In July we took a trip with our scouts group to Georgia. For those who don’t know Georgia, it’s a magnificent country with lots of untethered nature and hospitable people all around. We spend 20 days travelling around the country. In this blogpost I’m going to tell you all the amazing things we saw.
Traveling to Georgia
On the 17th of July, after a year of working towards this trip, we were finally ready to leave for Georgia. We took a plane to Tbilisi, Georgia. Because we wanted to visit the capital on the last days of the trip, we took a bus to Mestia. It was a hellish experience to jump of the plane and not an hour later take an eight hour bus trip through the countryside of Georgia.
Mestia
Most of us had a couple of hours sleep on the bus but we were still pretty tired from travelling. But we were all starving so we visited the first restaurant we saw after arriving in Mestia. After tasting the local cuisine and a glass of homemade wine, we decided it was time to discover the beautiful nature Georgia has to offer. We started hiking to the Koruldi Lakes. Although we aren’t experienced hikers we gave it the best we had to offer. It was a steep climb but the endearing views were worth the effort.
Because we kind of overestimated our physical capabilities we had to stop at the cross on top of the mountain to spend the night.
The next day we continued our hike towards the Koruldi Lakes at an elevation of 2740m.
Poti
After two days of walking we were ready to relax a little bit. Because we didn’t want to spend another day on the bus we decided to stop in a town called Poti. Poti is a port town which has access to the black sea. There is also a national park in Poti named Kolkheti National Park. At the visitor center you can rent a boat to discover the beautiful Wetlands of Central Kolkheti. Which lies on a coastal plane of the Black Sea.
Batumi
As our next stop we went to The Las Vegas of the Black Sea, I suppose it got its name by the many new high-rise buildings and casinos spread all around the city. But don’t worry if you’re into old buildings, Batumi also has a beautiful Old Town with classical 19th-century buildings. On our first day we visited some of the monuments in Batumi such as the Alphabet Tower. This tower can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. Its a 130 meter high structure, which is identified by its large double helix shape and on these helixes there are 33 letters representing the Georgian alphabet. At night it lights up like a giant disco ball. We also went for a stroll across the Batumi Boulevard, looking out over the Black Sea. There’s also a Chacha Clock Tower, which we saw a few times, but never had the chance to drink from. Rumour has it that at a certain time, Chacha starts pouring out of the fountain near the clock.
Chacha is a Georgian delicacy, it’s made of grape pomace. Pomace is the grape residue that otherwise remains unused after making wine. In the countryside of Georgia, all over Georgia there are people who make their own Chacha which can sometimes contain up to 65% of alcohol. According to a local it isn’t technically Chacha if it contains less than 50% of alcohol.
Kutaisi
After relaxing for a few days in Batumi we went to Kutaisi, Georgia’s 3th most populated city. Here we visited two monasteries. The first one we visited was the Gelati Monastery, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in 1106, it really shows the value of the Georgian Christian Orthodox religion. All around the different churches of the Monastery, there are beautiful murals to see. Even though the Monastery was still being restored, we were witness to not one, not two but four weddings in progress.
After visiting the Gelati Monastery we went to another one, The Motsameta Monastery, because the two Monasteries are a bit far apart we wanted to take a cab. After waiting for a while we finally found a cab but we had a minor problem, we were with a group of eleven. We asked the cab driver to call one of his colleagues. But he declined and said that we could all fit in his minivan. Packed like a can of sardines, on we went to The Motsameta Monastery. After a long day of sightseeing we went to the city centre for some dinner. After dinner we went to bed early. Because the next day we had a little surprise planned.
After waking up and having a lovely homecooked meal prepared by the host of the apartment. When we were ready we were greeted by our rafting guide. They took us to the starting point and explained what was about to happen. We put on our gear and went rafting. The raft took us over a wild river with beautiful nature surrounding us. This is also where our group photo was taken.
Borjomi
Our adventure didn’t stop here. Next on our list was a three day horse trip through the Caucasus. After shopping for three days worth of supplies we hopped on our horse and on we went into the mountains. Three days away from civilization with nothing but the backpack on our back and the horses, was really an unforgettable experience. Not only did we see gorgeous views we also learned some local traditions from the tour guides.
Vardzia
This was one of the most spectacular monasteries I had ever seen, it’s actually a cave monastery excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain. With more than 600 apartments, a couple of churches, a spring and much more all hidden in the side of a mountain. There are still monks living in the monastery to this day.
Sighnaghi
While slowly making our way back to the capital we stopped in a small town in the east of Georgia, Sighnaghi. One of the smallest towns in Georgia. Here we went paragliding of the side of a mountain which for me was a really frightening experience but definitely an experience. After everyone had waited their turn we went into town to have some dinner.
The certainly not traditional Mexican food was delicious. Midway thru our meal suddenly the lights went out and we sat in darkness for a few minutes. Luckily the owner was prepared for this and gave us some battery powered lights so we could enjoy our meal. After leaving the restaurant we suddenly realized that the whole town was out of power. In Belgium this would probably be solved within the hour, but after a few hours we realized that this wasn’t the case in Georgia. With the city in darkness we went to sleep in out hostel. The next day the power still wasn’t restored. At around noon the lights went back on.
Kakheti
This was our final stop before the capital. On our way to Tbilisi we encountered a local winery, because it was one of the last days we decided to have a wine tasting experience. The Vineria Kakheti had a restaurant and wine cellar located in a century old botanical garden. Before dinner we got a tour of the winery. Here they explained to us how Chacha and wine are traditionally made in Georgia and why there wine is better than the rest of the world. After a very interesting explanation we had the opportunity to taste various wines and Chacha. They were all delicious so we certainly didn’t leave empty handed and without leaving our mark.
Tbilisi
After 18 days of travelling across Georgia we arrived in the capital. Loaded with memories, gifts and a lot of new experiences, we were exhausted but satisfied. Because we had to satisfy our growing need of culture we went sightseeing. Tbilisi is a really big city with lots of fun activities. We had a boat ride on the Kura river, we went to the thermal springs and saw a lot of different monuments. After an amazing 20 days in Georgia, we were sad but relieved we could go home and share these experiences with our friends and family.
Thank you for reading this blog post! If you have any questions about Georgia feel free to leave a comment.
Bonus Picture
You could certainly see your expertise in the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always follow your heart.