Georgia- Page 2

I went out early in the morning to buy Marshrutka ticket to Tbilisi, as I forgotten to buy them yesterday. Luckily seats are still available, but a couple who came 10 minutes before departure couldn't get the tickets. The bus station isn't very obvious if you didn't look close enough.

Our Marshrutka stop at the Navtlugi Bus Station west of Tbilisi, where we took the Metro to Station Square to stock up at Deserter Bazaar. We took the metro again to Didube Bus Station for our transport to Kazbegi.

We were planning to take a Marshrutka from Didube Bus Station, Tbilisi to Kazbegi and skip the sightseeing along the way due to the drizzling weather, but someone we got "convinced" to take the private car with sightseeing included (20 GEL per person, 4 person per car). The first stop is Panaroma view of Zhinvali Reservoir.

This place is a Fortress with a Monestry, and good view of the Reservoir. Definitely worth the stop.

The place looks absolutely majestic, with the beautiful monument wall and balcony surrounded by the mountains. It is very very windy as well, so we couldn't last long out here.

Clean professional guesthouse (so you don't get the warm welcome of small guesthouse), breakfast available for 15 GEL per person, but no dinner.

I believe the Town where most people stay is called Stepantsminda, but most people refer it as Kazbegi (which is the area name).

Here you can get a local delicacies: pig sausage with some intestines (can't say I really enjoy it, but worth a try). The mushroom + potato Khinkali (dumpling) is extremely filling, the Lobio (beans) is pretty good and the usual eggplant with walnut sauce, and some fruity beer.

We hike from the town towards Gergeti Trinity Church. The path is pretty scenic, going through a village and forest.

We continue hiking from Gergeti Trinity Church towards Gergeti Glacier. We bump into a herd of sheep's, which was fun. The path is nice. Soon it started to snow, probably because it was drizzling too much. It starts to get quite cold, and our pace slowed down significantly. Luckily we have enough warm clothing, but it was not easy. After a long while we reach a hut, with heating and food, thank goodness. We order some soup, try to dry some clothing by the fire heater, and enjoy our coffee. The snow is quite heavy near on the path forward, and we can hardly see the group going up in such weather. We decide to give up on reaching the glacier, and turn back to Trinity Church instead.

Visit Gergeti Trinity Church on our way down from Gergeti Glacier. The church is nice, with quite a view. We took a shared van back to to town (10 GEL per person).