11th September: Telavi, Georgia to Kutaisi, Georgia
I shouldn’t complain but today is not the morning I feel like a 3-hour marshrutka ride to Tbilisi and then another bus onwards to Kutaisi! I’ve barely slept, hayfever is troublesome, I got a nasty reaction to mosquitos, and have also picked up some sort of head cold and ear infection! It’s set to be up to 37C today and this marshrutka is a darn sight hotter than that. Time to relax though as there’s nothing we can do and bring frustrated will just make it harder.
The wide valleys with mountains across the plains of grapes, with roadside fruit and churchkhela sellers is a beautiful sight. The landscape turned slightly more ‘Anatolian’ as we approached Tbilisi before we were deposited by the marshrutka into a scorching hot and traffic filled junction on the outskirts. Our coach to Kutaisi was apparently due to depart from beside a different busy road on the opposite side of the city. However, it was at this point that we realised that was the first stop and it actually started from a bus station not too far from where we were standing. Result! A local bus took us to a particularly dodgy feeling bus station, hemmed in by more busy roads. The array of destinations available was incredible, ranging from Moscow to Tehran, and Athens to Warsaw. We confirmed we could get the bus from here but the best we could do for food was some unappetising lentil soup and a very sugary orange flavoured drink.
The journey through central Tbilisi showed it in a much better light and we’re looking forward to coming back properly in a few weeks. Heading out of the city, the landscape was again vast with huge bare silhouetted ridges regularly topped with crosses. Further west, this turned to deep green canyons, through which we twisted as the unfinished dual carriageway disappeared into the hills above or below us. Before Kutaisi, the valley reopened back into a large plain, with distant mountains to the south and north.
We got another local bus into the centre of Kutaisi. Many of those on board, young and old, did the sign of the cross as we presumably passed a church. We’ve done well with transport today, quickly working out the systems and avoiding taxis. All in all, 44 Lari (about £12) per person to get most of the way across the country. It’s a shame we couldn’t get the train on the Tbilisi-Kutaisi leg, but the bus worked well.
We’re doing surprisingly well with the language so far. The Georgian script is still completely incomprehensible to us, but when spoken there are often enough similarities with Polish for Kaja to pick things up. Also, most writing is usually also in at least one of Russian and English. I can just about read some Russian and pick up some context, or failing that we can orally translate back from Russian to Polish and then English between us. It works!
As we walked to our accommodation, lightning lit up the night skies. Eventually, it reached us and we’re grateful for it dampening the hot, sticky air. Kutaisi reached 38C today – the hottest day for a couple of years and this in mid-September. I love the sound of thunder, and I happily fell asleep to the sound of rumbling.