I’m really quite sad that this amazing journey is coming to an end and real life begins again in a couple of days. In some ways the realities of the world and its various conflicts have been with us throughout our journey – but the calm of the countryside drowns out all that is going on. We have heard about riots because of the new ‘media’ law in Georgia, yet even arriving in Tbilisi we have seen the disruption only on TV.
But first, to squash into two days the distance we have covered in twelve!
Although we’d had a late night enjoying our conversations with Beshken and his friends Luka and Mimi who owned the hotel where we stayed, it was an early start to ensure we fitted everything in on the way back to the capital. There was still more to see.
Again, typical Georgian hospitality came to the fore and the hotel owner was at the desk ready to give us Svaneti salt as a parting gift – a recipe unique to them and kept in the family for hundreds of years, she said.
Despite the flat skies, the scenery was still stunning as we left Svaneti after a very brief stop with Nino in Latali to pick up a few things she needed to send to Tbilisi.
We had arranged to stop in Zugdidi to meet with the owner of the guesthouse where I had stayed on our way up to Mestia. She and her husband are the founders of an NGO – Association Atinati – working with young and displaced people in the nearby Russian-occupied area, Abkhazia, Like Tako’s work, theirs is humanitarian, not political and they seek to help individuals and communities, not to engage in politics. They have received funding from numerous overseas agencies so I guess they will be concerned about the impact of the law which is likely to come in soon requiring them to register as ‘foreign agents’ if they receive more than 20% of their funding from overseas agencies.
Hearing about their work and seeing their headquarters with its radio station, classrooms and library was inspiring and reading their story even more so. Their work was started because of their own experience of displacement and has grown to a major NGO in the area since the 1990s and especially since the Russian invasion of 2008 when they, themselves, became displaced persons for a short time.
From the Association Atinati offices we went to the pottery which I had been keen to visit after seeing the lovely pieces Marika had on our visit to Sisatura. We were made welcome and able to see the workshop as well as the shop.
This ceramic company was founded by Robert Absandze in 2011 and rebranded in 2019 to its present name. Although I had really like the terracota containers we had seen at Sisatura, I preferred the black ones we saw in the workshop. The person who showed us around was the daughter of the family : she was knowledgeable and explained about the different processes. Apparently the black finish is typically Georgian and is created by firing the clay a second time with pine wood in the kiln. Black-smoking clay is a common technique in Georgia that comes from the use of open wood fires for cooking. The method has been used since the Early Bronze Age and was especially popular in Colchis, modern-day Western Georgia.
Yes, I did buy some! And am hoping it will be safe in the somewhat full suitcase on the journey home!!!
A lot of the drive now was on the new motorway – but have you ever seen a sight like this?
I had to push this really hard to get the teeniest bit of detail in the sky and it shows but have you ever seen a pig with a wooden triangle around its neck?? We saw a few but this was the only one we found somewhere where it was safe to pull the van over.
If you haven’t noticed anything unusual about these traffic lights we drove through as we approached Kutaisi, Georgia’s second city, don’t worry – I didn’t either until I was told to look a second time! See the pole colour? The entire construction changes colour every time the lights change. It’s very clever as I’m pretty sure I’d have missed a number of sets of lights here as they seem very high and often covered by overhanging trees.
We planned to stay in Kutaisi overnight and had been recommended a ‘trendy’ hostel/hotel to stay in. But ‘Black Tomato’ didn’t impress and we drove down the hill to find somewhere more interesting. Right by the main square, on Newport Street, we found Hotel Memoire – a quirky traditional hotel with very reasonable prices including breakfast. I slept longer than I had slept anywhere else and was really able to relax in style!! If you’re going to be in Kutaisi, look at https://www.memoirehotel.com/. Definitely worth considering for a stay.
A relaxed wander through the city with Tako showing me points of interest like the famous wall depicting local legends and heroes and the white bridge before enjoying an ice-cream (that might have been dinner as we had eaten earlier in Zugdidi!) before walking past a now quiet protest at the city hall and returning to the hotel.
One more day on the road…..
Living the Journey 
what a fabulous trip you’ve had. I really enjoyed reading your blog. Thank you for sharing Kath