Last full day

It has arrived - our last full day in Georgia, and it is filled with visiting friends and shopping.  In this blog, we will focus mostly on our Thursday trip to the small village of Akhalsopeli with Dato.  Marty wanted to take photos and in general we wanted to get out of the city.

Villages in Georgia are not the same critter as they are in most of the US except maybe for mountain regions.  Once one leaves the main road it is all dirt, mud or muddy ruts, ice, or snow depending on the season.  This village, as is the case with so many remote places in this country, does not really have a comercial life that sustains it (or at least one that is visible to the visitor).  Most people are farmers here and live off the land.  They heat with wood in a stove in the kitchen which becomes the bedroom in the winter.  It seems that most people have relatives or friends in Tbilisi, so have a base of operations in the city for medical or other needs.  The village houses we have visited have a wood burning stove, table for eating, and a bed.  

Uncle Beche's kitchen

Water is generally not an inside thing, but a hose or pipe that might come part way down a mountain and empties into an outside bath tub or sink.  Yes, it can be turned off.  The bathroom is an outhouse.

It took us about two hours to get to the village and we found the 3km access road a mix of dry dirt, ice and mud, and mud.  Akhalsopeli is Dato's native village; he still looks after his father's house, which has remained empty since his parents passed away a few years ago.  Many of Dato's relatives still live in the village: we visited his Uncle Beche, whose wife was in Tbilisi for some medical tests.

Approaching Akhalsopeli

 This panorama was taken before we could really see the village; there were wisps of smoke but not much else to see until we started down the hill.  The village is somewhat in the mountains at an elevation of about 1200-1400 meters.  There was snow in the mountains behind the village and then further away at higher elevations it was all snow.

Houses in Akhalsopeli; some lived-in, some not

One of our reasons for going to the village was to see some unusual grave markers about which several documentaries have been made.  The markers are unlike any others in the country and no one he knows what culture produced them.  Their actual age isn't known either.

Church in the middle cemetary where we found the unusual grave markers.

Front view of the church.  This church dates from 9-11th century.

One of many unusual grave markers.

One of the markers that is very visible.

A traditional grave marker from about the 1700's

There are three cemetaries in this village.  One is high on the hill that overlooks the village: this is where Dato's mother and father are buried.  There are remains of the original church there, damaged by countless earthquakes; most likely it will never be restored. The other two cemetaries have what appear to be working churches.

The village contains lots of houses that appear empty at this time.  We didn't ask if they were used as dachas in the summer, however, many looked too far gone to be used at all.  There are many interesting houses and next visit Marty will bring a tripod and really walk the roads and get shots of these places.

Table set for our mini supra a Beche's house.  The bottle in back was home made cha cha from plums and apples. 

Uncle Beche, now drinking coffee after quite a few small glasses of cha cha

Before we left the village we had lunch, mainly things we had brought from Tbilisi.  David and Dato had shopped for lunch meats in Tbilisi before we left, so there was ample food plus lobio that got reheated on the wood stove.  Of course, Uncle Beche suggested that he kill a chicken or rabbit and cook it up! We declined in order to spare the life of one or the other of them for at least another day.   Beche produced a bottle of cha cha, with which he and David toasted the visit, children, ancestors, etc, etc. Marty and Dato didn't participate in the toasts: she was fasting, he was driving.  The cha cha was made from plums and apples and had a lovely flavor.

We took a different route back to Tbilisi and were rewarded with amazing views of the mountains both to the north and south.  We arrived back in Tbilisi by late afternoon; in time to have a quick get-together for coffee with Archil, who very recently celebrated the birth of a son.

Today, our last day, will also be very busy with at least a lunch and a dinner saying goodbye to friends.  Saturday at noontime we will be aboard a plane and, with the benefit of nine time-zone changes, will arrive in Boston the same day before dark.  From there it's a bus to Portland where our kind friend Judy will bring us the final leg.