Yerevan Or Bust

We've quickly found out that here in Armenia all roads lead to Yerevan. It's easy to get there, but much more difficult to leave with a specific place in mind - outside of taking a Taxi, renting your own vehicle or hitching a ride (aka: auto-stop).

From Tbilisi, GEORGIA we wanted to cross into ARMENIA and stop 2km past the border in a town called Alaverdi. Unfortunately, according to the bus station, no such ticket existed. We tried for 3 hours to find a marshrutka to take us there (taxi wanted to charge 50 Lari / person), but they would only let us buy a 30 Lari ticket to Yerevan. If you speak Georgian, you may be able to work out a deal, buy even that is difficult without going through "the chief" first.

Chris - Using her backpack as a seat.

LOGISTICAL STUFF: 
TBILISI, GEORGIA - ALAVERDI (OR YEREVAN), ARMENIA: From the Ortachala international bus station in Tbilisi, buy a marshrutka ticket to Yerevan (last one leaves at 15:00 - private bus companies do not go to Alaverdi) for 30 Lari / person - sadly, you cannot get a cheaper ticket just for Alaverdi. We were unable to locate any information on trains to Alaverdi. If anything, there is a train to Yerevan on EVEN days, and one from Yerevan to Tbilisi on ODD days, but we are unsure if they even stop in Alaverdi. From talking to several travelers, there may not be one, and if so, it's difficult to stop.

Matt - Inside Georgian border control building.

VISA:
Hop off the bus (leave your bags on board) and go through the Georgian border control building to obtain your exit stamp. Hop back on the bus to travel 30 feet to the Armenian border control booth (outside, next to a large metal gate) to obtain your VISA. Fill out an application given to you by the officer in the booth - no photo required, despite what it says in the designated rectangular area on the top right corner of the application. Make sure you have a full-page available in your passport for the full-page VISA sticker to live. Sign the entry/exit paperwork (again, given by the officer) and pay the man. You cannot pay with any other currency other than Dram - 3000 Dram / person for U.S. Citizens. (If you need Dram, ask one of the security officers in fatigues to point you to the "bankomat" across the Armenian border - he will hold onto your passport until you return.) Walk 30 more feet to a tiny booth next to several car lanes to get your entry stamp. Welcome to Armenia! :) Don't forget to hop back onto the right marshrutka.

Day 100 - Brother & Sisterly Love

We wanted to post a big THANK YOU to Mark & Gaby (Matt's brother & sister-in-law) for bestowing upon us a taste of luxury for our 100th Day on the road. Also, thanks to Nicole (Chris' sister) for working her magic on the "hook-up" in this endeavor. Love you guys!

With their powers combined in Tbilisi, GEORGIA:

A Hiker's Paradise

There's still a great deal more to see on our trip, but if someone were to ask me today what place has had the most natural beauty in all the places I had ever traveled to, then I would, without question, say the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia.  I'm sure I would get a few blank stares back at home, until I explained that I meant the country of Georgia and not the state.
We visited two different places in the Greater Caucasus - Mestia and Kazbegi (there are plenty of others) - and both were equally mind-blowing in terms of natural beauty. There really aren't any words to describe how breathtaking it was, but picture small village towns, super fresh cool air, massively steep mountains, glaciers tucked away in almost every valley, and wild horses randomly seen on distant mountain sides.  

Mestia
 

Kazbegi

These regions truly are a hiker's - or any nature lover's - paradise. From the extreme glacier summit climbers to the 3-day trekkers, or even the 8hr day hikers, the options to enjoy nature seem endless. We saw wild horses on two of our four hikes and on all of them we couldn't stop saying, "Wow, where are we?!"

Mestia

The only possible negative part was the potential for over development and tourism run amok.  Although still not a tourist "Hot Spot", the once small village town of Mestia now has futuristic-looking buildings and construction on every corner. It's easy to see why there is such huge potential for tourism, but hopefully it doesn't take away what drew people here to begin with. (This wasn't the case in Kazbegi and, in our opinion, these regions as a whole are still very much "untouched.")

CLICK FOR PICS: Mestia & Kazbegi

Serendipity

Ha! That was aaaamazing!

A few days ago, Matt and I were making our way across Georgia from Borjomi to Kazbegi by their infamous marshrutkas. We had to stop in Tbilisi to catch the next bus north. The ride in itself is always an interesting venture - near head-on collisions, random local hitchhikers that hop on/off at will, babies that are tossed around the bus to various other passengers so that the mother could have a break, and shared snacks amongst us all.

This time, there was a middle-aged woman who succumbed to motion sickness. At first, she just felt woozy, so a fellow passenger let her lay her head down on her shoulder. However, immediately after she spilled her cookies inside the bus, almost every single passenger got involved in her care. Aside from stopping the bus to let her out, she was given bread, water and even the driver plucked some fruit from a tree on the side of the road to give to her. Keep in mind, these are absolute strangers. I wanted to do my part (I mean, we've all been there), so I handed her some wet wipes I got from a pizza restaurant weeks before, saving them for this such occasion.

After 10 minutes of back rubs and low chatter, we were on our way. Everyone shifted around so that she could take the front passenger seat near the driver, and a woman behind her continued to check-in every so often to see if she needed a break. Once we arrived in Kazbegi, after slowly maneuvering around each switchback (very unusual for marshrutkas to go slow around anything), everyone went their separate ways - we went to Nazi's Guesthouse.

Fast forward to today. We decided to check out some waterfalls just outside Arsha. It was a 5km walk there, along a very busy road, but once we got to the waterfall we were happy about the journey. We spent a few hours roaming the mountain side, eating the sandwich Nazi made for us, and finally made our way back down.

We greeted the road once again with a tad disdain. We began to walk, but had remembered seeing someone hitchhike their way to the waterfall earlier that day. So, we both decided to give it a go. We smiled big and on our first hand wave (up and down, like you're petting a dog) someone pulled over to pick us up.

We thanked the driver profusely, and got in. And guess who was in the passenger seat? None other than the sick woman from the marshrutka ride. It was just too serendipitous that we all chipped in to help her out when she was in need and there she was (not recognizing us) giving us a lift back to town. Just amazing. Guess that's just how it works here in Georgia.

SIDE NOTE:
Shortly after writing this, we found out that the sick woman from the marshrutka was in fact Nazi's Aunt, and the man in the driver's seat...(wait for it)...Nazi's Brother-in-Law. Wuddayaknow.

Georgian Hospitality - Marina's Guesthouse

Hospitality can come in many forms, but for us it came in a glass jar.

Coming from Turkey, where everything was high energy and long distances, we were looking forward to a little down time when we crossed into Georgia. But unfortunately, when we hit our first city – Zugdidi – we didn’t quite get the rest we were hoping for. Although the mosquito net Matt had been carrying in his pack for the past 3 months finally got a chance to make its debut, it still didn’t alleviate the puddles of sweat forming in every crevice of our bodies while we tossed during the night.

Zugdidi Hostel

When we reached Borjomi, it was a pleasant town with a relaxing atmosphere – humid-free, with various carnival rides and an outdoor café in the park, a cable car, even a Ferris wheel overlooking the mineral water park that Borjomi is so famous for. But, these are not what made our stay here so memorable. It’s not so much a matter of what, but rather who it was that made all the difference.

When we arrived at the front door step of Marina’s Guesthouse, we weren't quite sure of what to expect – would she even have availability?  We were aching for a place to just sit and catch up on blog posts, phone calls, and any other odds and ends that needed mending – like Matt’s ripped Jeans. As soon as we stepped over the threshold, we knew we had found our sanctuary. 

Not only did we have exceptional accommodations, like a sparkling bathroom (with hot water), baby soft sheets and our very own living quarters, but Marina herself was all around pleasant. One of the first things she mentioned was how her children both met Americans teaching English in Georgia, and are now married, living abroad. As we struggled to ask questions sprinkled with Georgian, she handed us a book, “English to Georgian Easy Phrases,” that her daughter had given her.

During our 5 days there, we did some laundry (rather, she did for us), uploaded some pictures and had some of the most delicious jam one would every lick off a spoon. Every morning, we would get giddy waiting to glob it over every edible surface that could withstand the weight. It was that good, and it was homemade by Marina and her mom right in that very kitchen.

We were only supposed to stay for 2 nights, but she just made us feel so welcome in her home that we didn’t want to leave. (Meanwhile, we counted the people that had come and gone during our stay.) When we came down for our final breakfast, we were genuinely sad to go. We did our best to memorize the flavor profile of her signature jam, but just as we were finishing our final bite, a sizeable jar of this deliciousness appeared next to me on the table. Marina smiled and said, “It’s to take with you.”

That did it. My jar of jam runneth over.

Before we left, she gave us one of those “mom” hugs – you know, where you just feel loved, and we did our best to thank her for making us feel so at home – a home away from home if you will. We hope to one day meet again in Georgia or even the States when she’s visiting her daughter. For now, we’ll just have to make due with scraping the bottom of the jam jar.

LOGISTICAL STUFF:

• Marina Zulmatashvili's Homestay (Marina's Guesthouse)
• Address: 2 Ketevan Tsamebuli St (2 Shroma St), Borjomi, GEORGIA
• W: http://www.facebook.com/MarinasGuesthouse/info
• E: marinasguesthouse@gmail.com | P: 598 18 45 50

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICS

"It's Naked Time!" - Matt's Short Story

I went to take a shower at one of the guesthouses, here in Mestia, Georgia. Just as I disrobed, and was about to jump in and close the curtain, in walks the relatively older woman who owns the home - she calls herself 'The Babushka.' I stood there, bare ass naked, frozen. She just paused, smiled at me sweetly and closed the door. 

NO PICS FOR THIS ONE (for obvious reasons)

Crosswalk to საქართველო

One might think that crossing a border by foot would require more effort than taking a bus. This is definitely not the case crossing into Georgia from Turkey. In a matter of 25 minutes (including a bathroom break), we had our Turkey exit and Georgian entry stamps.  Not to mention, the helpful tourist info booth at the Georgian border. They called one of the hostels we had picked out to make sure there was enough room for us that night. Fantastic! All that was left was to catch a marshrutka (minibus) and head to Zugdidi.

"Here we come Georgia!"

LOGISTICAL STUFF:

Take bus to the Turkish border town, Sarp. (Some buses will take you all the way to Batumi, GEORGIA, but tend to be more expensive. We were advised to get off at Sarp.) Follow the crowds on foot through the Turkish and then Georgian border crossings – no Visa required for U.S. citizens. Once inside the Georgian checkpoint building, you are now in Sarpi, GEORGIA. Don’t forget to take advantage of the English-speaking information desk before you exit - they even have mini Georgian translation cards. Hop on a marshrutka for 1.5 GEL / person to Batumi. From there, you can catch another marshrutka to anywhere.

CLICK HERE FOR PICS