July 11 Vardzia
Woke up at the farm guesthouse to the sounds of roosters striking and cows mooing. Got us up early. The breakfast was again farm-sourced and very good. The treat was fresh cream that had been obtained from the prior night's milking and refrigerated overnight. I spread it on just about everything, hard boiled egg, tomato, cucumber and on the fresh baked bread. Good stuff.
The problem was that bottled water was not provided and other than wine the night before, and coffee or tea for breakfast, there was nothing else to drink except the local water. It came from the mountains, it tasted great, so I drank it, with subsequent bad results.
However, before that we checked out and drove the short distance up the valley to the valley's major cave complex. It was created in the 12th century by a Georgian king as a fortification and later expanded by his successor, Queen Tamar, to to include a monastery that grew into a virtual holy city with 50,000 inhabitants and thousands of monks. It became a spiritual heartland for Georgia and the spearpoint of Christianity's eastern frontier. At its peak it had 13 floors, over 400 caves, 13 churches and 25 wine cellars. A subsequent earthquake destroyed some of the complex and in the 16th century the Persians defeated the Georgians in battles that took place in the caves. The victors looted the place and it fell into a long decline. The site was partially restored under Soviet rule and it is now a working monastery. We took a very long and steep walk up to the complex and viewed the caves and churches. The ticket office had a sign that the admission tickets, which were a nice picture of the complex, were holy items and could not be discarded. A nice ploy to minimize litter that seemed to work.
After spending the morning there, we tried to go to another cave complex on the other side of the valley. The road was too steep and rocky for the Twingo, so we rolled back to the main road. Briefly checked out the old slave market -- no indication of who the slaves were -- and returned to the main road to journey up to Akhaltsikhe, about 60 km up the river valley. A very scenic drive. We made it to the town, but could not find the Saphara Monastery that we were seeking. Instead we found the Akhaltsikhe Castle towering over the town so we went there. That was a fortunate switch because the water borne bugs caught up to me, and the castle, unlike the monastery, had great bathrooms. The castle is enormous. It was created in the 12th century, was expanded from the 13th to the 17th century by the local powerful Jakeli family, who got along famously with various invaders so the castle was not conquered until the Ottomans showed up. They took over and converted the castle into a regional center for their empire and installed a mosque.
Throughout our afternoon visit to the castle, I was frequently sprinting to the bathroom. Payback for the water. Now the castle has an upscale hotel, a restaurant and a wine shop. We picked up a bottle for dinner. The castle is beautifully landscaped and restored. It also had a tourist office. We were looking for assistance in getting a guesthouse for the night, but after calling one place that was full, they were of no further assistance. (I thought that they were there to help tourists.) There was a misunderstanding with the tour guide since my tour book indicated that she had made a reservation in a guesthouse in a town far to the north. We stopped at a guesthouse which was full, but they guided us to a neighboring house that had a vacancy. A small place with no meals, but a large room with a large balcony for $18. Turns out it was perfect since after my bathroom issues, I was exhausted and fell asleep at 7 for 12 hours.
Woke up at the farm guesthouse to the sounds of roosters striking and cows mooing. Got us up early. The breakfast was again farm-sourced and very good. The treat was fresh cream that had been obtained from the prior night's milking and refrigerated overnight. I spread it on just about everything, hard boiled egg, tomato, cucumber and on the fresh baked bread. Good stuff.
The problem was that bottled water was not provided and other than wine the night before, and coffee or tea for breakfast, there was nothing else to drink except the local water. It came from the mountains, it tasted great, so I drank it, with subsequent bad results.
However, before that we checked out and drove the short distance up the valley to the valley's major cave complex. It was created in the 12th century by a Georgian king as a fortification and later expanded by his successor, Queen Tamar, to to include a monastery that grew into a virtual holy city with 50,000 inhabitants and thousands of monks. It became a spiritual heartland for Georgia and the spearpoint of Christianity's eastern frontier. At its peak it had 13 floors, over 400 caves, 13 churches and 25 wine cellars. A subsequent earthquake destroyed some of the complex and in the 16th century the Persians defeated the Georgians in battles that took place in the caves. The victors looted the place and it fell into a long decline. The site was partially restored under Soviet rule and it is now a working monastery. We took a very long and steep walk up to the complex and viewed the caves and churches. The ticket office had a sign that the admission tickets, which were a nice picture of the complex, were holy items and could not be discarded. A nice ploy to minimize litter that seemed to work.
After spending the morning there, we tried to go to another cave complex on the other side of the valley. The road was too steep and rocky for the Twingo, so we rolled back to the main road. Briefly checked out the old slave market -- no indication of who the slaves were -- and returned to the main road to journey up to Akhaltsikhe, about 60 km up the river valley. A very scenic drive. We made it to the town, but could not find the Saphara Monastery that we were seeking. Instead we found the Akhaltsikhe Castle towering over the town so we went there. That was a fortunate switch because the water borne bugs caught up to me, and the castle, unlike the monastery, had great bathrooms. The castle is enormous. It was created in the 12th century, was expanded from the 13th to the 17th century by the local powerful Jakeli family, who got along famously with various invaders so the castle was not conquered until the Ottomans showed up. They took over and converted the castle into a regional center for their empire and installed a mosque.
Throughout our afternoon visit to the castle, I was frequently sprinting to the bathroom. Payback for the water. Now the castle has an upscale hotel, a restaurant and a wine shop. We picked up a bottle for dinner. The castle is beautifully landscaped and restored. It also had a tourist office. We were looking for assistance in getting a guesthouse for the night, but after calling one place that was full, they were of no further assistance. (I thought that they were there to help tourists.) There was a misunderstanding with the tour guide since my tour book indicated that she had made a reservation in a guesthouse in a town far to the north. We stopped at a guesthouse which was full, but they guided us to a neighboring house that had a vacancy. A small place with no meals, but a large room with a large balcony for $18. Turns out it was perfect since after my bathroom issues, I was exhausted and fell asleep at 7 for 12 hours.
As your friend, I have said from the beginning that you needed to avoid the local water but to no avail, you insisted on doing it your way. That said, it doesn't sound as if the price you paid was too great. In case you don't remember, Jim's friend went hiking in the Himalayas, I think in Nepal. He got typhoid fever because he didn't get his shots before he left home. He said he was so ill he thought he was going to die, but fortunately did not. His illness did, however, prevent him from hiking up Ama Dablam. Jim had the same experience in India; he missed the Pushkar camel fair.
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