In the morning I can see some blue sky from my balcony and it looks like
it will be nice weather.
I get some bread, cheese, tomato and a
boiled egg with me and start towards Mutso. The hosts are cool and easy,
they don't even ask if I know the road. Tourist will know. The road
goes along a gushing stream towards the Chechen border.
The turn around the mountain is the closest point to the border. Border is about 2 kilometers from here. Up on the hill one can see a building with the Georgian flag. Just as I stand there and look towards Russia, I hear three gunshots. The funny thing is that with the first shot I'm down behind a rock. The drills work. But you can't get an Estonian spy so easily. The photo will be taken from behind the rock. After that I continue walking. It must have been a wake-up ceremony or a salute to greet me or something.
Grey clouds arrive, there's sun in Russia. The mountainsides are filled with colorful trees. Trees that are not supposed to grow here, according to people who have never been here. I meet a herdsman on a horse. We greet each other. After next turn there lies a dead fox. Bloody carcass towards the sky, head on one end and tail on the other. Do wolves eat foxes?
For a deserted place there is a lot of activity. Some houses and some herdsmen. Here and there you can see cows attached to the steep mountains like flies on a wall.
In two hours I see the first tower of Mutso high up the rock. Mutso is more deserted than Shatili. They shouldn't even have roofs here. Anyway, here's no cell phone network.
Getting here took me three hours, including half an hour climb up the mountain. And it definitely wasn't 12 kilometers.
How did they build the houses up here? These consist of thin stones.
With me also the sun arrives in Mutso. I see a snake, a bunch of grass-hoppers, butterflies and bees. Up the mountain the wind is so strong that you can almost see it. I make a picnic in a corner that is more quiet. The view is on the mountains covered with pieces of sun. I sit all the time in the sun although clouds that are looking more and more angry are moving across the sky. Hallelujah!
Two black birds chase each other in some kind of game.
I spend some time sitting in wind shade and let the sun shine on me. It's too early to go back.
Interesting, what will happen first, will the towers fall down or will herds of tourists discover this place? Either way, I have had the luxury of hanging around here on my own and in peace.
It tries to rain a bit on my way back. Will it snow again on the pass? There's some white stuff higher up. And sun on the other side of the mountain.
At the border check-point I re-enter network and start receiving messages. Warm moss is a good place to sit for phone calls and sms-ing.
The speed of my walk goes down. There's some sun and a lot of time.
The hostess says I'm molodets when I reach my guesthouse.
It damn cold in the room. The wind blows right through the house. No heating in sight.
Spaghetti and risotto Georgian style for dinner. Followed by a Georgian evening with candies and Shota Rustaveli.
Luckily the host brings me another blanket. The rest of the evening I hibernate in the heap of blankets and wait for a suitable time to go to sleep.
The turn around the mountain is the closest point to the border. Border is about 2 kilometers from here. Up on the hill one can see a building with the Georgian flag. Just as I stand there and look towards Russia, I hear three gunshots. The funny thing is that with the first shot I'm down behind a rock. The drills work. But you can't get an Estonian spy so easily. The photo will be taken from behind the rock. After that I continue walking. It must have been a wake-up ceremony or a salute to greet me or something.
Grey clouds arrive, there's sun in Russia. The mountainsides are filled with colorful trees. Trees that are not supposed to grow here, according to people who have never been here. I meet a herdsman on a horse. We greet each other. After next turn there lies a dead fox. Bloody carcass towards the sky, head on one end and tail on the other. Do wolves eat foxes?
For a deserted place there is a lot of activity. Some houses and some herdsmen. Here and there you can see cows attached to the steep mountains like flies on a wall.
In two hours I see the first tower of Mutso high up the rock. Mutso is more deserted than Shatili. They shouldn't even have roofs here. Anyway, here's no cell phone network.
Getting here took me three hours, including half an hour climb up the mountain. And it definitely wasn't 12 kilometers.
How did they build the houses up here? These consist of thin stones.
With me also the sun arrives in Mutso. I see a snake, a bunch of grass-hoppers, butterflies and bees. Up the mountain the wind is so strong that you can almost see it. I make a picnic in a corner that is more quiet. The view is on the mountains covered with pieces of sun. I sit all the time in the sun although clouds that are looking more and more angry are moving across the sky. Hallelujah!
Two black birds chase each other in some kind of game.
I spend some time sitting in wind shade and let the sun shine on me. It's too early to go back.
Interesting, what will happen first, will the towers fall down or will herds of tourists discover this place? Either way, I have had the luxury of hanging around here on my own and in peace.
It tries to rain a bit on my way back. Will it snow again on the pass? There's some white stuff higher up. And sun on the other side of the mountain.
At the border check-point I re-enter network and start receiving messages. Warm moss is a good place to sit for phone calls and sms-ing.
The speed of my walk goes down. There's some sun and a lot of time.
The hostess says I'm molodets when I reach my guesthouse.
It damn cold in the room. The wind blows right through the house. No heating in sight.
Spaghetti and risotto Georgian style for dinner. Followed by a Georgian evening with candies and Shota Rustaveli.
Luckily the host brings me another blanket. The rest of the evening I hibernate in the heap of blankets and wait for a suitable time to go to sleep.
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