Mestia, Georgia

The musical sound of bells can be heard, as a cow emerges from a cluster of pine trees. We trek for a few hours, through woods and large rocky landscapes, precariously negotiating my way across a stoney valley.

Both sides are forested and infront stands a glacier, dwarfed by a peak of ice. On the other side of the glacier is Russia. I pause for a while and eat my supply of cake, biscuits and turkish delight, standing in a mix of snow and grit. I try to shelter by a large rock as some of the group trek right up to the glacier. The weather begins to turn, so we head back.



We have been staying in the rural town of Mestia, after a long drive from Batumi, into the mountains.



We arrived late after a slow journey, not helped by a spring breaking on the truck. Tired and admitting defeat, we checked into a guesthouse, where within half an hour, our host had prepared a meal for us, consisting of soups, potato salad, a homemade pizza, yogurt and an incredibley sweet walnut cake. Much wine was consumed by the others and it was a fairly joyous night. In the morning we were treated to a hearty breakfast of potatoes, egg and barely wheat, at the Nino and Eka Japaridze guesthouse, before our trek into the Caucasus mountains.



By the time we arrived back in town, the leaders had nearly finished working on the truck and we had gathered quite a crowd. I sat on the park railings with some of the local kids, as cows strolled past and even a pot bellied pig. There is something quite liberating about staying in a community where animals wander freely and people toot their horns and wave, when we are camping. The people in Georgia are so friendly.



With the truck fixed, we drove a short distance out of town, to a grassy field and pitched our tents. I heard the distant sound of buzzing which was rapidly getting louder. Some of the guys were sitting around the camp fire, blissfully unaware and after a brief moment of panic, we jumped into the back of the truck, as a swarm of either wasps or bees flew by. After returning to the field, we soon had company in the form of a drooling dog, who kept his distance while staring intently at the food being prepared. A group of children also appeared, who lit their own camp fire and proceeded to jump over it. As night fell, the children left but we were surrounded by dogs and cows. I fell asleep quickly and all to soon it was morning and time to pack our tents and drive back to Kutasi, which we had stopped at a few days earlier.