We spent more time in Ushguli than any other place so far in Georgia and for good reason. The setting in the mountains is incredible and you get a bit of a flavor for what life is like in a Georgian mountain village. So, I kept a little bit of Ushguli (and lots of pictures) in my heart and made my way to the Black Sea.
We had to leave our guest house before anyone was awake to get our taxi to Mestia. I felt badly that we didn't say goodbye to the kids before we left. We shared the taxi with the Germans - Oliver felt a little bit sick 🤢 on the windy mountain roads, so he had to move to the front. David, our driver (same guy as the ride to Ushguli), chatted with us about life in Georgia. He really loves living in Georgia. He says the people may be poor, but they are very happy and have time to enjoy life. It would be wonderful if folks in the USA could embrace this Georgian attitude for life a bit more.
After our taxi ride to from Ushguli to Mestia, we had to wait a few hours for the Mashruka to leave, so we walked around and a saw a little bit more of the town and bought a few snacky things for the ride to Zugdidi.
It was kind of a comedy show getting going towards Zugdidi. We ended up getting on and off the mashruka 4 times. It seemed like the reason for this was to count how many seats were available. We thought that there might be a more efficient way to do this, especially since it was SO HOT 🥵. Once we got under way, there was at least a little bit of a breeze from a few windows that opened. It was hot and the driver did smoke while driving, but it was better than the drive to Mestia.
The best part of the ride was meeting 2 Georgian guys, David and Irakli, who had just summited Mt Tetnuldi so they are rugged! At the rest stop, David asked if I wanted to join them for some kubdari (apparently the place was famous for these meat pies). The kubdari was yummy and the company was excellent. We ended up chatting the rest of the way to Zugdidi which definitely made the ride go way quicker. We will probably meet up with them for my last night in Tbilisi.
After 4 hours, we arrived in Zugdidi very hot and sticky. David helped us to get a taxi to Anaklia. We said goodbye to our German friends and headed to the Black Sea. Our hotel hit the spot - air conditioning and a shower felt heavenly.
After regrouping from our travels, we headed to the beach. The beach was a combination of sand and small rocks. It was very clean and there were several attentive lifeguards. It appeared that this is where Georgian families visit rather than an international touristy crowd. As someone who isn't wild about beaches, this atmosphere was actually really laid-back and fun. I had zero expectations so I was pleasantly surprised. What was even more surprising was the water temperature of the water - it was so warm it felt like a bath.
After dipping several times in the salty sea and people watching, we headed to dinner. We picked a random place which ended up being an excellent choice because we got an impromptu cooking lesson in their outdoor kitchen after we ordered our meal. The women who were cooking seemed to get a kick out of us. We are getting very good at charades in order to communicate. Turns out that we had ordered something kind of like cheesy grits without knowing it. The food was yummy, but what was even better was how happy the women cooking were to show us their craft. Georgian people are so friendly.
We ate so much food that we rolled out of the restaurant and boogied to catch the sunset over the sea. What a change from wearing our puffy jackets in the morning in Ushguli as the sun came up to sweating in shorts and t-shirts in Anaklia as the sun dipped past the sea.
And tomorrow, it's water park time!
Amazing!
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