Don Curry and the Brave Filly

Don Curry was somewhat afraid of what awaited him at the start of the day: the abundant breakfast at the Suntower Hotel. Over half of the ingredients had been replaced to prevent any boredom during the first meal of the day, but this time he could only consume a small portion. Satisfied, he left his hotel in Mestia. Although he would be staying in Upper Svaneti, he would visit a place that is even more primitive.

But before that, he wanted to try and find some open churches; after all, it was Sunday. He was lucky right at the Nesgun Church. The service had just ended, and Don Curry simply slipped into the church after the women and children - he didn't see any men here - had left the church. He was able to admire some frescoes, even though they were mostly faded. In the neighboring village of Lashtkveri, there were supposedly two remarkable churches. Unfortunately, Don Curry found the Archangel Church locked. However, it is one of the very few churches that even have frescoes on the outside. Although they have lost their color strength over the centuries, they still testify to the skill of their creator.

Just 100 meters further stands Gabriel Church, which is smaller than a residential house. Don Curry didn't expect anything from it, as it looked plain and unwelcoming from the outside. He managed to open the door to the vestibule, which he had done many times before; he had always failed at the door to the church. But this time... he was able to open a wing of the door wide enough for Don Curry to slip through and then freeze in place: the tiny church was completely painted with wonderfully preserved, colorful frescoes. Since there were only two very narrow windows, the sunlight had hardly damaged the paintings for centuries, but it was also quite dark in the small church. Don Curry squeezed back into the vestibule and found what he was looking for - a light switch. In a kind of gallows, a single light bulb had been installed pretty much in the middle of the church, which was more than enough to illuminate the small space completely. Don Curry reveled in this medieval splendor of folk and sometimes surprising interpretations of biblical stories. This detour was definitely worth it!

Back in Mestia, he was determined to visit the branch of the Georgian National Museum there, which understandably focuses on the history and art of Svaneti. In addition to archaeological finds, a coin collection, and a small section of Svanetian folk art, icons from the churches of Upper Svaneti and ancient liturgical books are the center of the exhibition. Don Curry discovered a voluminous lesson book from the 10th century, before the split of the church.

Full of new impressions, he now left the capital of Swaneti to head towards Ushguli. It was only a few years ago that they began to pave this 46 km long route; the first 40 km have now been completed. Approximately halfway along the way is the village of Iphari; there, too, an important church has been preserved, dating back to the 10th century. Don Curry struggled to the church square with Xerra on a steep slope. As he had feared, he was able to advance to the churchyard, but the church itself was locked with a modern metal door. On the way there, Don Curry had seen an older man sitting on the church square. He approached him and made his request clear through gestures: who can unlock the church? The man immediately understood, pointed in the direction where Don Curry could get help, but at the same time pointed to his cellphone and made a call. After two attempts, the man nodded to Don Curry with satisfaction. 10 minutes later, a woman hurried over, seemingly not even noticing Don Curry, but immediately went to the church and unlocked it. She prayed incessantly while unlocking it, greeted each icon with a kiss, and continued to pray without interruption. Don Curry followed her into the church and froze for the second time that day in astonishment and reverence. This church also surrounded him with exceptionally well-preserved and executed frescoes. The depiction of the martyrdom of St. George was particularly impressive. Don Curry thanked the key woman and the helpful man, and carefully drove back down towards the road to Ushguli.

Just one kilometer further, he came across another point of interest: the Tower of Love. Under this sales-promoting title, climbing a classic Svan fortress tower is made possible. Its location directly on a river is romantic, but the tower itself contains nothing but ladders and wooden platforms. Don Curry quickly realized that such a fortress tower was not quite the right property for him. About 6 km before Ushguli, the developed road ended, and the rest proved to be a particularly unpleasant track. Several car drivers wondered whether they should actually drive through a deep stream that crossed the track; there was no problem for Xerra at this point. Shortly thereafter, a Georgian couple whose car had broken down caught Don Curry's attention. They asked if he could give them a ride back to Ushguli. So, once again, Don Curry had passengers, if only for a very short time.

However, the worst part of the driving route only began in Ushguli. Don Curry had booked a cabin for his overnight stay. He could already see the four cabins on a meadow away from the village from afar. But how would he get there? He drove into the village with its numerous fortress towers on an increasingly deteriorating track. Suddenly, he saw a signpost 'Ushguli Cabins'. It led him back and forth through the narrow stony village streets. Several times, Don Curry got out to explore on foot whether Xerra could really pass through and, if necessary, turn back. In the end, he ended up at a guesthouse that also rented out the cabins. He entered, woke up half the family, but then was told that cabin no. 2 was available for him. He could leave Xerra in an enclosed parking lot below the cabins; a powerful St. Bernard seemed to be the lord of the parking lot and guarded the parked vehicles there. The landlady asked Don Curry if he wanted dinner. He gladly accepted.

After climbing up to the cabin, Don Curry first admired the fantastic view of the numerous fortress towers of Ushguli on all sides. From here, he could also see the Lamaria Church, which sits on another hill beyond the village. The cabin with two beds, a private bathroom, and a small balcony completely fulfilled his expectations. However, there was a temporary problem with the water supply, so the landlady had provided two 10-liter canisters for washing and flushing the toilet.

Soon, Don Curry set off to explore Ushguli. In addition to the numerous fortress towers, an ethnographic museum is an important attraction. As Don Curry entered, a young man was explaining the individual furnishings of the former living space (and also stable) that his grandparents had still inhabited. This gave Don Curry a wonderfully vivid impression of Svan everyday culture. Actually, every residential house is accompanied by a fortress tower, but the local tower had collapsed and been dismantled decades ago. Don Curry thanked the young man for the exciting tour and climbed up from the village to the Lamaria Church. From here, there was also a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains and a glacier, although more and more clouds considerably restricted the view. The Lamaria Church was also accessible, so Don Curry managed to see the interior of four Svan churches in one day.

On the way back to the village, a dog approached him. However, the dog didn't show any aggression; it was probably just looking for some kind of activity. But Don Curry wasn't interested. One hundred meters further on his way, he saw a mare and her foal. He approached the little horse cautiously, so as not to scare it too much. The dog that was following him also found the foal very interesting and ran straight to it, sniffing it from all sides and then starting to bark at it. From the dog's point of view, this was probably an invitation to play. But the little colt, a little stallion, remained calm. When it walked directly towards the dog, the dog suddenly became afraid and pulled back, yelping. Quite brave, Don Curry thought, and approached the animal to about two meters. But the foal showed no respect even in front of him. It now walked directly towards him and wanted to try if Don Curry's straw-colored pants tasted like straw. When Don Curry slightly pushed the animal's mouth to the side, it set its sights on his green-checked shirt. That could also be tasty! It joyfully snapped at it. Don Curry had a hard time warding off the small, sociable horse that wanted to nibble on him. But eventually, the little stallion realized that Don Curry was not part of its food and trotted back to its mother. In the village, Don Curry discovered a very rustic shop with a total of three products; he was not interested in one of them at all - carved fortress towers. But he wanted to buy the other two: the famous Svan spice salt, which the elderly saleswoman, who consistently spoke Russian to him, probably mixed herself, and the homemade Chacha, from which Don Curry had 0.5 liters filled in a small water bottle, for a total of 15 Lari (= 5 €).

Meanwhile, it started to rain, and Don Curry returned to his small cabin in a spectacular environment. Around 7:00 pm, he went to the guesthouse, where the table was already set for him. Fortunately, there were only vegetarian dishes, but plenty of them: a vegetable soup, several corn-cheese flatbreads, fried potato sticks, a mushroom-pepper salad, tomatoes and cucumbers with devilishly spicy chilies, Sulguni cheese, a preparation of boiled Sulguni with milk, and of course bread. Real homemade food and therefore particularly delicious. In between, the landlady's five-year-old son entered the dining room, hesitated, beamed at Don Curry, took one of the corn-cheese flatbreads, and disappeared again. The older sister, who had served Don Curry, wanted to apologize, but Don Curry just laughed.

More than satisfied, he returned to the cabin. He had also taken a corn-cheese flatbread for himself to enjoy later with a bottle of beer. He also tried the freshly bought Chacha, which tasted slightly sweet but also revealed a very high alcohol content. The rain intensified, so it gradually became too damp and cool on the balcony. Ushguli is located at an altitude of 2,200 meters, even higher than Old Omalo in Tusheti. Hardly had Don Curry left the balcony when he heard tapping noises in front of his door. A look out of the window revealed that a large white dog had taken a seat right there. Don Curry heard the dog move several times, then loud snoring came from beyond the door.

Actually a pleasant sound to fall asleep to, Don Curry thought. But all too quickly, other noises joined in: first the pattering of rain, then the distant rumble of a thunderstorm. The constant sound of rain would accompany him throughout the night. Not a good sign for the next day...