Georgia > The only hotel seems closed

It rained heavily last night. This morning, it’s still raining heavily. The Tsminda Sameba Church is shrouded in clouds. What luck that we visited the church yesterday. In the rain, we load our luggage back into the Land Rover. Water seeps across the road as we drive out of Stepantsminda. “Watch out for falling rocks,” the hotel owner had warned us. Due to the rain, rocks could come down—so we need to be careful. Just past the ski village of Gudauri, the weather clears a bit. We are clearly descending again. Just before the Zhinvali Reservoir lies the Ananuri Monastery. Like the Svetitskhoveli Monastery in Mtskheta, this monastery is enclosed within castle walls. The monastery itself is impressive, though not as beautifully adorned with frescoes as the previous monasteries we visited.

Georgia - Sheep on the Georgian Military Highway

On the other hand, the battlements of the castle walls are particularly striking. I climb onto the wall and enter one of the towers. Via a narrow staircase, I reach the top floor. From the defensive tower, I have a fine view of the monastery and the valley beyond. Today’s travel goal is the David Gareja Monastery. This monastery is carved into the rocks. It lies southeast of the capital, Tbilisi, near the border with Azerbaijan. Just as we pass the capital, the coolant warning light comes on. We quickly pull the car to the side. The coolant level is too low. Using the coolant we still have and some water, we refill the level. How could it have gotten so low? Could something be leaking? At a garage, we buy extra coolant.

Georgia - The walled monastery of Ananuri

As soon as we open the hood, someone from the garage immediately starts working on the car. He unscrews a hose to the radiator, causing coolant to spill onto the street. From his gestures, we gather that everything seems okay. If the temperature on the dashboard rises, he advises adding more water. Wow! We drive on more carefully. Meanwhile, it has started raining again. Lightning flashes appear on the horizon. In the village of Ninos, we try to arrange lunch. The village turns out to be smaller than it looked on the map. There are some shops, but no restaurants. We buy some food at a small supermarket. The rain is continuous. We decide to adjust our travel plans. We drive to Sagarejo, check the coolant situation, and will go to the David Gareja Monastery tomorrow. Sagarejo turns out to be simpler than we expected. The town center is no more than a single street with a few shops. There is only one hotel, which appears closed. As we approach the door, a voice calls from across the street: “Wait, wait.” Someone is being called. Five minutes later, an older woman arrives and opens the door of the two-story hotel. It doesn’t look like many people stay here.

Georgia - A mechanic trying to fix a coolant leak

There is a kind of suite, a double room with a shower, and separate rooms with shared facilities. The suite is relatively expensive. We want the separate room, but not the double bed. After a laborious negotiation, we agree to take one room with two beds and use the shower in the separate room, as long as we promise not to sleep in the double bed. At least, that’s what we think we understand. In the courtyard, we check Brutus. The coolant level has dropped again, but this could be because the hose was disconnected at the garage earlier. We also check the other important points. Perhaps, just to be safe, we’ll stop by a Land Rover dealer in Tbilisi tomorrow. In Sagarejo, our first task is to find extra coolant—always good to have on hand. At some garage units, we inquire. Everyone points to the left. A man opens a small door, revealing a surprisingly well-stocked little shop. Back on the main street, it is also relatively easy to withdraw money. Next, we look for a restaurant. Some people look puzzled when we ask for a restaurant, but we are always pointed in one direction. There is probably only one restaurant in the whole town. People look surprised when we enter. Tourists? We order a draft beer and some dumplings—meat wrapped in dough. We are the only guests in the restaurant. It won’t get busier tonight. Our hotel is also quiet. We are the only guests in the large hotel. The owner probably has to stay here just for us tonight.