Don Curry and the Landslide

Don Curry awoke in the oriental Middle Ages. At least that's what his first glimpse out the window suggested. In the bright sunlight, the courtyard and fortress towers looked even more impressive. This positive impression was undoubtedly reinforced by the breakfast buffet. Don Curry had a long and exhausting journey ahead of him.

After taking some final photos of Rabati Fortress in the morning light, he set off towards the Wardzia Monastery. There was no sign of yesterday's hailstorm: the hailstones had melted away, and the spontaneous streams and waterfalls had dried up. Today, the cave monastery was bathed in bright sunlight, and there was nothing stopping Don Curry from exploring it. However, this meant first climbing a steep path along a cliff face and then ascending and descending numerous stairs between the individual living caves and other rooms. With a Georgian school class and a Russian group with a guide just ahead of him on the circular path, Don Curry had plenty of time to catch his breath and wipe off the sweat. The undisputed highlight of the monastery is the Resurrection Church with its complete medieval frescoes, which are among the most beautiful wall paintings in Georgia. Don Curry was so impressed that he had to take photos immediately. 'No photos,' shouted the stern-looking monk from the devotional counter, who had just served the last members of the school class and had been keeping a watchful eye on Don Curry. After the last students left, the monk also left the church. Did he want to give Don Curry a clear path or did he completely trust in the boundless authority of his prohibition? Don Curry opted for the former; after all, he had done no harm to the frescoes. Next to the church, various passages led deep into the rocks, one to a natural spring, the other to a burial chapel, and behind that, up endless long and narrow staircases to a lookout point where potential enemies could be spotted from afar. From this highest point of the monastery, Don Curry now descended rapidly on steep steps in the rocks. The entire complex reminded Don Curry strongly of similar hidden monasteries in Cappadocia, but this complex in Georgia had been preserved more completely.

After almost 90 minutes of visiting, Don Curry had already invested a lot of time. Now he had to drive back to Achalziche in order to start his actual daily program only at 1:00 pm. There are two routes to the destination of the day, Batumi: a significantly longer but faster route around the mountains, or a shorter distance but more time-consuming route over the Goderdzi Pass. Don Curry had chosen the second option because it would also take him through the original landscapes of Adjara. The problem with this route lies not only in crossing the mountains but also in the fact that a large part of it is still unpaved. However, with normal dirt roads, Xerra would have had no problem. The real challenge was that the future asphalting had already started, and Don Curry had to drive through active construction sites again and again. What made it even more difficult was that the dozens of heavy construction vehicles in daily use had left such deep ruts in the dirt road that even Xerra found it quite challenging to make progress. However, the pass route is generally accessible to all vehicles. Don Curry no longer remembers how many normal cars he had to overtake along the way.

Once over the pass, the situation became somewhat easier, as construction work had not yet begun on this side. Don Curry had planned a detour from the route to visit the impressive wooden mosque in Ghorjomi. Many Muslims still live in the Adjara border area with Turkey, so almost every village has its own mosque, mostly built of wood, similar to the typical houses. The Ghorjomi Mosque is considered the most artistic of its kind. Using Google Maps, Don Curry found its exact location and several photos of its appearance. He drove up to the village of Ghorjomi on a narrow but paved road to the point where the mosque was supposed to be within walking distance. However, there was no sign of a mosque anywhere, nor any building that resembled it. Don Curry took a short walk to a hill near the village to get a better overview: still no mosque in sight. So Don Curry had to give up this excursion without success.

On the other hand, his next destination was right there, but it presented a completely different kind of challenge. One of the other special features of the Adjara Valley are several stone arch bridges that are centuries old. The Purtio Bridge was the first on his way. However, it just so happened that a Georgian wedding party had chosen this bridge as a unique setting for endless photo shoots. Everyone had to pose with everyone else, as well as group photos with different compositions. Don Curry patiently waited until the wedding party moved on, and he could take his photos without groups or people. All of this took time, and Don Curry was aware that he would reach Batumi late.

But it got even worse. After a bend, he suddenly came across some stationary vehicles. A construction worker explained that it was currently not possible to proceed, as the road was blocked; work was already underway to clear it. From a distance, Don Curry saw that the road was completely covered with rocks and debris at one point. Likely a landslide. But then he noticed that above the debris, a powerful excavator was working to let even more rocks and debris slide onto the road. So, it was more about preventing potential future landslides and removing threatening rocks above the road. The outcome was the same: Don Curry had to wait - with more and more vehicles behind him. Eventually, the destructive excavator gave up its work, and two more construction vehicles joined in, pushing or excavating the rocks and debris from the road into the abyss. Huge clouds of dust settled over the landscape. After nearly an hour of waiting, Xerra could finally get back on the road. It wouldn't be the last wait for Don Curry.

He had already canceled the entire rest of his sightseeing program; he just wanted to reach Batumi in daylight. Only at the Dandalo Bridge did he briefly stop for some photos of this extremely fragile-looking structure. Around noon, he had received the information to call Alexej 30 minutes before reaching the booked apartment in Batumi, who would receive him. As a precaution, Don Curry called 40 minutes in advance. 'The requested party is currently unavailable. Please try again later,' said an automated voice in Georgian and English. Don Curry tried every 5 minutes, only to hear the same announcement each time. What happened to Alexej? Did he already finish work?

Don Curry reached Batumi at dusk and was amazed by the extremely dense traffic. It seemed even busier than in Tbilisi or Yerevan. There was no direct parking at the high-rise with his apartment, so Don Curry parked Xerra nearby, like many others did. Since Alexej was still unreachable, he called the central office of his rental company. There, he reached a woman who said she would take care of it. Eventually, it turned out that Alexej had mistyped his phone number, leaving Don Curry completely helpless. But now Alexej was ready, showing Don Curry the small apartment on the 16th floor of the Aliance Palace building with a balcony and a view of the Black Sea. Don Curry had arrived!

There was still one problem to solve. The apartment advertised free parking on the internet. Don Curry asked about it. Alexej replied that all parking spaces in Batumi are free, although it can be difficult to find one during the current peak season. Don Curry set out to search for one. After endless driving around, he suddenly discovered a gap where Xerra just about fit, not 100 meters from the Palace.

By now it was already after 10:00 pm, and Don Curry's hunger was more than pronounced. He had no desire to go to a proper restaurant; he preferred to reactivate his Yerevan experience. Thanks to Google Maps, he found a relatively nearby supermarket to buy drinks, and diagonally across the street, a shawarma shop where he could buy a chicken shawarma that was almost twice the size of an Armenian one but at double the price. Completely drenched in sweat due to the incredible heat in the shop, Don Curry sat down on the balcony of his apartment shortly before 11:00 pm, enjoying his shawarma, drinking a cool beer, and looking out over the glittering sea of lights in Batumi.

In the oriental Middle Ages, this day began for him, and it ended in a loud, dazzling hyper-modernity. Don Curry was curious to see what Batumi would look like in daylight...