One of the great things about travel

One of the great things about this travel is that we are able to strengthen ties to our extended family.  We are staying with Nia's family and not in our own flat, and this is affording us some experiences we otherwise would not have had.  We're not tied to doing things exclusively with family, but have spent more time than we ever had before with our daughter-in-law's sisters and their families.  This is really giving us an opportunity to strengthen ties with them.

Other things we have come to even more greatly appreciate are both Skype and FaceTime.

Etuna reads to Mariska and Nito

On Saturday we had several spontaneous Skype calls to the US so that nearly all family members were seeing and talking to each other!  It is fun to watch reactions of children who don't see each other very often.  But more than that, these technologies allow us to connect in an instant (and for free) and with amazing clarity.

We are enjoying our time in Georgia.  It is often easy to forget about the little things you like about a place when you have been away for months, but when you return it all floods back.  For example, we have multiple little grocery stores within yards of our front door!  This makes each block a community (even though there may be more stores than are really needed).

Small green market in front of grocery store near house

Today we headed out or the city with friends to visit Jvari, Ananuri and Mstkheta.  It had been at least a year and perhaps two since we were in any of these ancient churches.  The first thing we noticed at Jvari Monestary was that there are now a large paved parking lot, a formal retaining wall, and vendors selling such things as sheep skin hats!  In the past, it had seemed quite out of the way, and often was quite deserted.

Woman begging to get money to feed her pets (or street pets)

After visiting Jvari we headed up the Georgian Military Highway toward Ananaui which is on the Jinvali Resevoir, near its western tip.  On the way up we slowed or stopped for several herds of sheep/goats/cattle and their herders who were either on foot or horseback.  It has always delighted us to see all these critters headed south from their summer mountain grazing places to the winter ones!  We have no idea just where they will spend the remaining months, but it will be someplace with grass that is still growing.

Herds coming down the main highway!  Police escort no less

Fortress at Ananuri.

Fresco inside the cathedral at Ananuri

Ananuri has not changed much; it is a wonderful structure with a sense of mystery about it and even on a coolish gray day is fun to explore.  There were not so many people here so the atmosphere was quiet and very enjoyable.  After some time we made our way back to Mtskheta to have lunch and to visit yet another cathedral.

Part of our lunch!  YUMMY!

Wedding party poses among the columns of the Tourist Information Center and Wedding Hall

It was in Mtskheta that we experienced radical changes!  Since our last visit, the municipality has done a considerable amount of renovation of the old buildings, plus added new ones, paved streets and added a tourist information building with an attached Wedding Hall.  We were completely blown away by these changes.  The whole area no longer has the authentic village feeling with the occasional sow and piglets in the nearby streets, but now is a slick commercial venture with electric cars to whisk one from the parking area to the cathedral!  It does look nice, we cannot deny that...but it no longer feels like the place we had grown to know.  We knew there was renovation of the Cathedral and surrounding walls, but not the entire central area around it.

We did have a great lunch, more than we needed to eat, and enjoyed being where we were.  We were toasted from the table next to us (about six older men, several sheets to the wind) and luckily escaped before we had to chug vodkla with them.

Stripped down ready for dunking...baptism the Orthodox way

Waiting for their time with the priest, either for a church wedding or blessing which will have followed a civil wedding.

At the Mtskheta Cathedral itself we encountered so many wedding parties.  While we were there at least a dozen arrived and left; all posing for photos inside and outside the church.  Indeed, the church was crowded with all sorts of groups even including two baptism parties, where small children of about 1-1.5 years were being stripped down in the cool air and having water poured on them.  Of course they screamed at being so exposed and dipped into the water.

Our drive back to the city seemed much shorter than had been the drive out.  We had a great day and look forward to more excursions over the coming days.
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