Giga - to make it easier to remember his name, he added, "as Gigabyte". We liked him straight away. He was 26 years old but looked a bit older. He was well built and had a short haircut, which made him a bit more mature. Previously he was training boxing and won many awards and titles in Georgia. He came from Mestia and loved the mountains. He studied in Tbilisi, however, he decided to return to his home village and to start tourism business. He has his guest house and organizes tours in Svanetia (Kaldani Guest House Mestia). Giga had a big knowledge - also about Poland and he had great sense of humor. The trip was very interesting and funny!
The road to Ushguli is minimum two hour driving. Until certain point there is asphalt on the road and then just mountain off-road. The first stop was at the stone tower called "The tower of love". Giga told us a story that happened in the seventeenth century and has been passed from generation to generation.
There were two families; Margrelani and Kurdiani family living in two villages separated by the mountains. A young girl named Kala coming from Kurdiani family and a young man - Dipar from Margrelani were very much in love. They were meeting on the big rock at the river bank. Both families, being aware of Kala's and Dipar's love, agreed to their marriage and wanted to organize a wedding. That time there was a tradition that a man who wanted to take a girl for a wife had to hunt a wild animal with horns and give them to his beloved as a proof of bravery and courage. In this way he also ensured that he would support the family.
Before the wedding Dipar went hunting but he did not come back. The girl was still caming to their meeting point and waiting for him. Feeling great pain and despair, Kala did not want to leave this place, believing that her beloved might return. She asked the family to built her a tower where she could live and wait for her lover till the end of her life. She did not want to commit suicide, because she believed that if she had done it, she would have gone to hell and they both would never be able to meet.
Therefore Kala's parents, seeing the great suffering of their beloved daughter, built a stone tower on the rock where the lovers used to meet. They provided the girl with food through the upper small window in the tower. After many years Kala died of great longing for her love. The tower stands there till today.
This story moved both families so much that they decided to keep the memory of the lovers by passing it to the next generations.
What a beautiful and sad story. Giga stressed that it is entirely true story and that rock, on which the tower was built, is both the witness and the monument to this great love of Kala and Dipar.
Then we stopped at the side of the mountain to enjoy breathtaking views and to take some pictures. Around us: green pastures, rocks, a herd of cows and horses grazing on the edge of the hill.
"These horses will not fall down from this mountain?" ;)
"I guess no" ;)
We, on the way to Ushguli.
Ushguli
Arriving at the place we saw a tiny village among the mountains, with numerous characteristic towers - the same like in Mestia, and with small, poor houses surrounded by old, wooden fences.
- "People really LIVE HERE ?!" - We were surprised.
- "In Ushguli there are approximately 100 families, people live on what they grow and breed. They also do carving, leather products and there is even a school, a shop and a bar" - Giga explained.
Magic place. As if the time had stopped tens years ago.
Arriving to the village...
The most beautiful picture of this trip.
Fot. Justyna Kochańska
Memorable picture of our band ;)
One of the most amazing views. The start of our hiking trail.
Fot. Justyna Kochańska
Let's start!
Claudia and Burek.
Grzegorz, Ola and Burek.
Mountain streams and stones...
green pastures...
and snow...
and flowers ;)
We go bravely :)
Burek was looking after us all the time :)
Fot. Justyna Kochańska
Stop! Break! Sooo beautiful here...
Another break. After 3 hours, the attitude 2800 m.
(Here I write.
Hungry Michelle: Oh, what DO you bite?
I DO NOT bite - I write ;)
There ahread! The glacier! Eternal ice-land!
Souvenir 1 - group photo with the glacier and Burek :)
Souvenir 2 - Single photo.
Jump over the stream!
I will lie few more minutes...
Going down...
to the village.
In Ushguli, Giga was waiting for us at the bar. (We were exactly 6.5 h away!). Perfect place! So good to sit down and drink a cold beer! We sat on the terrace and Giga brought a carafe of homemade chacha from the bar owner and he gave everyone to try. "I don't take NO for answer!" ;) Everyone had to drink (apart from little Ola) A toast to the beautiful, successful trip, to the hosts and the guests!
'Ugh sooo strong!"- " It's 70% !!! after all."
The bar owner Beso Nijaradze is a carpenter and creates brilliant sculptures, which can be purchased in Mestia or there at the shop next to the bar. (I bought an interesting wine bottle holder with a sculpture of bunch of grapes - a bottle almost hangs in the air. The price 20 GEL, in Mestia GEL.
Giga asked Beso to show us his latest work. It was a huge chair, like a throne, with the coat of arms, armrests in the form of Svanetian towers and the history of Nijaradze family engraved on the back. It was a family heirloom, a gift for his son who was 6 years old. As he grows up, he will pass the chair to his son.
Amazing! A lot of details, ornaments and precision. Engraving Georgian writing itself - this is real art! Beso was carving the chair only out of two pieces of wood, all done by himself, for six months. Real masterpiece!
He told us also that he carved a similar throne for our President - the late Lech Kaczynski - as the gift and it had been sent to Poland. What a wonderful gift!
Sitting on the throne was really emotional. Great admiration and pride. It was real work of art, a beautiful family heirloom, hard work of one man, out of love for his son, a chair like an old exhibit in a museum... and I could sit on it.
WOW!
Beso Nijaradze and his brilliant work of art, the throne - family heirloom.
Fot. Justyna Kochańska
On the way to the car, we saw young boys galloping on the horses!
They approached one of the houses calling their friend to come out. What an unusual view.
Klaudia added: "So lovely, our kids sit at the computers, or if they go out they shout:
Let's ride a bike! And here in Ushguli the kids shout: Let's ride a horse! (?)"
For the locals a horse is still the best mean of transport (after a car), the work force on the field, children's entertainment and for tourists one of the biggest attraction of the village.
Fot. Justyna Kochańska
Beautiful, Svanetian horses...
Fot. Justyna Kochańska
