The last day of the tour has arrived! It’s been such a full-on schedule that I’m kinda pleased that this is my last structured day for a little while. Touring is tiring! 8:45am we piled on the bus for a short trip up to a viewpoint over the city at Victory Park. Mt. Ararat is … Continue reading Caucasus Day 13: Yerevan

On an exercise kick now! Sophie led us on an hours walk this morning through Goris down to a viewpoint looking across to hills where the first settlers carved out cave homes, a la Cappadocia.  Along the way we popped into 2 bakeries. The 1st had finished baking but we got a free sample of … Continue reading Caucasus Day 12: Goris > Yerevan

Sophie, Olivia and I were the only ones to brave the cold morning air for a quick hike at 7am. The sun was just appearing on the hills opposite our hotel which made a picturesque start. A couple of local dogs made sure we found the way. Our days first destination was Lake Sevan, one … Continue reading Caucasus Day 11: Dilijan – Goris

Off to country #3, Armenia! A mere 1.5h drive south, we had a much easier time crossing this border than the last; well, except for me. I’m using my Canadian passport and I was the only one needing a visa, which I had, but without my middle name printed on it. That caused a good … Continue reading Caucasus Day 10: Tblisi > Dilijan (Armenia)

A day without driving! More or less.  Today we did a walking tour of the Old Town starting with an overview of it from across the river, wizzed over by cablecar, then wandered through the warren of streets checking out stores, churches and architecture. A little free time in the afternoon then back out for … Continue reading Caucasus Day 9: Tblisi

38° this morning! Yesterday the forecast was for rain and snow and we started our hike in just that at 8:45am.  The trail took us about an hour to climb, mostly stairs in a pleasant wood. We were met with a bit of a blizzard at the top but once we made it to the … Continue reading Caucasus Day 8: Stepantsminda > Tblisi

Day 7 Up and out by 9:30am, our first stop today was Uplistsikhe and its cave dwellings. The main occupation was from 4th C. BC - 4th C. AD but people were inhabiting the site from 10th century B.C.  It was an actual town with homes, wine presses, pagan temples, etc. It was extremely windy … Continue reading Caucasus Day 7: Gori > Kazbegi National Park

The weather gods have not been kind to us again.  100% chance of rain for most of the day.  Fortunately our first sightseeing stop was under cover: Telavi Market.  Smaller than the last we saw, and some of the stalls were designed for tourists (spice packs and dried fruit/nut “candles”) but still very much a … Continue reading Caucasus Day 6: Telavi > Gori

On to a new country today! It was a 2 hour drive to the border, then it was a bit of a hassle to cross. There’s land border is closed to entry for people, and has been since the pandemic;. We can exit by land but you can only enter by plane.  There’s been no … Continue reading Caucasus Day 5: Sheki > Telavi (Georgia)