Chiatura, Georgia

Perseverence: plant in concrete sidewalk

2 half-ruined Christian memorabilia spots

Nr Chiatura, Georgia

Lali extracting honey in a hand-turned spinner

Lali having her ear pulled by her uncle

A kitten finds a temporary home between my feet

Chiatura Monastery, Georgia

Sadly, we arrived too early to get in, and had to return to Jvari Etseri a few hours later by public transport. A beautifully placed monastery in this canyon city.

Chiatura & Jvari Etseri, Georgia

Lenin & Stalin from pebbles, Chiatura

Local children in an old car, Jvari Etseri

Lali picking tea (she knows so much about village life!), Jvari Etseri

Jvari Etseri, nr Chiatura, Georgia

I'm a little out of order again. These photos are from before our trip to Abastumani. Oh well.

Here our friend is excavating his marani, or wine store - a collection of huge clay vessels sunk into the ground and stoppered with earth. There's a layer on the top of the wine which must be removed using handy fig leaves. Then the wine is ready to decant - delicious!