Four Days in Racha

We stayed in Tbilisi on Saturday night and then spent Sunday driving up country into Racha. It was raining and there was thick fog. A stop in an Imereti town (I forget the name- in the mountains near a lake) at a local market for some cooking supplies and drinks got us an invitation to try the local wine at a shop-owners house (oh, that Georgian hospitality!) but seeing as we wanted to pitch tent before dark, we regretfully declined. We drove into Racha region late afternoon and found a nice spot on a

"cliff" overlooking a river gorge (see photo). But it was still raining. It took some two hours and a lot of resilience (and the help of some wine- we both gave up once and sat in the car miserably watching the rain) but the fire kept on so we fought the fight and won- gaining a delicious potato and beef stew at 11pm! Night in our tent was cold but survivable and we woke up to sunshine and friendly faces the next morning- some local boys were just passing home from a previous night's birthday party in the next village down, and wanted to see if we needed help. We did- the fire, with now dry wood, refused to light! It took two hours just to get a cup of tea! Our new friends offered us a tour of the region. They took us to beautiful and well-known Nikotsminda church, to Lake Shavi and in the evening invited us to join them and their friends at a spontaneous campfire- the main course: stolen corn cobs and melon!! In the lake photo, behind me and Dima, you can see Gio, Nodari (Nodo) and Laso- all in their early twenties. Thank you to them for being so warm and welcoming!