Wine, Babushkas, and Mountains #11/13

26 September

Ah, the warmth of wine country! Such a relief to have paved flat roads leading to wine, monasteries, and more wine. Georgians have been making wine for more than 7000 years. In many of the monasteries there are entire rooms set aside for the making wine. The entire grape and even the branches are put into huge Terra cotta vessels that are buried in the ground to maintain an even temperature. The wine is stirred periodically, red wine sits for 6 months and white for 9. Having the branches included gives the wine a slight spicy, bitter taste. Most Georgian wines are very sweet but more and more dry wines are being produced and can rival most any Western wine at a fraction of the cost. 

The Gremi Monastery sits at the edge of a valley with grapes stretched out as far as you can see. The monastery was interesting as it was used for a dwelling and fortress for hundreds of years, but the most notable for me was the toilet dating back to the 1600s on the second floor of the tower.

I ran into a man who was bike touring with a bottle of wine that he kindly shared with me, it was very good wine and before I knew it the day was getting away. With a quick goodbye I hoped on my bike dodging more dump trucks loaded with grapes to make it to Lahodekhi for the evening.

 Way back in Kazbegi the woman running the hotel I stayed at told me I should stay with her grandmother who only spoke Russian. Having never done something like that, I decided a home stay would be an interesting break from camping. Then with 6 miles left to bike, the world went crazy.

Gusts of wind came wooshing up from behind, rain and hail pelted down. The wind was so strong that it was snapping the power lines and sparks were showering down onto the road. Cows were running every where, trees were falling over, and metal was being torn off the roofs of houses. In absolute mayhem, I was pushed uphill by the wind to Lahodekhi and with the help of neighbors found my way to grandmother's house. The power was out for the whole town but she invited me in, started putting food in front of me and trying to talk. The only thing I had was a piece of paper with Tika's (the granddaughter) name and phone number on it.

Hours later when Tika called she told me her grandmother didn't know who I was or why I was there, but it was OK, I could stay the night. In a slightly awkward evening I sat with grandmother and Tika's soon while the thunder and lightning crashed outside. If there was one night I was going to make myself at home, this was it!
The next morning it was clear skies. I was encouraged to "Eat! Eat!" a hearty breakfast and explained that I was going hiking in Lahodekhi nature preserve and then to Azerbaijan. Grandma asked (this is what I understood anyway) when I came back through if I would stay with her. I heartily said yes and set of up the hill.

The nature preserve is Georgia's oldest and the area has wolves, bear, sheep, and tons of birds. There are only 5 trails in this whole northeastern corner of the country and the longest is a 48 km, 3 day trek where you can stay at two different tourist shelters. I quickly paid my fee, stashed my bike at the visitor center, and hit the trail.

Of course it climbed quickly up through beautiful but humid forests. As I climbed, the views opened up across the valley and bird noises filled the air. In the early afternoon I made it to the first shelter, thrilled at my good luck to have this beautiful area all to myself, and promptly ate all my candy bars to celebrate.

That night was filled with thunder and lightning and the rain poured down so hard I doubt my tent could have stood it. The next morning was still crappy weather. I decided it would be foolish to climb higher with it being so wet and for the first time on this trip I have myself a rest day. At 5pm I heard voices, and suddenly the clearing was filled with 18 people asking me one after the other,"are you alone?!' The Tbilisi Hiking Club had arrived. My peaceful rest day erupted into food exploding from backpacks as I was given snacks and sweets and asked about my trip. The evening passed quickly and the next morning I set off as they were packing up.

 Before you reach the Alpine lake you must stop and register with the Georgian military since the trail is only 200 meters from the Russian border. Before I got there it started to rain, then snow, and I was quickly soaked and freezing. Finally the military tents became visible out of the mist. The 3 men stationed there motioned me inside and put me next to the stove to dry out. As the weather got worse they invited me to eat lunch with them. I was given coffee, chocolate, tomato stew, bread, eggs with hotdogs, and shots of vodka. Warm from the inside out and now dry, I set off a little tipsy towards the lake. 1 mile farther along, a second military tent was set up, and again I was invited for a lunch of tea, chocolate, stew, and vodka. I stayed there for at least an hour talking and laughing with the very kind men.

I decided to make a break for it and because they don't have much to do, one of the men said he would walk me to the next shelter. He said they stay up at the tents for 10 days, then 10 days home with their families. As we walked it started to snow and I was told I was very brave since I was the only single female hiker they had ever had. I assured him there would be more in the future, but he seemed doubtful.

When we got to the shelter we burst inside, stomping our feet and blowing on our fingers to warm up. It snowed harder and harder, and the man kept looking outside and exclaiming, "sheeet!" He eventually had to go back to his post, and I crawled in my sleeping bag to warm up. Hours later, very miserable, the hiking club arrived. (Sorry I have no pictures because my batteries died!) They were all shivering, wet, and woefully under prepared. "Elizo!" They enthusiastically shouted out, very happy to see me because they forgotten their stove. Using mine, we quickly warmed everyone up with hot drinks and a table full of food. Crossing our fingers for better weather in the morning, we all packed into one room to stay warm.

The morning was beautiful, new snow and clear skies, everyone ran around taking pictures and slowly packing up. Again I left far before the main group. Lucky for me as I was walking I ran into a mountain sheep, a female (I found out later at the visitor center) all by herself perched on the ridge line. Still freezing, i hurried down the ridge to lower elevations and warmer temps.

Back in town I found grandma's house again and kissed her on

both cheeks, so happy to see her. She seemed confused that I was there but determined to put her entire fridge out on the table for me to eat. Again I had a slightly awkward evening but this time it was clear that I was truly heading off for good. I left her with new winter socks, tea, a map and solar lantern for the little boy, and a hearty thank you for everything. She insisted on packing me up bread and cheese to take with me and walked me to the street to wave goodbye. She may still be wondering who the heck I was!