Another day in Kutaisi but today we have a road trip to see some popular sites outside of Kutaisi. Luckily the weather gods are in our favor this beautiful morning. We meet our guide for the day and discover we are the only two in our group. Our tour guide Lasha is friendly and very knowledgeable of Georgian history.
Our first stop is at Borjomi, the sight of a natural suplhur spring that contains healing waters, and also the birthplace of the popular bottled Borjormi Sparkling water that is sold internationally. We try it once at one smaller spring while it is cold and it is drinkable but slightly sulphuric but when we try the spring warm in another location it is has a strong sulphur and rust taste. It is supposed to be healing so hopefully it fixes my stomach that has not been cooperative lately. The springs are in a peaceful park along a river with bridge crossings and depending on where we are in the park we hear either the chirp of birds or the sound of loud music from a tourist vendor. The historic borjomi building is currently under construction and will be reopened as a museum.
We have a long drive that gets broken up with some road side views including some old fortresses and beautiful views of the river and mountain side.
We stop at the 12th century mountain cave site of Vardzia. This elaborate system of caves built to be a monastery was destroyed greatly from an earthquake in 1283. Despite the earthquake it was still used until the country was invaded by the Ottoman Empire. Prior to the earthquake the caves provided good protection from invaders and the cave system provided comfortable temperatures year round as well as a natural water supply.
We stop for a charming lunch by the fast flowing river. We try the most amazing red beans (Lobio).
Our final stop is Rabati Castle (Akhaltsikhe Castle), or beautiful castle complex initially built in the 9th century with very little important history and pales in comparison to what we have just seen today.
Today is a long day of driving between the three locations but a common theme is road cows; cows, cows, everywhere. Cows roam the nearby pastures daily and commute home, sometimes blocking the roads.
We arrive back late so we rest up for tomorrow, our last full day in Kutaisi. We plan to tour old sanitoriums, more on the
Growing With Leala 