When we woke up we packed quite quickly and started further journey. We convinced Damian that since we’re still in Kutaisi we should visit some church before leaving. We wanted to see Bagrati Cathedral. It was on UNESCO Heritage Site List, but was eventually taken out of it due to controversial restoration works. The Cathedral looked like mosaic. Big parts were made from stone architecture that seemed (although even that part was mostly restored since 1950’), but there were elements which completely stick out and look very modern and out of place. No wonder it was stripped out of UNESCO List. While we were walking around outside I commented that Gosia and even my mom are not dressed properly for entering Orthodox Church. I wasn’t mistaken. When we approached entrance, two old women said them that they should wear scarf on their head and they can find them just on the right after entering. When we were already inside it looked weird with Gosia wearing scarf, but having shorts and slightly visible belly. We have been getting suspicious looks and one woman approached them with two long scarf to tie it around their waist. There were not a lot of people there, but something was going on. Women’s choir was singing, priests were doing something in the middle, someone was lighting candles at the sides. We all felt unique atmosphere, not being familiar with Orthodox rites and customs.
After the church most of the day was spent on the road. It’s not possible to describe every point, because traveling through serpentine Caucasian roads provided us with inexhaustible supply of picturesque views. As we said multiple times, we could stop anywhere and it would look beautiful. Steep slopes covered by lush greenery, breathtaking canyons and occasional lakes and rivers beautifully mirroring clear sky. And the cherry on the top of all the amazing views were towering snowy mountains in the distance.
Among all the things we passed I noted in my head few places. First Nakerala Pass with its viewpoint where everyone was stopping. Obviously big noticeable part was the name itself, inevitable reminding Kerala. My mom was asking about unusual crosses we saw so far and one more was there as well. I found out it’s so called Saint Nino’s Cross, patron saint of Georgia who proselytized it in 4th century. Just after viewpoint we stopped at the lake and tipped our toes in the water. Long stretching lake was like beautiful composition at the foot of green mountains with taller snowy mountains in farther background. I noticed one unfinished bridge and we stopped at one side of it. On the other side, on ramp was herd of cows grazing apparently on bare rock and asphalt. Soon after that we bought fresh strawberries from old lady. It was wonder how far from any town she was sitting with the hopes of selling her harvest.
We stopped at Oni for some break and coffee. It was small sleepy town that seemed almost empty and eerily calm. We wanted to see synagogue, but it was closed so we could see it only briefly from the outside. When we went to grocery shop for some food, I was afraid that I won’t find anything for myself, but I found some nice chocolate waffles that are vegan and tkemali - which is Georgian sauce made out of plums as main ingredient and various spices and herbs.
We arrived to Borjomi around 7 PM, which was end goal for today. It is beautiful resort town and we wanted to see it along our long road to Wardzia. We were driving narrow road up, until we reached end of the road and someone stopped us. They were our hosts and basically at the end of the road was our small two room cottage with veranda facing view on the town. We refreshed ourselves and went down to town center when it was already dark. It was nice little town, so reminiscent of other familiar resort towns. Buildings looked cozy and taken care of. Nicely dressed young people were walking in cohorts in look for entertainment. Their clothes, their looks, mannerisms and behavior reminded me of girls I met years ago in my first trip to Georgia. We finished the day in quite fancy restaurant. Others weren’t fully satisfied, because previous days we ate a lot more with similar price and according to them it wasn’t as tasteful either. From my side I was satisfied with my lobio (beans) and Bulgarian pepper stuffed with walnut paste. After climbing back to our cottage we went to sleep soon.