The lunatic hotel woke us at 6.20, dozed until 7.00 and away in the coach at 8.00. The Irish couple Ken and Margaret McDonnell had succumbed to the food and decided not to go on the trip. We had sardines, meat balls, buck wheat and other things for breakfast.
First stop was Borjomi for water.

Khertvisi Fortress

The next stop for a walk was the town of Akhaltsikhe. This was unusual in that there were shops selling all kinds of things. We wandered around for about 20 minutes before continuing the trip.

We then travelled on to Khertvisi Fortress. This was a long and tedious drive. The fortress was first built in the 2nd century BC. The church was built in 985, and the present walls build in 1354. The fortress has steep slopes down to the river and very commanding views.

Vardzia Cave City

Continuing along the road from Khertvisi we arrived at Vardzia, the famous cave city. The city was much larger than it is now. An earthquake brought down the cliff in which it was built, so opening up many of the rooms to the outside. There is not much else here other than the cave city. There is an ugly Intourist hotel across the road and river, but this was now deserted.

We started the visit with lunch sitting outside, with plenty of wine from Alex the local tour operator. After lunch, we struggled up the hill to view the caves. Many of these were interlinked with dark tunnels. There were some lovely frescos including the famous fresco of Tamar, (one of only four painted during her lifetime). Penetrating deep into the caves we come across a pool of water which never dries up, this pool is named Tamar’s Tears. The water is meant to be cool and sweet

Bakuriani

After Cave City, we had a long trip back to the hotel at Bakuriani. We ate outside again and fed puppy with leftovers. The food today was some strange chicken, croissants and wey cheese. The dining room was very dark and again uninviting. After dinner I drank many vodkas in the bar, hoping they would settle my stomach which was not holding food very well now. Long conversations with the barman, and Ken and Maj McDonnell.

During the night the dogs outside howled and barked all night long. I insisted on having the window open.