Georgia – Day 5 – Girevi – Dartlo – Omalo
Slept all night like a log. Woke up and went out of my room to check if all the clothes and my shoes that I fell in the river with, the day before, were dry. The views from the balcony stunned me. The first thing I saw were the old defensive towers up the side of the mountain from the direction I came. I didn’t see them the day before. They were like the stuff of fairy tales. The valley stretched in front and continued East, hiding behind another mountain edge. All my clothes were still soaked, including the shoes. I went to breakfast barefoot.
The breakfast was rich, of course it had khachapuri but also chai, local cheese, different types of grains, jams, bread, etc. Considering I had burned around 8000kcal the day before and only consumed around 2000 (I wonder why I felt weak..) I was planning to eat well. The three German guys (Maximilian, Tibor and I didn’t get the name of the third) and the Israeli couple (Inbar and Maydad) joined me at the table. We went over their plans for the day and discussed the forecast. The guys were planning to walk to Omalo (essentially the capital village of Tusheti), and Maydad and Inbar wanted to hike to the Nakaicho pass. That’s where I wanted to go too, according to my original plan and maybe get to Omalo day after. However, the weather had changed and it looked like it would rain in the afternoon. I decided that I’ve pushed my luck enough yesterday, so my plan was to cycle straight to Omalo to sleep there. It was a good point to do the Nakaicho pass anyway. Maydad and Inbar, having hiked across the Pirikita Alazani valley on the way to Girevi, weren’t eager to backtrack the same way, so they decided to skip the pass and to get a driver to Omalo.
Through breakfast we all talked, but I noticed that I naturally levitated towards the Israeli couple. Their personality and the things they noticed while travelling seemed to really align with the things that I paid attention to and the sentiments I kept from experiences. Talking to them was really easy and I really enjoyed it. Part of me wished I could spend some more time with them as one of the things I’ve missed so far on my trip was company.
The rest finished up eating but I stayed, determined to eat as much as possible, although slow. Another cup of tea and I was ready to go. I packed the bags and all the wet stuff separately, then reluctantly put my soggy (now a bit stinky) shoes on and it was time to go. I said bye and left, crossing the river on a makeshift bridge and joining the main dirt road.
The road follows the river and it would take me through the villages of Parsma, Chesho, Dartlo and then the road splits starting to climb over the mountain and towards Omalo. Riding on that road was pure joy. I had a proper grin on my face, the sun was shining through the clouds, I literally couldn’t believe the contrast this experience was from yesterday.
Around the corner I saw Parsma, an old fortress village up on a hill. It was spectacular. I just stopped to stare, then took some photos. Nothing could capture how ridiculously that place looked like taken out of the Lord of the rings. I continued often stopping and taking photos, knowing I had a short day today and wanting to enjoy these places.
After about half an hour I noticed behind me a 4×4 coming, and realised it must be the vehicle Inbar and Maydad had rented to get them to Omalo. I kept riding and it wasn’t really catching up with me. I took a few more stops to take photos and eventually the car caught up and overtook me. I started riding again and quickly got behind it. On these roads a bike is so much faster than the car (if you’re not climbing), because they have to maintain lower speed due to all the bumps. But I didn’t fancy riding in the exhaust of the car for long, so I stopped to take some drone shots of the valley and waved them goodbye.
I passed Chesho, which was also spectacular. Just shortly after I had to cross a stream, another big one. I looked for alternative places to cross and not seeing any, I took my shoes and socks off, determined to make better decisions today. I was 90% through, when the shoes, being attached to my handlebars fell off and into the stream. @£&*&@£ I grabbed them with the socks inside. They were full of water. Fantastic.
It didn’t take me long but I made it to Dartlo. The village is considered the most picturesque and beautiful in Tusheti, and I could see why. There is another village hidden above it, about a 4km hike called Kvavlo, that many don’t know about. However, I didn’t feel like hiking there. Instead, I found a guest house and stopped for an early lunch, trying to replenish the calories from yesterday.
I ordered the local beer, now normally I don’t drink, but I heard that it is very different to beer anywhere else, so I had to try it. It didn’t disappoint. It was a sour-y tasting drink, very light and refreshing. More like a juice, not very high in alcohol but very delicious. I also ordered a few other things on the menu by randomly pointing as I didn’t know what they were. Somehow, I managed to order another khachapuri haha.
I slowed down, enjoying the food and the views. I also checked the weather again and it was forecast for rain every day for the rest of the week. At that point two hikers arrived at the guest house. After they ordered, we greeted each other and got to talking. Their names were Gregor and Kristin from Slovenia. They were planning to hike to the Atsunta pass, where I came from. We exchanged some information and I told them that it might snow there as the weather was turning for the worse after I crossed over. Mid way through the conversation, one of them asked if they could lift my bike to see how heavy it is. They were shocked. We compared it and just on feeling, my bike with all the bags on was lighter than one of their backpacks. We started comparing gear, I ended up taking my sleeping matt, sleeping bag, tent, getting jackets out, etc. Gregor (I think) was in disbelief. He said he will re-evaluate all his gear choices when he gets back haha. After exchanging some contacts and best wishes, they told me “Popolno spoštovanje” and I left them to enjoy their food. Just before I was about to leave the guest house, one guy from a group of German tourists that had since arrived, came and was intrigued by the bike, asking me about gear ratios, frame material, etc. I loved talking to him and the Slovenians about this, because I really believe a lot can be done on a bike and inspiring people to ride more and take their bikes to new places is partly what I love about my trips.
The road now started to climb up and over the mountain. The whole distance to Omalo was rideable as the dirt road was well compacted, but I think it would have been a different story after heavy rains. I rode almost non stop and made it to the top of the hill in about an hour. I took some questionable hiking trail shortcuts that were a lot of fun to descend on and made it to the final stretch on the last climb to Upper Omalo. On this road, just today an old camper van overtook me at least 3 times. There were 2 women in it. And I could swear that it was the same van I saw on the climb to Shatili two days before.
One last push and I made it to Upper Omalo. The village is split in two – Upper and Lower, and in the first one is where the old fortress and original old town resides called Keselo. I stopped there, rode around, but had agreed with Inbar and Maydad that I might stay at the same house they were in lower Omalo. So I rode down, looking forward to a shower and some food. When I arrived I checked my messages and realised they’ve decided to stay in Lower Omalo, but I had already booked the guest house and decided to stay. The hostess was super friendly and she set out to make dinner for 7pm. I took a cold shower (no hot water since it was a solar boiler) and went for a hike back to Upper Omalo for the sunset. The views from Keselo were incredible and after the sun had disappeared I headed back down. Dinner was everything I could want and more, with a glass of incredibly tasty red wine, that prepared me for a good night of sleep.