Wednesday 26th June We travelled north from Gaudari towards the Russian border on a very winding & bumpy highway, very busy with heavy trucks, cars & buses following the Tergi River, stopping at the giant curved panoramic monument celebrating 200 years of Georgia & Russia's integration built in 1983. On we went to arrive at the giant Jvari pass, at 2379m, where there is a small cemetery to the memory of the German POWs who died during the buildin...

Monday 24th June Off we went this morning having been warned to wear 'comfortable shoes' & an hour later we found out why. First stop was at the Khertvisi Fortress, at the confluence of 2 rivers where it controls passage on the road. Noted in the 2nd century BC when Alexander the Great was there, the present one was built in the 11th century & has been added to since. It was quite a climb to reach it from the road & to explore it but the views m...

Sunday 23rd June We set out west from Tbilisi for Mtsksheta, the former capital & religious centre of Georgia at the confluence of 2 rivers. Climbing to the Jvari Monastery, with its ruined outer walls, we had a fine view over the town & the rivers. Descending again we went to see the cathedral at Mtsksheta which also sits within a walled compound. This Romanesque buil...

Saturday 22nd June After a late start at 10am, we walked across to the National History Museum, where we were guided through 2 rooms of the most exquisite gold & silver jewelry found in burial chambers of wealthy women ranging from 500 BC to 300 AD. The quality & delicacy of the material was quite breath taking & many of the designs were very fine indeed. We all were amazed at the quality & obvious wealth of the people & were told that in...

Thursday 20th June First stop today was the local market which was huge. The only new thing we saw was bales of sheep's wool for sale. We descended from the town to a huge plain, crossing many large dry riverbeds with the mountains to the north of us, some still with snow. After a fairly uneventful drive through the countryside passing at one stage hazel nut orchards & a processing plant, we arrived at the border with Georgia. Here we had our passports...