To Kazbegi and the Highly Illegal Border Crossing

The night in the B&B in Telavi was splendid, one bedroom had every book by Russia’s most famous authors along with Russian translations of Clancy, Dickens and Shakespeare.

Statue of Erekle II in Telavi.

The first order of business is visiting Telavi’s oldest (900 years old) tree. After a tree hug, it’s off to Shuamta where we walk around in the surrounding countryside to find the best angle to shoot from.

From Shuamta, we head to Kvetera (roughly half way between Telavi and Kazbegi), this is where Koba’s skills really shine. The road heading to the fortress/monastery complex is incredibly steep and Koba battles his way up the narrow path with remarkable skill, bringing the 4wd back under control just as it appears that it has the better of him.

The complex, overgrown with weeds and not fully restored is amazing, especially given it's surroundings, surrounded on three of the four sides by valleys too steep to climb, the only way the Turks could attack was by the path that we drove, not an easy feat.

After admiring the monastery and climbing around the walls for a bit, we head back down towards Ananuri, passing some incredibly beautiful scenery along the way.

Ananuri, located on the Aragvi River, only a short distance upstream from the dam, is a favourite amongst tourists for its location and state. There was a service on in the church at the time, and we attended for part of it.

Heading further north along the aptly named Georgian Military Road, we stop by a spot where two rivers merge, one dark, one light.

Up the mountains, just outside of Gudauri (Georgia’s premier ski resort) is a lookout point where I bump into a polish trio in an old beat-up compact heading to Iran. We take turns sharing tales of our more interesting travel experiences. They picked up a hitchhiker somewhere in the Balkans, so grateful was the passenger that he fixed a few of the problems they had with the car and left them very well fed.

Further along the road, we come across the Soviet monument dedicated to Georgian/Russian friendship, a large concrete circular wall containing murals of Georgian and Russian folk tales, along with the following:

Super soldier.

Next stop, a natural mineral water spring. Better than Borjomi? You have to try it and see for yourself.

We arrive in Kazbegi (now known as Stepanatsminda), and as we drive in, I see a nice surprise. “Charlie” I shout out the window. Koba stops and we have a quick chat. Charlie, the American cycling his way from Singapore to Turkey had caught the Aktau/Baku ferry with me and we parted ways in Baku. I travelled south towards the Iran border before crossing into Georgia.

The day I wanted to head to Kazbegi it was raining, so I went to Armenia. Several hours after I left Luka’s place (my couchsurfing host in Tbilisi), Charlie arrived and stayed with him. He was on his way out when he met an Armenian girl living in Georgia and spent some time around Tbilisi with her showing him around. I came back to Georgia, started the road trip and randomly bumped into the two of them here. Talk about a small world.

I also speak with local people about the border situation, the Russian/Georgia border at Kazbegi has been closed for three years and I’m told that it will be highly impossible to bribe or negotiate my way across. We drive there anyway, since there’s a church nearby. Koba warns us not to take any photos, he once had a tour group with him, one of the passengers decided to take a photo and was seen by one of the soldiers manning the post. The car was followed the Georgian soldiers confiscated the camera and smashed it against the ground.

I walk from where we parked the car to the border checkpoint but no one comes outside to say anything, I contemplate grabbing my bag from the car and running across but decide against it when I’m walking back and see the soldier in a building watching my every move, with his rifle in my sights. I survey the surrounding mountains and contemplate a mountain crossing at night but decide not to make the attempt given the previous year’s Georgia/Russia war and not knowing how many soldiers are stationed up in the mountains. After Vladimir’s story about the tourists that were caught in a minefield between Azerbaijan and Karabakh front lines, it’s not worth the risk.

Beautiful tree not far from the Georgia/Russia border.

Next destination from the border, is to catch the sunset at Gergeti Holy Trinity Church. The monk inside, wearing a jumper and having the heater on full blast tells me that despite its remote location, it’s still incredibly popular with pilgrims from all over Georgia, Russia and Greece. He gives me a present to help me in my journey, a copy of the Holy Mother of Kazan icon.

On the way back down the mountain, we pick up a couple of Dutch consular officials who tell me about the places they’ve worked and how much they enjoy living in different countries for four years at a time. I jokingly ask if they’re hiring, unfortunately, I’m not Dutch so I’m ruled out.

We spend the night in another B&B, run by a family who give a great example of how politics makes it difficult for people. The family live in Stepanatsminda, Georgia, half an hour’s drive from Vladikavkaz, Russia (the capital of North Ossetia), where the wife’s parents live, however the border is currently closed. The family find it almost impossible to get a visa to Russia. Once a year, depending on if they have money, the wife’s mother comes to Georgia, first catching a train to Baku in Azerbaijan, before changing for a train to Tbilisi and finally driving to visit her daughter, turning a half an hour direct route into a several day affair through Azerbaijan.

The following day, Koba and Jean will be heading near the border with South Ossetia, another possible entry point to Russia, so I continue with them.