All photos by Amy Yu Mao
The last leg of the journey with Amy took us south and west. We set out early on a Friday morning with Khvicha and his young assistant (whose name I do not know, because he was introduced to us as the “master of shashlik”), who was recruited to help with preparation of the meal that awaited us.
We made two logistical stops along the way. The first was in Khashuri, where Khvicha and his right hand man bought a plastic bag full of raw meat in a small market. The second was in Borjomi, where we filled two five-gallon jugs with fresh spring water drawn from a creek, to later clean the meat. Borjomi is the source (and the name) of a popular bottled mineral water here in Georgia and in the surrounding countries. Putin is a fan, from what I hear. On Khvicha’s recommendation, I filled my palm and tasted the water, and was surprised by its natural carbonation and strong, almost salty, flavor.
From Borjomi, we drove on to Akhalsikhe to see Rabati Castle. I had never heard of this place before Khvicha suggested we stop there, which is a shame. The seven hectare complex one of the most beautiful and well restored historical sites in Georgia. As a kind of microcosm of this country, it has been conquered by several empires and still retains the flavors of the various invaders’ cultures. You can find a mosque, a minaret, a synagogue, and a church within the castle walls.
Our next stop was Vardzia to see the cave monasteries that I’d already visited with colleagues in the winter. The first time around, I made the mistake of climbing up the mountain in four-inch heels; this time, I did it with bare shoulders and no sunscreen under the afternoon sun. The result? My first Georgian sunburn.
(Side note on Georgian weather: summer is really hot.)
All day, Khvicha talked incessantly about shashlik. I had a vague idea of what shashlik was (meat on a stick?), but no direct experience. By the end of the day, I was hungry enough to eat the raw meat in the trunk of the car, so I was thrilled when Khvicha said it was dinner time. We found a quiet riverbed somewhere outside of Vardzia, and Khvicha and his assistant set to work doing manly Bear Grylls things, like chopping wood and building a fire and yelling at each other. Amy and I lounged around taking photos of horses and frogs, occasionally offering our assistance, which was turned down until it was time to make a salad.
It turns out I had a pretty accurate understanding of shashlik; it is, indeed, meat on a stick. Surprisingly delicious meat on a stick. After a harried rush to beat the rain clouds that were approaching, we found a small cove protected by trees where we laid our banquet of shashlik, bread, cheese, salad, Pepsi, and wine on a flat rock table. As we enjoyed our meal, Khvicha and I served as translators in a long and complex linguistic grapevine. The young shashlik master wanted to learn Chinese from Amy, and to teach us Megrelian, a dialect of Georgian which Khvicha does not speak. With the help of a few cups of wine, we managed to communicate from Megrelian to Georgian to Russian to English to Chinese, and back again. Topics of discussion included marriage, wine, Jackie Chan, and chopsticks.
To cap off this heartwarming day, Georgia gifted us with a rainbow for dessert.
… and then the car broke down. But we didn’t mind. Patience is the key to happiness in Georgia. Patience and plenty of wine.
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Wauw it looks beautiful!
Beautiful pictures
Thank you, Day!
Thank you!
Georgia is so beautiful! Thanks for posting about this. I’ve always been really interested in Eastern Europe and I know Russian, but haven’t had a chance to travel there yet. This is definitely an inspiration! Keep up the good work.
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Love reading about all your adventures to these spectacular places!!
Thanks, Jana! I’m so glad to hear it.
First of all, having been a devoted aficionado (aficionada?) of souvlaki, you should know never to be skeptical about meat on a stick. Secondly, I’m reading this in bed in Bogota at the crack of dawn because I seem to be completely unable to sleep past 5.30 AM. And thirdly, these photos are stunning, but I’d love nothing better than to have you curled up right here next to me. Can that be arranged? I love you, twin!
Is there meat on a stick in Bogota? I sure hope so. Miss you and our souvlaki adventures, twin. 🙂
You really have some amazing adventures, Meg. I never get tired of reading about all of them.
I’m so glad, Ceri! Seeing your name pop up in my comments always makes me smile.
Sounds amazing. Good times can be had even when vehicles break down!
Yes, snags can sometimes create the best adventures!
I love shashlik. That last shot is very nice indeed
Me too, Rajiv! I’m thinking about finding some for lunch right now. 🙂
Fabulous, crystal clear photos. 🙂
Thanks Jo! Credit to my dear friend Amy.
http://amyrtw.wordpress.com/
Shashlik sounds delicious, but I’m curious as to how it’s made. What type of meat is used, what goes into the marinade (besides wine)?
Nathan, the meat was pork, and all we did prior to grilling it was wash it with spring water. I suppose I used a misnomer by calling the wine a marinade, because it was only applied after the meat was over the fire, to create some smoke and extra flavor. I prefer shashlik without being marinaded (if it’s really good quality meat, which this was… we bought it fresh from a farmer’s market that day). Just writing about this again is making me so hungry!
What a gorgeous sounding day! I loved the pics of the cave monasteries, so ancient and wild! Never thought about visiting Georgia, but wow…Now it’s looking like a treat. Are these posts about day tours, or day trips with local Grorgian friends/colleagues?
Yes, Georgia is full of surprises, Erin. I never expected to find so much beauty here.
In this series of posts, I’m writing about several day trips I took by car with my friend Amy, who was visiting me for a week. I live in the capital, Tbilisi, and try to escape to the countryside whenever I can. That’s where the real magic of Georgia can be found.
Reblogged this on Miladynotes and commented:
sounds like a wonderful day. I was lucky enough to spend a few summers there as a child, great memories:-) Very reach culture and wonderful people.
So nice to hear you have fond memories of Georgia, miladynotes. Thank you for reblogging!