On the Road, Central-Upper Svaneti

Lots to report today!

This is the first time I've been able seamlessly to make the transition from Tbilisi to Svaneti without missing a day, even, of blog posting. I played it safe by putting yesterday's post up a day in advance in Tbilisi, using Post Options to have it show up on the blog automatically yesterday. I had earlier taken the setup - laptop, cellphone and cable - back to a Magti office in Tbilisi, to complain that their late November '08 setup which worked on the spot didn't work on the field, and could they please redo it? Success this time, great relief. Per-megabyte costs for this kind of internet have gone down significantly in the year since I last had success with this method, with special rates: I chose to buy 5 GB for a month for 60 GE lari (about US$40), which is much cheaper indeed than last winter. This way I can be as free as I need on the internet, not needing to watch the MB go by - 5 GB/month is more than I need for sure.

So 2 days ago I took the night train from Tbilisi to Zugdidi with the fellow pictured here, Mikho, Ushguli's new marshroutka (public minivan) driver; and he then drove me and several others up to Ushguli yesterday, which took a further 8 hours or so. The road was quite wet with snow melt as far as Svaneti's capital, Mestia, but from there to Ushguli it was colder, with a nice ploughed snow surface - almost as good as asphalt, as he'd said earlier, to my mystification. I decided not to waste the journey. My Canon EOS digital camera came into its own yet again as I was able to experiment, see the results instantly in the LCD screen, make corrections, and continue. My approach was mostly to use slow shutter speeds - 1/15 to 1 second or so - and allow the scene to shake around, to give an impression of our bumpy journey. Not everyone's cup of tea, but a fun thing to try out with few other possibilities available to me at the time. The top shot, however, is relatively sharp, to show the rockfalls which can hinder one's way. Most of the frames have window dirt or water drops and reflections in them, as well as a bit of fog softening the scene; no matter. I also tried fill-in flash a bit (3rd shot), to freeze Mikho in action while allowing some motion blur at the same time. Note the typical Georgian driver's ornaments, at the top of the windscreen - icons, in this case of St Nino and the Virgin Mary, and a cigarette ad. The bottom shot shows how the immediate forground, at the bottom of the picture, was racing by horizontally while we were bouncing up and down, which is more evident in the blur of the mid- to background. Quite pleased with the results, and with the freedom to play which the new machine allows. NWB, don't tire of having me say Thank You for this gift - I mean it every time.

Upper Svaneti, September 2007

It was only a weekend, but I did my best to make it count. Just a few locations for the photographs, as I was travelling with friends; but fortunately they were indulgent, perhaps aware that they would not regret stopping here and there for these images.

Greetings to the first viewer from Montenegro! That makes 63 countries stopping by, something I'm quite pleased about.

Upper Svaneti, September 2007

Still on the way home - what we accomplished in 12 hours takes several days to spin out in photographs. I could hardly have wished for better weather - clouds for drama, clear air, brilliant sunshine and deep blue sky behind the clouds, just right for landscape work.

Upper Svaneti, September 2007

More from the way home via Lentekhi. There had been just a sprinkle of snow at this height, but enough to be visible and cause some excitement among the two young girls of the family I was traveling with this time. Snowballs abounded!

Upper Svaneti, September 2007

So we move to the next trip up to Ushguli, via Lentekhi both ways as a) it was by LandRover and b) it was only for a weekend and we needed to save time on the shorter route.

This trip was for the purpose of helping me move my winter things, as well as taking a lot of materials for Ushguli's school: 1/2 the entire year's curriculum books for all classes and subjects; many other school materials such as notebooks and pens; lots of new Georgian books for the school library; three computers; and three radiators. All of this was donated by friends of mine and their friends or colleagues, and it was a great blessing to the village.

Here are three shots of a set from the road back, not far from Ushguli itself, weather cooperating nicely as far as lighting and air clarity. More to come.

NB My move to Ushguli for the winter has been delayed 8 days due to the road being closed from K'ala onwards until this evening, and needing to match schedules with my friend who is driving me up. No worries, I've waited this long.

Upper Svaneti, August 2007

Continuing our departure from Ushguli via Lentekhi, a route I've taken far more seldom than the Mestia way, which is longer but has better roads and stays open longer. The bottom shot shows how much ice and snow were still around in late summer, likely to survive until winter freezes them again.

I note that my USA population of viewers finally overtook those from Georgia more than a week ago, and seems destined not to allow the latter to regain their prime position.

Dato scything, above Ushguli, August 2004

We survived the Lentekhi road, including an ice-and-snow bridge crossing - in August! And here, making hay for the family cows, was our host in Ushguli.

Rough road, above Lentekhi, August 2004

Just what I needed: something to make the usual, occasionally white-knuckle road up via Zugdidi seem TAME.

Tomorrow: continuation of this trip, above and into Ushguli...

Kvirike Church, upper Svaneti, November 2003

Visible in the background, the church is locked, high on a hill with a steep path winding up to it. In 2005 some friends and I paid for the privelege of having it opened for us, with a guide to take us up and in. Kvirike is guarded 24/7 in shifts by villagers. Because...
Among its icons is one in chased gold, one of the most important icons in the entire Orthodox world, which was stolen years ago, before such heavy guarding began. The thieves ran away with their prize across the mountains... and were pursued by the locals who, catching up to them, stoned them to death and recovered the treasure. Although we saw other beautiful Orthodox icons in the church, the main item remained locked away in its own strongbox; it is displayed only once a year, for Kvirikoba, the famous festival of this church.
In the foreground are a metal cross and some bottles. One is supposed to drink a toast to the local saint; but not, presumably, to then litter the ground with empty bottles? (One step back would reveal what I'm describing.) The fact is that there's no organised garbage collection service at ALL in this part of the country, so it's not just a matter of shaming people into not polluting in this manner. Complicated. But garbage strewn in Svaneti is still an easy sell to locals as a sin against nature and God.