Sairme - Alhaktsikhe, 1/2; 8th September
8th September
As I stepped out a tent a man with a backpack passed, a little surprised to see me, pointed at the bike and the surroundings, and said something with a broad smile. Not knowing what he said but sensing it was positive I replied with ‘yes, yes’ in Russian and gave a thumbs up.
There was a lot of dew that had formed overnight but the sky was clear. After packing up we cycled to the town of Abastumani where I had an overpriced coffee from a machine.
Leaving the town was a long descent where it soon warmed up. The plain opened up in front of us, with a backdrop of another mountain range, forming the border with Turkey, tomorrow’s destination.
We arrived at Alhaktsikhe in late morning. The B&B hosts were accommodating enough to let us check in early. I unpacked the wet tent and hung it out on the clothes line. It dried quickly with the warm air, sunshine and wind blowing. The hosts offered us some melon too, which was delicious.
In the late afternoon when it had cooled down a bit we went to the castle which was renovated just over 10 years ago, which also contains a mosque with an elegantly showed domed roof.
After a mediocre final dinner in Georgia just outside the castle, I went to buy some sunscreen. In the distance there was lightning which lit up the sky quite dramatically. When we got back to the b&B, our clothes were dry and within minutes of bringing them in, the periphery of the storm was above the town bringing with it heavy rain.
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |