Logan Went Down to Georgia : From the Mountains to the Valleys

Wake up Sheeple!

Luckily for me Easter break continued for two more days post-Easter so I had plenty of time for more rest and relaxation. We didn't have classes again until Wednesday which meant that the week was basically over before it had really begun- those are the best kinds of weeks. I can proudly say that I made it through the whole week without getting frustrated by my students. Spring break is just as rejuvenating here in Georgia as it was in the US.

Organizers of the IPD community meeting

Come Friday I found myself working with Randi's counterpart to help organize a community meeting in the southern part of town. There is a community of internally displaced people (IDPs) from the Abkhazian war of the 90s. They have been living in this community for about 10 years and are still in the process of making life work. Many used to make their livelihood from agriculture but now they don't own any land. Randi's organization partners locally with larger IGOs like the Danish Refugee Council to help administer employability training programs and small grants for business development. We were gathered on Friday to share more information on current opportunities. It was a good event and I got to meet several interesting foreigners who work for the DRC and other non-profit organizations.

The driver stopped and asked if we wanted to take pics by the waterfall, how thoughtful

Like a true Georgian, I am not addicted to bread.

In true Georgian style we then had a three day weekend (following a three day work week).Melody and Randi and I decided to take advantage of this and had been planning a trip to the Svaneti region of Georgia. We all met up in Zugdidi on Saturday morning and took a 3 hour marsh ride through the mountains to Mestia- one of the more remote places in Georgia. The views were incredible throughout drive but the clouds were low and limited the views of the mountain peaks. We spent some time wandering the town and then settled into our guesthouse for the night.

Mestia with it's many towers

What are you looking at?

Early the next morning we arranged for a local to drive us to the town of Ushguli- the highest continuously inhabited village in Europe. It took about 3 hours to travel the 27 miles between Mestia and Ushguli, the road conditions were rough. We also crossed several areas where the road was just part of a spring runoff waterfall. It's hard to describe Ushguli, but it was fantastic. It is crazy to be somewhere that you know so few people ever get to and that is so old. We didn't have time to hike to the glacier but we still wandered around and climbed some small hills. On the way back our driver somehow made the trip in less than 2 hours, apparently caution wasn't needed for the return trip.

Ushguli

The way to the glacier near Ushguli

Monday the clouds finally cleared out and we were able to see most of the peaks around us. It was more grand and impressive than I had been expecting. We didn't have a lot of time to stick around so we opted for the lazy man's hike and took a ski lift up a nearby mountain so we could catch the views with minimal effort. Don't worry it was beautiful. After we headed back into town and ate some more delicious Svan food- meat filled khachapuri! The drive back home through the mountains was spectacular now that the clouds had dissipated.

Mestia by night

Our "hike"

Tuesday I was back at school, but once again the week was cut short by a holiday and I was only at school for two days. For the most part things went well at school; however, my 7th graders really let me down. Since my return from Kazakhstan we have been working on group presentations and Wednesday was the day the final project was due. Unfortunately most of the students were un/ill prepared and unable to present a cohesive project. After two weeks of class work they still couldn't help copying from each other and trying to just read from wikipedia. Instead of writing a paper one girl just read straight from a book...

Davit Gareja Monastery

The working section of the monastery

After school on Wednesday I was back on a marshutka heading to Tbilisi to spend the night at Melody's and hang out with our friend Porter who had been visiting since the previous weekend. My long weekend in Tbilisi end up being a lot less relaxing but very productive. I got some work done on my FLEX lessons for the summer, met with the Peace Corps Georgia Youth as Resources committee members and planned out our next few events, and also met with a visiting comic book writer from DC Comics who is in Georgia on an embassy assignment to help write the first truly Georgian comic book and address issues of gender inequality.

Looking down into the monastery complex

One of many fresco filled caves

Finally Saturday came and our work for the week was through. We hired a cab for the day and then drove out to Davit Gareja monastery on the Azeri border. The area still has a large collection of monks who are working in the monastery. After exploring the active section we then hiked up the mountain to the border. From the top we could look on the Azeri side and see many caves spread out haphazardly throughout the cliff area. Each cave had remnants of fresco paintings and other markings, many dating back to about the 6th century AD.

The view of Azerbaijan with the caves on the right

While checking out some lower caves a group of Georgians beckoned us up the cliff into a higher cave which turned out to be an old church. Inside they explained some of the pictures and then sang two amazing Easter songs- Georgian hospitality. By the time we had seen all of the caves, I was exhausted and ready to rest. It has been months since I spent so much time out in the sun and exposed to it's rays, but I can't complain too much since I have a nice farmer's tan setting in now. Overall I must say that Davit Gareja was one of the most interesting places I have been to in Georgia, definitely a favorite and well worth a visit.

Cave entrance

An old alter and church

With our return to Tbilisi a week of adventures ended. We spent the rest of the day inside our hostel eating pizza and catching up on TV. The next day I had to take my marsh back to Poti which was it's own sad story. However, now I am back at site and ready to work through what is quite possibly my last full 5 day school week until next fall. However, there should be no shortage of things to post about for the next 4 months.