Today’s plan was to visit a homestay on the Russia-Georgia line (border). When I first began plotting out my time in Georgia it was suggested to visit Mestia, but the 7+ hour (likely more in reality) drive made it impractical for my time constraints. The next best option, and possibly better, was to visit Kazbegi, now referred to as Stepantsminda by many locals. Stepantsminda comes from a literal translation of Saint Stephan, a Georgian Orthodox Monk who founded the original village. With the rise of the Russian empire in the early 19th century, many Georgians revolted against Russian control, but a local Russian loyalist, and son of Kazi-Beg held control of the village and in 1925 the town was renamed Kazbegi. Since 2006 it formally reverted to its original name, but is referenced as both these days.

Just three hours north on the Georgia Military Road, it seemed like a fun little drive, so I toyed with the idea of renting a car and doing so on my own. No agency was willing to rent a car for less than two days and I wasn’t sure I trusted myself to drive the possibly icy roads this time of year. My taxi driver from the day before and I agreed to do the drive for 125 lari, but after a little more consideration, I figured he wasn’t accustomed to the conditions of the road and decided to trust my life to a marshrutka driver. The internet has all sorts of varying info (much of it outdated) on when and how much this shared bus ride is. Not sure what to trust and wanting to maximize my time exploring the Caucasus, I decided to head to Didube metro/bus station early to assess my options. Given that it was November in the mountains I wasn’t even sure if the road would be safe or accessible this time of year.

After quick metro ride north, in yet another deep former-soviet metro station, I found the marshrutka depot. Not many folks there yet, but after asking around a bit, I found a driver who offered me a seat on his 9:00 departure and said 10 lari would get me there in two hours. With an hour to kill I milled around the nearby market and sampled a ham lobiani for 1.80 lari. As a non-elite on the Kazbegi marshrutka I could only assign my seat upon boarding so I headed back and selected a single seat near the rear. We started off only about half full but with loads of bread and other groceries. Along the way we added people and lost food. Often the driver would stop, place the food on the curb, presumably for someone to pick up, and drive off. The drive started off with a bit of motor traffic before we encountered our first sheep blockade. Multiple times along the first hour or so of the drive shepherds were herding their hundreds of sheep along the road and traffic had no choice but to sit and wait as the sheep fluidly maneuvered around each car like rushing water flows around a boulder in a river. But at unmotivated sheep speed of course.


Liberty Square Metro


2 lari metro card


That’s a long way down!


Metro car


The flag carrier


Inside


Empty marshrutka depot


Early morning market


The best part of waking up is a fresh lobiani in your hand


Found it!


Marshrutka


Today’s timetable; 9:00 departure


Fully packed


Pulled over for sheep


Holly $h#@p. Only blocking half of the road this time!

The closer to Kazbegi we got the slower we drove. The roads while clear, had already seen heavy snow this season and with no shoulder most of the way, one lane was dedicated for tractor-trailers parked along the route. It was my understanding the Russian border was very inefficient at admitting truckers so there would miles of stalled trucks waiting weeks for their turn. Strangely however, most trucks were faced southbound. Possibly with minimal options along the road they have no other alternatives when stopping for rest. At one point while reversing to allow a passing car our driver backed into a truck and when the truck’s driver came out to look at the damage our marshrutka sped off with the truck driver banging on the side of the bus. A few more stops and pickups later we had arrived in Kazbegi and those still aboard gave me the look (as the only tourist) that this is where my journey ends.


I wonder how much more it costs for a marshrutka with clean windows


Getting snowier


Georgian Ice Road Trucker


No more green


Roadside drop; I wonder who gets to carry that one back to town

I had expected upon stepping foot in Kazbegi hundreds of loving babushkas would swoon over me hoping to take me in for the night and spoon-feed me borscht while telling me Soviet nursery rhymes. At least that is what the internet led me to believe. Instead when I planted my boots firmly on the ground, there wasn’t a single babushka in sight. In fact, hardly anyone was around. After a few minutes of looking somewhat perplexed and bundling up for the 28 degree F temperature one man gave it his best effort to befriend me. He offered to drive me to his ‘homestay’ for the night. Disappointed by no babushkas, I trekked down the road toward the start of the trail to the Gergeti Trinity Church atop the mountains as he followed in his car pleading with me in decent English to ride with him. I finally convinced him to point out his place and I would return following my hike. I did after all still need a place to lay my head for the evening.


Kazbegi Central Square; Gergeti Trinity Church in the upper right


I think all 6.4km were straight uphill


Destination in sight with Mount Kazbeg looming in the background


Crossing the river that divides Kazbegi


Frozen creek

For 40 lari you can hire a 4x4 to drive you to the church, but what fun is that when the roads are covered in ice and snow. As I began walking I realized the quoted 90 minutes to reach the top would be greatly extended due to the conditions. Living in Florida it was such a blast to see snow for the first time in a few years. I trudged up the road to where the trail (a shortcut from the road) went straight uphill. The only problem was while the roads had been cleared, the trail was at least a meter deep with snow. After 15 steps I realized how exhausting that would be and turned around to continue on the longer road route.



Two women about to give up on helping the stumbling drunk down the road


Lunch time


First view above Kazbegi


Cattle parking only


Future Christmas tree


Making progress


The long road ahead


Getting snowier

Later I thought I could cut another corner and while I did, trudging through the snow at 7,000 feet really gets your heart working. Eventually I reached the top with a breathtaking view of Kazbegi below, Mount Kazbeg in the distance and the Gergeti Trinity Church finally within reach.


If that isn’t a shortcut, I don’t know what is!


Thigh deep

I had wanted to continue hiking to the Gergeti Glacier, but between the snow and late start, that wasn’t even a remote possibility. I could certainly return in the summer and spend a number of days camping and hiking. Mount Kazbeg, the third highest point (16,558’/5,047m) in Georgia towered over my 2,170-meter elevation at Gergeti Trinity Church. The church dates to the 14th century and even during its years of banned existence throughout the Soviet era it remained a popular tourist destination.


So close…


…Yet so far


Desolation


Mount Kazbeg


Gergeti Trinity Church


Mount Kazbeg’s close up


More snow along the trail


Holy Water


The homestretch


One last hurdle


Mission accomplished


Mount Kazbeg from the church


Kazbegi below


Idyllic skies

I spent about an hour taking in the scenery and wandering the solitude that surrounded me before beginning the trek down. Now that the sun had dipped below the mountains it was cooling down and much of the slush on the road from earlier had become ice. I only fell once, and managed to save the camera, at the expense of certain body parts. Given the conditions my walk down was really slow. When I finally reached Kazbegi at about 16:00 I decided I wasn’t spending the night if I could avoid it. A few locals indicated there would be a 17:00 marshrutka to Tbilisi so I found warmth in a nearby restaurant and enjoyed an order of ‘brains on a pan’ while jamming out to Nickelback. As I discovered across Georgia, they sure love Nickelback. I’m just thankful it wasn’t Creed.


A rare sign of humanity


Someone had their fun


Icy path home


Kazbegi, here I come


Back at the river


So hungry!


Tea time


‘Brains on a pan’

Belly full, I walked outside to hop on the marshrutka, again for 10 lari, and began my journey back to Tbilisi. Now dark and with the two-lane road congested by parked trucks we didn’t make it very quickly on the first half of the drive. The Georgia Military Road served as a route between Tbilisi and Vladikavkaz, Russia for moving soldiers since the late 18th century. The road hugs the South Ossetia border as you slowly descend from the Caucasus Mountains. Over the years the road has seen vast improvements and is a critical route for transporting goods between the CIS. More than once, Russia has closed its side of the border crossing but recently it opened again due to an Armenian demand for shipping goods across Georgia to Armenia.


Marshrutka before reaching 120% capacity

The route was absolutely packed and for about a thirty-minute stretch we had a standing room only crowd. Maybe that offer for a private taxi for 70 lari wasn’t such a bad deal after all! Three hours later at 20:00 I arrived back at Didube and took the metro back to my apartment to clean up for dinner. All in all, not a bad journey for 20 lari (~$8.25). When I went to swipe my metro card it was rejected for some reason and made a loud buzz followed by a laughing sound effect. Cruel! It worked on the next try. Using social media I had met a local Georgian and we agreed to meet for drinks along with her friends. It was a fun experience and we discussed all sorts of topics including the Georgian economy, buying an iPhone in Tbilisi, the Russian annexation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and even the local movie Tangerines. Several Argos (local beer) later we parted ways and I headed off to sleep following yet another fulfilling day. Just no babushka to hold me tight.