Just 2.5 hours from Tbilisi, the little town of Kazbegi near mountain Kazbek was our next destination. After two days in Tbilisi we were eager to see the mountains and so on Monday morning we packed our bags and made our way to the subway. Traveling in Georgia on your own is pretty easy – the public transport is both cheap and well developed. If you stay in the center of Tbilisi, the subway is always minutes away, and it takes you to Didube station, where marshrutkas can take you to any part of the country.
Arriving To Kazbegi’s town square, we were met by Nazi, our host, that took us in her Niva to the nearby Gergetti village where she and her husband run a cosy homestay in their large house.
After resting a bit we still had a few day hours, so we went for a hike through Gergeti along the Tergi river, heading for waterfalls near Arsha
Meeting shepherds and a few villagers we passed through the grim-looking Pansheti village. Nazi’s husband later told us that the village was once wiped out by an epidemic, so today almost every family in Pansheti has a doctor.
Reaching the Arsha village we crossed the Tergi river and turned back without reaching the waterfalls which we saw from afar.
We were back just in time for dinner, whose typical Russian dishes reminded me of parents’ home. Nazi’s menu choices as her almost perfect Russian were shaped in Vladikavkaz, on the Russian side of the border, where she was born and grew up.
3 more days in Kazbegi were waiting for us.
Next: I’m climbing up the Gergeti glacier
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