Sept. 19, 2011
The wedding celebration lasted early into the morning, but even though the music ws hear by all, we still managed a pretty decent night's sleep. We woke to another beautiful day and met in the dining hall for breakfast. After breakfast we loaded the van and took some looks at the town of Sighnaghi.
Our first stop of the morning was to meet with John Wurdeman at Pheasant's Tears Wine Bar for an interview with him. After the interview we sat with John and had some tea, tasted his mother in law's rose petal jam, and shared in good conversation. Oh...lest we forget to mention that along with the tea and jam, we also took part in the Georgian morning tradition of a little taste of Chacha, the Gerogian version of Grappa to see us through the day.
Our morning tea with jam and Chacha at Pheasant's Tears was very enjoyable. We admire John for his vision and hard work. It was now time to say goodbye and get back on the road. We headed out of Sighnaghi via a road that took us well above the city, so we stopped for look at the view, which was spectacular!
After the breath taking views above Sighnaghi we continued a very short way to see the Monastery of St. Nino at Bodbe. The monastery was originally built in the 9th century and is the most important holy site in Georgia. St. Nino is the patron Saint of Georgia and is credited with bringing Christianity to Georgia. She is buried at the monastery, which is now a nunnery
After a short tour of the grounds and a look inside the church, we spent a few minutes in the gift shop admiring the offerings. We all made some purchases before returning to the van and back to the road. We were now headed to very near the Azerbaijan border in southern Georgia to visit the cave monastery of David Gareja. The 113 km drive took about 1 hour 50 minutes. One of the most interesting things about this drive was that in a very short distance we went from a very fertile area of green valleys and mountains to sheer desert.
We passed through the town of Udabno which was the last outpost before the roughly paved road turned to dirt. The town looked more like a deserted gulag camp, but Niko told us that it was actually inhabited. From Ubadno it was another 13 km to the David Gareja cave monastery. The go was slow, rough, and very isolated. The road literally took us on the border between Azerbaijan and Georgia for a while and by a Google map's calculation actually across it. This area is a border disputed area between the two countries. The machine guns carried by the Georgian Army personal stationed at the monastery sure gave us a clue.
After a fascinating visit and look into the very isolated lifestyle at the monastery, we made our final drive while in Georgia. It was time to make our way back to Tbilisi. We came across quite a road block on our drive back through the desert. A very large flock of sheep were being herded to new pastures. The video gives a good look at the size of the road block.
The drive took close to two hours and we found ourselves back in Tbilisi by mid afternoon. This was our last day in Georgia, so it was time to shop. We all wanted to see some interesting and very Georgian things so Niko suggested a Flea Market held in on of the city parks.
We all bought some wonderful things at the flea market to remember Georgia by. Now it was time to check into our hotel, but I won't say for the night because we had to be loaded up and ready to go to the airport by 2am so it was more for a short evening rest.
We were all getting hungry, so after we settled into our rooms it was off for an late afternoon lunch, but where to go? There was one culinary curiosity here which was too great to not explore...McDonalds! Yes McDonalds and yes with Darrell as a willing participant!
What does one do after eating at McDonalds in Tbilisi? Well Darrell made a Skype call home on my Apple itouch and here's photo proof! How 21st century of him!
The big macs were actually big just like the way they are pictured big in the print ads at home. The fries were good and the cocoa cola was better than back home. With contented stomachs, we took a walk down the main street and saw more street vendor. It was about a 12 block walk back to the hotel, so we did some window shopping and listened to an occasional street musician.
The main street was full of a continuing stream of cars zipping along. There were not pedestrian cross walks for many blocks, so everyone crosses the busy street via underground subways. There were a number of street peddlers present when I crossed to get back to the hotel, and a very pleasant surprise! A young Georgian was playing his guitar and the sound filled the subway like an "unplugged" concert . The tune was very familiar to me, and actually a real favorite of mine. He played it well. He had a good talent with the guitar and vocals. It was a memorable moment. Thank you for the wonderful solo, my young Georgian friend! Keep playing. You are yet another one of many wonderful examples we've seen in the warmth, character, and passion shown by the people of Georgia.
We made it back to the hotel by 6pm. That gave us enough time to grab some of our favorite Georgian beer called Natakhtari to sip while we packed our suitcases. We also managed to grab a few hours rest before our 2 am departure to the airport.
