Kazbegi

This past weekend we were finally able to get out of Tbilisi, and head up into the mountains of Georgia. Kazbegi and the major town, Stepansminda, are high in the Caucasus mountains, past the line between North and South Caucasus (So they are actually considered North Caucasus while most of Georgia is South Caucasus).

I wish I had a picture of the vehicle we took up into the mountains, it almost looked like it was pieced together from different cars. Picture a small nissan minivan, with a grill, huge 4x4 tires, and then raised. When we left we really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into...

On our way towards the mountains we stopped at a 17th century castle and church. The story goes that it belonged to a Duke who protected the surrounding areas, they actually left the region for the United States after the Soviets came to power, and the church is now a tourist attraction. It sits next to the Tbilisi reservoir, which actually has villages underneath it which was flooded during Soviet times in order to build the reservoir. Inside the church are frescoes from the 17th century which were painted over white (again, by the Soviets), you can see some of them, but it's too expensive to restore most of the church to it's original state. I found a couple friends while we were there, there were two dogs which followed us around on the grounds. When I bent down to take a picture one of the dogs kept giving me its paws. I know it was probably the dirtiest thing I've ever touched but how can you resist dogs!!!

About 1 hour outside of the city we started to come into the mountains. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking! Its no wonder people say the mountainous region are some of the most beautiful places in Georgia. 

After this is when it really got interesting. You start to climb up the mountain, doing switchbacks, with no guardrails, and on an unpaved road...as well as people are passing each other!! I was sitting in the middle of the van, so I was doing OK, but there would be moments when we driving along the edge that I had to literally move my body towards the mountainside because I was freaking out. Luckily, I had Kat next to me so when we did drive along the edge we literally held onto each other and shut our eyes while silently praying. There was definitely some jokes on our behalf in that van. (Sorry Dad, you would have never made it!) This view was definitely worth it though:

This wasn't even at the top of the mountains!!! After this viewpoint we got back into the car, and after a little traffic jam (below) we were able to make our way over into the North Caucasus and through to the Russian border. It's crazy, there are tiny villages up here with probably 20 families, if that! Completely isolated during the winter months, these roads aren't even passable during those times! The pics below are of us driving through Stepansminda to the Russian border. Look Mom! I can see Russia from here! No really...that giant rock wall is Russia...

After seeing Russia we went back to Stepansminda and had some khinkali for lunch. Khinkali is meat filled dumplings, and this region is supposed to have the best. I have to say, they were actually really good!! Now I can't eat them in Tbilisi because they aren't as good down here! 50 Khinkali later....we headed up to the 10th century monastery across from Mt. Kazbegi. Again, we gathered in the minivan and rode up the side of another mountain. You can see the monastery and Mt Kazbegi (the snow covered mountain behind it) in the background from afar, and then when we went up there. There was another dog up at the monastery with a group from the US Embassy, his name was Roscoe and he was probably the happiest dog I've ever seen. Makes me miss Nala! The final picture is of the "guardrail" up the mountain....Caution Tape?

It's amazing what mountain air can do. I came back much more refreshed and feeling better after this trip than I had in a while. As of right now we are still trying to book a final trip up to Svaneti, the northernmost area of Georgia. Accessible only by 8hr treacherous minivan or 2hrs in a 19 seater prop plane....wish me luck!