We left Azerbaijan via the eastern border into Georgia, as we were changing countries, we were also changing drivers, so this was a border that we walked across with our luggage. It’s always nice to have a non dramatic border crossing, and this one went perfectly smoothly.
The transition into Georgia was really interesting. Immediately the architecture changed, as did the cropping. We noticed a greater increase in wine grapes being grown, and somehow it generally seemed to be a lot more lush and verdant.
We stopped at a little farm for lunch, where we made bread again. Slapping the bread into the hot kiln to cook is an intimidating thing to do, and the women that are doing it regularly must have a great technique to not get singed! The food we had for lunch came from the garden and was stunning, again MUCH more than we could have ever possibly eaten. My little western mind goes to how much is wasted and the old adage of “clean up your plate”. Given that this is often an impossibility, I’m hoping that they are putting the left overs to good use within the family.
We are now into our. “Monasteries” side of the trip, as Georgia is Orthodox, and we stopped at a tiny Orthodox Church for a visit. There was a wedding going on (pictures to come later, I need to get them from Toni), so we slipped in quietly. However the contrast from inside to outside was so dramatic, that I may or may not have stepped on a little nun who was watching the proceedings (yikes! Sister Collette would have something to say about that!).
We spent the evening in a town called Telavi, which was full of amazing architecture, wine bars and many many dogs! Where Azerbaijan was inundated by cats, Georgia favours the dogs. The state makes sure that even the strays are vaccinated and it very much looks like the locals are looking after the stray dogs as well. They aren’t bugging you for food, they look in relatively good condition and are spending a lot of time in the sun sleeping. Who knows what they do in winter?
We also visited the bazaar in Telavi, and actually the dogs from the night before’s adventures walked us to the entrance. They clearly knew that they weren’t allowed in there, as they headed off for adventures unknown after they had completed their escort of us.
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