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The road goes up over the mountains and past a “ski resort”.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4201/3...08f4f30c_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-05-29 at 00.21.55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4275/3...f8c76772_b.jpgBorjormi Contour-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4220/3...40d40203_b.jpgBorjormi Contour-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4223/3...4bdf62b2_b.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4244/3...75f07a5a_b.jpgGeorgia-37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4270/3...61852d7d_b.jpgIMG_0915 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4240/3...b06e46dc_b.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4251/3...debf98ce_b.jpgBorjormi Contour-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4195/3...b5e431fc_b.jpgBorjormi Contour-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4270/3...4226d79b_b.jpgBorjormi Contour-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The last 60 km or 25 km from Akhalsikhe is again paved. . Just after we hit the paved road we has a stop at a small 9 th century Monastery. All we had to eat was some jam from Bulgaria and some cream crackers, but they tasted great. We made friends with some of the local kids.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4271/3...9fdbd239_b.jpgGeorgia-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4228/3...15f003e1_b.jpgBorjormi Contour-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4200/3...a51e242b_b.jpgGeorgia-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4195/3...5c9d0250_b.jpgGeorgia-39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4272/3...e571ebb4_b.jpgGeorgia-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4257/3...8219c41b_b.jpgIMG_0966 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From here we rode onto the fortress at Akhalsikhe.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4250/3...e78cf08c_b.jpgGeorgia-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4221/3...9959aa7f_b.jpgGeorgia-44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4200/3...a14fd037_b.jpgGeorgia-45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4270/3...bd9a09bd_b.jpgGeorgia-46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4250/3...2a7501b1_b.jpgGeorgia-49 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4246/3...779dba42_b.jpgGeorgia-48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4201/3...6a8f6d86_b.jpgBorjormi Contour-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Now it was after 6 and we still had 50 km to get to Borjomi where we had a guest house booked.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4243/3...b1699c8b_b.jpgGeorgia-50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4275/3...8218e7b7_b.jpgBorjormi Contour-37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr When we road up the host was outside to great us and usher us into the parking area. We had the top floor of a house with 2 room, a sitting room, and kitchen. Still since it was now 8 pm we headed to a local restaurant for some Khinkali (dumplings) and chkmeruli (traditional Georgian dish of chicken in garlic cream sauce), and some not so “dry” Georgian wine. The guys stayed up too late with some local brandy as well so were a bit foggy in the morning. https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4269/3...afc28569_b.jpgGeorgia by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4276/3...4a0a6203_b.jpgGeorgia-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4250/3...5c3b2483_b.jpgGeorgia-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4276/3...c56f2cdf_b.jpgGeorgia-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had a very comfortable night in Rosanna’s home. We stopped on the way out of town for some breakfast and then some gas. We met some police there who were very friendly and asked us about our trip. We have not been hassled at all by police as we had read on line. The plan today is for 243 km to Zugdidi unfortunately on the main roads, but we did do a small dirt detour.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4243/3...edd3bdf0_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-05-31 at 11.58.01 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4223/3...95e4201d_b.jpgZugdidi by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4197/3...8328e2e2_b.jpgZugdidi-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4228/3...151d72e0_b.jpgZugdidi-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4252/3...4452573f_b.jpgZugdidi-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4268/3...670a2401_b.jpgZugdidi-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4198/3...10431465_b.jpgZugdidi-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4228/3...5f3a3488_b.jpgZugdidi-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4201/3...e028e24e_b.jpgGeorgia-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4202/3...745fb723_b.jpgZugdidi-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We checked into another guest house Qiri in a lovely old house. It is nice to have your bedroom, but also use of a lounge. The owner is extremely helpful and the place very clean and nice. The owner is extremely helpful and the place very clean and nice.
We walked into the town and found some arm long Schwarma for 4 dollars. Then we walked over to the "palace". I did the laundry and of course as soon as I hung it up to dry the clouds rolled in. We did a bit of a tour of the town and saw the only “sight” the Palace. It did pour all night as well. https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4201/3...f246c5a1_b.jpgGeorgia-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4272/3...37494c3f_b.jpgGeorgia-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4270/3...15447520_b.jpgGeorgia-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We woke to a sunny day. The plan today is to ride to Mestia and then into Ushguli. From here we wanted to continue on the dirt road from there, but we are not even sure it is open because of the rain. From there we could get to the capital Tbilisi the day after in a circle route.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4245/3...e8012c2b_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-05-31 at 12.00.07 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We were a bit concerned about the amount of rain and the condition of the “road” to and after Ushguli. The ride up to Mestia is paved and the scenery spectacular. https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4195/3...e454b087_b.jpgUshguli by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4219/3...e07c144c_b.jpgGeorgia-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4200/3...9037a6ff_b.jpgUshguli-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4269/3...6a62d373_b.jpgGeorgia-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4243/3...0f291e0e_b.jpgUshguli-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4251/3...bdf0f3d3_b.jpgGeorgia-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4272/3...b789ceff_b.jpgGeorgia-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4203/3...416c69bd_b.jpgUshguli-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
About 45 minutes out we stopped by the side of the road for some fresh bread and honey and this is 115 km from Ushguli.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4224/3...511c5419_b.jpgUshguli-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4272/3...4a46772d_b.jpgUshguli-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4274/3...bd298972_b.jpgUshguli-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4224/3...06c38b7c_b.jpgUshguli-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4228/3...469c9d4f_b.jpgUshguli-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Along the way we ran into Guðmundur, who we actually know from ADV! He is from Iceland and is on a similar course to us this year.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4222/3...8c23715c_b.jpgGeorgia-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4245/3...cbc3b425_b.jpgUshguli-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4276/3...887cd3cd_b.jpgGeorgia-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4272/3...e59f6c45_b.jpgGeorgia-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4200/3...c8d3a859_b.jpgUshguli-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4268/3...b42eda1b_b.jpgGeorgia-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4225/3...8d5e29a2_b.jpgGeorgia-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4274/3...2ecb7bde_b.jpgGeorgia-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flick https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4251/3...91ca5a7d_b.jpgGeorgia-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4224/3...bd4b91d8_b.jpgGeorgia-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We stopped for lunch in Mestia, which is 45 km from Ushguli.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4197/3...6a7e2fe5_b.jpgGeorgia-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The road is paved for another 15 km, then there is about 2 km of road construction with deep gravel and churned up dirt road with ruts and large clods of mud. Past this the road is good dirt with a few wet spots and some mud for about 8 -10 km to Zeghani. https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4226/3...c2ba25d1_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-05-31 at 12.02.17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4274/3...956d34df_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-05-31 at 12.00.56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4248/3...eb92d81d_z.jpgScreen Shot 2017-05-31 at 12.01.11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4212/3...65c8afe9_b.jpg18839172_10154513159886003_1384719046874163020_n by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4250/3...a34dff82_b.jpgUshguli-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4224/3...4cd7272e_b.jpgUshguli-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4247/3...d015c127_b.jpgUshguli-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4226/3...3fc47f1e_b.jpgGeorgia-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Sara hears a loud bang on the last hairpin before the village and her rear shock was blown and spewing oil. From here the route gets very muddy and slick.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4222/3...2bfb47da_b.jpg18882120_10154513175641003_286731286665561805_n by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4264/3...6e981937_b.jpg18767408_10154513175941003_7948375987845602755_n by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We did go a bit farther, but when the road got really bad Dan and Sara decided to turn back, make for Zugdidi, and see what they could organize to solve this problem. https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4219/3...6ff5c7df_b.jpgUshguli-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The ride up from there was the same in reverse, except the back hoe had made the 300 m of the construction even worse with deep churned up dirt. Hitting the pavement we pushed on 2 1/2 hours to our previous quest house, where they luckily had a room.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4226/3...c2ba25d1_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-05-31 at 12.02.17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4246/3...5a374138_b.jpgUshguli-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Trevor and Orvar pushed on the last 20 km,. the last 10 were very difficult and the last 2 took an hour. It poured all night, there “guest house” has no heat, no glass in the windows, and by morning no power. They said it was basically an abandoned building. The issue for them now is getting back out. They were able to arrange a transport for their luggage the 45 km to Mestia and this made the very challenging mud road much easier.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4221/3...cae68664_b.jpg18921637_10154513157881003_815172937658892405_n by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4283/3...10aff7b8_b.jpg18813958_10154513157486003_4375143727111810557_n by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4274/3...956d34df_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-05-31 at 12.00.56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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