In the morning, we departed from our hotel in Tbilisi.
The bus departed when the number of passengers had gathered.
It was the first time for me to ride on a shared-ride bus or a tourist car.
A Japanese man who had ridden the bus the day before assured me that it would be fine, so I decided to head out.
From Tbilisi station, we arrived at Didube station by subway.
Tbilisi is a great town, where you can ride all the trains and buses you want for 90 minutes for 1 GEL.
I would like to ride as much as I want, but I will get off here today.
We arrived at Didube station around 8:00.
As you exit the ticket gate and turn right, you will be spoken to by Uncle Georgia, the bus and cab driver.
Tell them where you want to go (in this case, Kazbeki).
Of course I didn’t need the cab uncle for me, so I ignored him.
I look around and see only buses to Gori.
If you go to the back, you will find more marshrutkas, so you can easily find the one to Kazbeki.
By the way, if you go further back, it may be for sightseeing in Tbilisi, Batumi, or Kutaisi.
If you go that far, just say “Kazbeki,” and they will kindly tell you where to go.
For Tbilisi to Kazbeki, we took a tourist car for 40 GEL per person with a side trip.
Once all six passengers were present, we departed. The car was a Nissan Elgrand, which was safe.
After we left, we were told “money” at the first gas station and gave 40 GEL to the driver, but nothing more, so I thought it was ok. It was not a rip-off.
Stopover area (1) Church near the dam.
We were told to “fyi-fyi” and free to go for 15 minutes. We left our large luggage behind, but kept our valuables close to our skin (just in case).
Stopover area (2) Mural on top of the mountain.
It is already cold this time of year. It was 10 degrees different from Tbilisi, so a jacket is recommended. Again, 15 minutes of free time.
You should go to the bathroom at a gas station or stopover area. 0.5 GEL should be enough.
The distance from Tbilisi to Kazbeki is about 3 hours by car.
Arrival point is near a supermarket in the center of Kazbeki.
That is near the Marschrutka stop for the return trip. The return trip seems to depart every hour from 7am to 6pm.
They don’t allow reservations, and you pay 15 GEL when you get on.
I saw it was full on Sunday noon, so it might be safer to get there earlier.
◉The church near heaven
This one rises up on top of a mountain that looks terrifying from below.
It is 6 km from the Marschrutka boarding area, about a 2 hour walk according to Google maps.
We, who are not good at trekking, felt it was a tougher ascent.
We didn’t want to take a cab because we didn’t want to get ripped off and it would be a nuisance.
Anyway, we headed for a bite to eat.
A shawarma shop across the road from the marshrutka boarding area.
12 gels for the regular size, 18 gels for the largest super size.
I thought about it for a while, but decided to buy the super size and have it cut in half.
We had a short conversation with two young men in line in front of us and they said, “The weather was bad yesterday, so we’re going to church now.
When I told them that we were also going to church, they said, “We’re going by car, but if you don’t mind the cramped space, would you like a ride with us?”
Of course we said yes.
About 20 minutes later, we were at the top of the mountain! Church!
We enjoyed 30 minutes of free time together, and then descended the mountain. I was allowed to accompany them again.
They went back to Tbilisi.
Our plan for the day was complete.
◉Waterfalls at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains
As mentioned, we have completed the plan.
Too much free time, Kazbeki. Doing nothing is nice.
But not for us. Tuna type. (In Japanese, it means too much free time is not good for us.)
But not good at trekking.
I thought, “I can go to the waterfall 2.8km away.”
I bought water, chocolate, and a Sprite to cool off in the waterfall river, and off I went!
We walked uphill between the shawarma shop and the marshrutka boarding area for about an hour and a half.
I could see, next was a different church.
At first, we went to the waterfall.
At this time of the year, there is no snow on the mountains, so there is no amount of water, but it was like a cliff and the rock surface was so great that I felt “this is the Caucasus”.
And the slope where the waterfall is located is too steep to cool the sprite.
We took a break and went down the mountain.
The church near the waterfall was small, but the paintings on all the interiors were very nice.
Our three hours of dead time was gone.