Sheki, Azerbaijan - Telavi, Georgia

A local man at an ATM we visited.

The view of the fields from the restaurant we ate at.

On the Highway of Sheep.

The ancient Alaverdi Cathedral.

The ceiling and dome high above.

John modelling acceptable pants for men at the monastery.

The huge Gremi Complex and Cathedral.

Sadly it's in disrepair and being worked on.

The entrance door.

Our dinner group.

Tuesday, May 13th.

This morning John and I were up early and saw the lovely view we had from our balcony of the valley below us, just before fog rolled up the valley and the view was lost. After breakfast we traveled through the fog of the green foothills of the Greater Caucasus range until we arrived at the Azerbaijan border/Lagodekhi check-point. After completing customs and immigration formalities (which took about an hour) we met our new local guide Roba and our new coach. Interestingly the border control on the Georgian side seemed much more modern and up to date than the Azerbijian side, but soon after crossing the border we saw that Georgia looks poorer and the infrastructure is more dated and in need of repair. The roads for example are in poorer condition and we saw many old beat up abandoned buildings and houses from the Soviet era. The countryside was lush and very green and we saw many fields of crops and vineyards. Throughout this region, snowy peaks can just be made out through the haze, and the towering white poplar trees. The emptiness of the road today belies the fact that this is an ancient trade route, a tiny part of the old Silk Road that linked China with Western Europe before an alternative route was discovered by sea. Roba called this the Highway of Sheep and we were stopped a couple of times as flocks were shepherded across the road. He explained that the locals pool their sheep into one flock and that way only one or two farmers have to take care of the whole flock for the day and they rotate everyday so that everyone takes turns and they have the free days to do other chores. Sounds like dog walkers. We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant up on a ridge overlooking the fields. Our first tourist stop was at an ancient Orthodox cathedral, Alaverdi Cathedral, perched on a rocky outcrop. It dated back to the eleventh century. It is being repaired as it doesn’t look like it's been well taken care of, although apparently they do have services in it. Then we stopped at the Gremi Complex, the second largest cathedral/monastery in the country, which is what has survived from the once flourishing town of Gremi located southwest of the present-day village of the same name. It is in very sad disrepair and they are beginning to work on it now and have it partially wrapped in cloth. For some reason we were not allowed to take photos inside but we marveled at the height of the main chamber and the dome on top. How the heck did the people build it. Then we continued to Telavi and our hotel, the Zuzumbo Resort. We checked in and John and I went to the pool and sauna. We met a young couple from Georgia who are here to celebrate his 28th birthday. We had a good chat with them and sang happy birthday to him. Then back to the room to get ready for dinner in the hotel. It rained a bit today and now it is chucking down. Dinner was on the 5th floor with a great view of the storm. They served lots of dishes and an endless supply of red Georgian wine, which was pretty good. The wine loosed tongues and everyone hung around for longer than usual talking. When it broke up about 9:30 John and I went to the gym in the basement and played ping pong for an hour. We managed to hit the ball back and forth 133 times, yes we were counting. Then off to bed.