A short excursion to Kazbegi

What is praised about Kazbegi in Georgia. It is a magnet for hikers, fresh air enthusiasts, nature lovers, Georgians, Russians (as it is close to the borders), and other travelers who have good footwear. I had shoes. However, for this trip, something essential was missing: a full-body rain suit.

With the English family I went horseback riding with in Udabno, I was allowed to drive six hours up to Kazbegi. When we arrived, we all shivered collectively. We agreed that we would either love it or hate it here.

I had an overnight camping trip planned, starting from the small remote mountain village of Juta. But because of the rain, I was no longer sure if I wanted to go there. Anyway, I thought and took a taxi for about 20 euros to get to Juta. The ride to the village was like a movie, the money was already worth it. In the monsoon, we drove along deep cliffs. My taxi driver regularly laughed at me when I gasped for breath and squinted my eyes.

Suddenly, six wild horses came out of the fog, chased by a Georgian cowboy. The horses must have run away from him. Witty! My quick-witted taxi driver jumped out of the car and stood in front of the horses. He managed to catch two, the horses didn't like the action but they couldn't defend themselves against the agile Georgian. It was like in a Western movie, only with more rain, less desert steppe, and without a Colt and carriages.

Arriving in Juta, I had not yet arrived in Juta. I had to walk up a hill for 1 km to my accommodation. Carrying heavy luggage and in pouring rain, I felt another wave of depression. My taxi driver laughed again, but he couldn't help me either. So I ran. But not up the hill, but into the nearest cafe 20m away. When I entered, six drenched hikers grinned at me - they understood my frustration. I asked for advice, should I really walk to the mountain accommodation or maybe go back to Stepantsminda, where it was equally rainy but at least there was a chance to quickly escape back to Tbilisi. The group and I unanimously decided to take me to Stepantsminda.

In Stepantsminda, I followed the Dutch girl Rosan to her accommodation, where we sat cuddled up in blankets at 10 degrees room temperature, playing cards and watching Netflix. That's not how I imagined my trip, but so be it.

The next morning, I bundled up in 5 layers of clothing and ventured outside. You could see: nothing. Just fog. Rosan and I were supposed to meet at 12 to take a tour to the Darlia Gorge. In the tourist center that offered the tour, we were greeted with empty eyes, the driver was not available, there was no tour. So we wanted to take a taxi. Quickly, we realized that the taxi drivers didn't really know this place Darlia Gorge, instead, a dispute arose among four taxi drivers about who and where and how to drive and who had drunk too much and therefore shouldn't drive. The situation overwhelmed me completely and all I could do was curse. Out of nowhere, a fifth driver appeared: "Darlia Gorge, 30 Lari, have a good car." At least he seemed sober. We followed him while the other four men looked bewildered.

We saw why Darlia Gorge was not well-known when we arrived. There was nothing beautiful there. Concrete, construction site, and the Russian border, that's it. We walked around a bit and looked at the unimpressive Orthodox church, and then decided to walk to the waterfalls that everyone had talked about. We walked along the road for about an hour to the turn-off, and then another hour uphill to the waterfalls. And it was really great! Finally! So green, so massive, so big, so beautiful. If we had a tent with us and if it were five degrees warmer, we would probably have stayed here. But instead, we hitchhiked back to Stepantsminda with a young Russian couple, from where I practically fell into the next minibus to Tbilisi.

While the other hikers had a lot of fun with the taxi driver and exchanged European trash music with him, I fell asleep. It was exhausting.

Now I'm back in Tbilisi and very glad about it. Kazbegi is definitely great: when the weather is good, when it's warm (I simply never liked cold rainy days), and when you're traveling with someone. In Kazbegi, I once again reached the limits of traveling alone. It is a place for family and friend groups who have rented a car and can independently wander around without having to worry about getting lost or breaking their heels on the cliffs. Rosan also confirmed this and emphasized again and again that without me, she would have stayed at home today and would not have driven alone to the Russian border and climbed on some hills. Overall, she was also not so positive about her trip through Georgia, we shared various stories about strange travelers and intrusive men who think they have to "take care" of solo female travelers.

Maybe I just had some bad luck with the choice of hostel and the day planning in Kazbegi, but I felt quite out of place at this location. After the wonderful Udabno, it was a little downer. At the same time, I am also annoyed that I look so negatively at the past two days. After all, I met a nice girl named Rosan whom I will meet again tomorrow to explore the next caves, and I was at beautiful waterfalls, and it didn't rain at all yesterday. However, the negative haze of the trip still lingers in my memory. At least writing helps me better reflect and classify all the many events in such a short time. But I hope that the ups and downs of emotions and impressions will soon settle down and I can laugh about it when something doesn't go so smoothly.

Tomorrow the next stop is Borjomi, and then I will check off the last item on my bucket list in Kutaisi and quickly make my way to Armenia, where I want to try couchsurfing.