guess : tax revision or something. One of the only two things certain in life...
At the bus stop, I started looking for marshrutkas for Akhaltsikhe. But instead of trying to dechipher the signs on the fronts, I simply asked this time. They all pointed to the other side of the road. I crossed the road and met a small group of young people from the Ukraine. They where hiking in Georgia. I asked them when the next marshrutka would arrive. One of the girls lifted her shoulders. "Who knows?". Two minutes later, one arrived. All their bags went into the back. Mine I was ordered to take on board. No more room in the back. I struggeled my bag through the narrow path between the seats and sat down in a seat that was just right for Goldilocks. Or two inches to narrow for me. So I sat sideways most of the trip. In the seat behind me was a guy "of size". I thought at first he was asleep. But then realized that the snoring sound was him struggling to breathe. Some respatory problem it seemed. He was literally gasping for air. And when he was leaving the marshrutka, he spent the last few minutes onboard standing beside me. Squeezing me into my seat. I am not very claustrophobic, but at times...
Arriving in Akhaltsikhe, I got off the marshrutka and took out my guidebook. I had read about this old Soviet-era style hotel in the middle of town. I memorized the name while a taxi driver was trying to get me to go to Vardzia with him. He looked into my guide and saw Vardzia printed on the opposite side. "YES! Vardzia! I drive!" I shook my head, to no avail. He continued on. I said "Hotel Meskheti". He looked disappointed. Started waving his hands around, "Vardzia" and pointed into town "then hotel!". I shook my finger. "No Vardzia. Hotel Meskheti!". He continued "Hotel, then Vardzia!". "No Vardzia!". He looked at me in disbelief. "Ok. Hotel. Sri lari!". "Two" I said, assuming the hotel couldn't be that far away given the size of the town. And given that the hotel was in the centre of town. "Noooooooo. SRI!" I didn't bother to haggle anymore. "Ok, let's go!". I threw my bags into the back seat and got into the front seat. He continued on about Vardzia, while driving as slow as possible to make the trip look like it took forever. Which it did. But the distance travelled was about 700 meters. So if I had had a map, I could have walked the distance in 5 minutes. But it is good to support the local community, I suppose.
The hotel was everything I had hoped for. When I entered, the reception was just a pile of building materials. I stood there for a few seconds contemplating whether the hotel had been shut down, until a local guy turned up, and pointed up the stairs. I went up, and found the reception had moved up one floor. Behind the desk was a large baboushka, smiling at me with an slight mustache on her upper lip.
"Yes! Welcome!"
"You have room?"
"Yes, aaa, you pay room, not person. Sirty lari!"
"Sounds ok. May I see the room?"
"Of course. Come. Come! You alone?"
"Yes!"
"Ok. Sirty lari!"
We walked through a dark hallway with dark brown wooden walls. She opened up room 203. We entered the room which had 4 meter high ceiling. two beds, a TV in the corner, and its own bath. Loved it!
"Instructions on water!" she said and continued on in an English dialect I have never heard before. But there where a lot of knobs and switches to get the water, and not the least : HOT water, to flow. I felt like I was about to operate a Sojus spacecraft. It will be interesting to see in the morning whether or not I can make it work or if I will crashland in a total watering chaos with the baboushka rushing to the rescue.
For the first time this trip, I actually have checked in. The other times, they where satisfied with just me giving them money. She took my passport and carefully noted my details in a large book.
After checking in, I decided to head for the fortress on the hill overlooking the town. It was a nice walk through the rabati, or old town. Only to find that it was closed for visitors due to maintenance. I sighed, took some pictures of the outside walls, and walked down again.
Decided to try out the "Smart" supermarket. I had seen a few of those, so I figured I may as well check it out. I assumed  "Smart" meant "cheap". Here it obviously means "Smart dress". The two impressive looking muscle guys (one of them a few inches short of a barn door) inside were wearing tailored black suits. And black, Benetton turtlenecks. I saw a stack of lockable boxes. I got the picture. I dropped my bag into one and took the key before entering the store. The "Smart" part definitely did not apply to the prices. But the selection of products was way beyond any shop I had seen before in Georgia. So I got to try out some new goodies. And buy a deodorant I had actually heard of before.
After some satisfactory shopping, I felt it was time for some dinner. A bottle of Coke was definitely NOT enough for a day of exploring. I wanted to try the local cousine. This time, khinkali. I entered an promising restaurant. And sat down. And waited. And waited. Until I realized that they didn't serve at the tables. So I got up and went to the counter. Greeting me was a girl who spoke good English.
"Yessir!"
"Kkinkali please!"
"How many?"
Stupid me assumed it was a set meal.
"Eeeeee. How many is normal?"
"Weeeel. They are of this size!" she said and shaped her hands into a circle.
"Five?" I asked.
"Yes, five is ok! Four lari!"
I paid
"Have a seat!"
After a short while, five khinkali arrived. These are like dumplings filled with meat and sauce. One word : Delicious! I am definitely having more of those!
Back at the hotel, baboushka came running. "Sir! I check water!", she said and went into the bathroom. Turning yet one knob. There was a tube next to the fossit. "Water here, close this!" I still don't understand why there should be water in that pipe. So I just closed it, instead of leaving it running the whole night.
I also wanted to try the telly. A slight hint of sceptiscism tingled my spine as I saw the power plug. It was almost falling apart. I clamped it with both hands to I didn' touch any bare metal and plugged it in. The telly fired up to show me three barely visible, snowy channels, and one that showed cheap russian soaps in disney color. Glad I am not bored...
Anyways. Those are the logs of todays activities. And here is a small stack of the photos of today. Enjoy!

At my hotel in Borjomi. How to fix  gaping hole in the floor?

Love the name of his gas station. I used to catch "rompetroll" when I was a kid.

The fortress on the hill

Ok. I know it is called OFF the beaten track, but this felt more like ON the beaten track.

Even more beaten

Almost at the top

The fortress

which I am denied to enter.

View of the city from the fortress

Khinkali

After the meal. You aren't supposed to eat the "stem"

My hotel

My room

The bathroom

Move over Abramovich. You may have bought Chelsea, but at Smart, I bought both Barca and Real Madrid! So there! BTW. Sorry Barca-fans, but Real Madrid won this competition...

Aqua Vitae

5.45. I looked in disbelief at the clock I had placed on the bed next to mine. "You've got to be kidding me!" I looked out the window. Just remembered that my room didn't have any curtains. So when the sun was up, the room was fully lit. I threw my head back on the pillow. Trying to get more sleep. Yesterday, I realized that the restaurant next door also had live music. Consisting of a one-man entertainment show complete with his own PA-system. Loud at such. But fortunately, the power in town went out a number of times. The room fell completely dark, and the music stopped. For a while.
In the dark, I tried to find a torchlight I usually carry when travelling. Being an amateur astronomer, I am used to finding my way in darkness. I use a mental map of the space around me. I found my bag easily. But when I bowed down to pick it up, I banged into something with my glasses. I was so perplexed that I almost fell to the floor. I thought I had smashed my glasses into my eye. I looked at the few scattered lights across the river. I could still see. Save from the fact that the glass was smeared with grease and sweat from my eyelids.
I tried to find what I had banged into, since I could not in my mental image of the room, remember any protruding objects from the wall my bag was resting against. In the end, I realized that I had moved one of the chairs in my room, and I had banged my glasses against the back of it. Sometimes, wearing glasses is a good thing...
I washed my clothes last night. My "quick-dry" pants wasn't so quick to dry as I assumed, and in the morning, they were still quite moist. So I sat in bed all morning watching a movie while waiting for my pants to dry. So today, they smell fine. Unlike yesterday. Traveling light has its ups and downs. This is one of the downsides. Having to wash every now and then, without any backup. The upside is that you do not have to carry a lot of stuff around. Or having much to pack when leaving a hotel. I can be out of any room in minutes (an advantage when I was escaping cerfew in Vientiane in 2004).
After my pants had dried, I wanted to check out the Borjomi Mineral Water Park. I had no idea where it was supposed to be. But after walking in the direction I thought it ought to be, contrary to the rules of the universe, I found it. It was like walking into a fun fair. Loads to do for the children. And in the middle of it all, the elixir of life itself. The Aqua Vitae. The Borjomi mineral water. I had decided that whatever the smell and taste, I should try to drink it.
After paying my 0.5 lira and passing through the gates, I headed through the park and soon came to the pavillion made around the spring. The spring itself wasn't much to write home about. A couple of modern industrial taps where people could fill they glasses or bottles with the wonderful water. Much to my disappointment, my suspicion was correct. When I stood close, I smelled the unmistakable smell I had feared the most. I filled my water bottle with the life elixir for my tasting experience. So without any further ado: Here is a description of the water.

Color : Since the bottle I used is slightly blue, I am unable to tell the color, other than that it looks clear.
Smell : A strong hint of rotten eggs. In fact, that's the only smell.
Temperature when tapped : Lukewarm. This sort of gives away the origin of the smell...
Taste : Not able to accurately define when poured, since I would have had to pinch my nose to be able to drink it, so I thought at first I would have to settle for "shait". Luckily, I decided to await the much anticipated tasting. When I got back to my hotelroom later in the evening, I opened the bottle, and much to my surprise, the smell was almost gone. So it was actually possible to smell the bottle without feeling like you were sticking your nose into a supermarket dumpster. I gave it a sip. My tounge immidiately began analysing the tastes that hit it. Hmmmm. Nothing particularly bad. The best description I can give is if you take a bottle of "Farris" (Norwegian brand of carbonated mineral water), add a pinch of salt, shake out all the fizz, and leave it open in the sun for a few days. Not foul, not good. Just taste. I have tasted something similar before, but even after turning every twirl of my brain, I am unable to remember what. The name "Selters" popped up, but I am not sure. Anyways : I do not believe I will die from drinking it. But it is my strong belief that it would benefit from being carbonated ever so slightly.
Conclusion : If you want so sell foulsmelling water, say it is good for your health and/or makes your skin look younger. Although, if you leave it to stink off for a few hours, this is probably not the worst recipee I have read for good health.

Just outside the park, there was a cable car to a mountaintop just above. It cost 1.5 lari, each way. I wanted to see the view, and to see the ferriswheel on the top. I bought a ticket, and the girl behind the counter gave me something that looked like it had been printed on a bad printer, xeroxed and handcut. I thought it would be a great keeper until the guy on the gondola took it away. Recycling...
At the top, I started walking up the first road I found. I saw from down below that the ferris wheel was a slight walk from the cable car, so I started walking. After half an hour, I realized that I had taken a wrong turn somewhere. All I could find, was a large block of flats in the middle of the forest, complete with mothers yelling at their kids on the playground in front of it.
But I didn't mind the walk. It led through some beautiful forest. Quiet except for the birds chirping away. I turned and walked back to the cable car. A slight drizzle turned into full rain. I brought out my umbrella and walked on. Passing men standing underneath trees. Sheltering them from the rain. Back at the cable car, I realized that I had badly misjudged the size of the ferriswheel. It was quite small, and was located about 50 meters away. Oh, well. Not easy to judge distances far away. Every mountain hiker would know that. So should've I...
I went into a restaurant located in the cable car building. Bought a soda from one of the three grey-haired women sitting there staring at me when I arrived. After refreshing my self on the soda, I took the cable car down again. Enjoying the swaying gondola-ride one last time.
The whole area surrounding the water park was a bustling building site. New hotels, houses and restaurants where popping up everywhere. A new revival of the town. In a few years, maybe this small town will no longer be a mere speck on the map. A speedbump for people on their way to Batumi. But rather a bustling town where tourists from everywhere are coming to drink foul-smelling water from a couple of taps? Who knows?
Here are todays catch on the photographic front. Enjoy!

The dog house (Down to the left. The rest is the back of my hotel)

The difference between an 80 lari hotel and a 20 lari hotel. The paintjob. 

Entrance to the water park

Cable car

Pavillion with the spring

The spring

Not so romantic up close. And given the smell, drinking the water wasn't my first thought.

Waterfall inside the water park

Rollercoaster, not high season at them moment so most attractions were not in use.

Childrens train

Carousel

"Now, children. If you eat grandma's soup, your vegetables and those fine pills from our sponsor, you will stay as healthy as me!"

Cable car ticket

Top of the mountain, complete with ferris wheel

Meanwhile, in an apartment on the mountain : "Mommy, why does our chicken taste so different from the ones in the shop?" "Honey, that's because they eat the same food we do!"

Nice forest walk

View from the mountain. Water park in front, Borjomi in the back

New building outside the water park. The inside roof was a mosaic of thousands of small mirror tiles.