Entering Georgia is like taking one step back, like arriving to the past even if you have not lived there.
Georgia is a poor country that is starting to progress, in the past it had a good standard of living when it was part of USSR. A part of that past seems to be still there, when arriving it seemed like I was arriving to that decadent USSR that I imagined.

Maybe because of this I’ ve felt like giving the pictures an old feel and  publishing them in black and white, trying to find a simple framing and let the light not make too much shading and burning some parts. A black and white experiment. I’ ve also changed the ratio of the pictures, from the panoramic I like using, to a more square, less modern look.

Georgia has it’ s own alphabet, strange characters that look totally alien.

Asking for the hotel recommended by the book, a woman told us she had rooms for rent in her hose. Kmi, Sacha and me have a flat just for us with two huge rooms a bath and a kitchen. I have a piano in my room although during the day there is no running water in the bathroom.

I get into a internet café to check my mail and work over the blog. It’ s run by a 55 year old women, it’ s funny to see how well she manages with the games and the network. The building is falling apart. The guy in the computer next to me is driving bus 42, what a boring game, isn’ t it?

Ex-soviet taxi.

Houses are a bit run down.

It’ s a radical change. Here women have hair on their heads and for men it is not necessary to have hair on their faces. There is a park where people go to enjoy the afternoon, it’ s a vocational place, the girls go in small skirts, it seems strange after so many Muslim countries, but now I’ m where Christianity reigns.

Borjomi is famous for having carbonated springs, I don’ t like carbonated water so I don’ t like the taste but it’ s supposed to be good. Borjomi has  an alpine air, a mountain style.

I’ ve been days wanting to listen to REM, so I spend the afternoon sitting in the gallery listening to six REM CDs in a row, here are the ones I’ ve enjoyed the most:
– Automatic for the People, a 50 minute CD that went around infinitive times in my auto reverse walkman, the song “Drive” still makes me shiver, the rest of the CD… I don’ t like it that much any more.
– Up. The first CD they released when Bill Berry left the band, a different sound to the previous Cds which is sooooo good, I’ ve driven a lot with it.
– New adventures in HIIF. I love the name, the CD is a secret piece of jewellery, it was unadvertised in the history of music, but my friend Juanito and me agree that it is one of the best. The last song Electrolite is a master piece.

Brooms from the market.

Borjomi is at the door of the national park of Borjomi with immense forests to walk, very near by is Bakuriani, the one that once was the most popular ski resort in USSR.

Here things have to last as there’ s no money to replace them.

Hairdresser.

Beer and a trout from the Kvabliani river, the best dinner in the last few days.

More soviet reminiscences, this big building anyone would ban next to a national park. During Russian times national parks were closed places, they were totally protected, now, in the western style, the parks are open for the people to enjoy them. It’ s a more intelligent way of management as people in the area don’ t feel it as a bunch of prohibitions and see it as an attraction to tourists therefore money.

I go to see the museum of the village, it doesn’t’ t have much.

All has and old flavour.

On the background you can see the banner of Borjomi waters. The Borjomi springs were discovered by Russian solders in 1829. Today it is a vocational resort that has a balm and the waters have healing properties.

A hanging bridge I picture in the morning going to the bus station, I’ m going to Vardzia, some excavated caves in rock that are the next post.

Posting something soon.

Fernando