Our driver had named his car “Black George”. It was a black 18 year old Volga with blistering paint, wires hanging from the dashboard and an ability to take on roads that would make a Range Rover cringe. he was the second owner and had put on about 350,000 km (about 210,000 miles). He estimated that the first owner had put on at least that many. 18 years and still running—and a new one only costs $6000. He just bought a new Russian jeep and we tried to convince him to name it “No Problem” (which was his favorite expression). John got to drive the Volga on the way out of town and attracted quite a bit of attention from the locals.
Vardzia was fascinating; rock caves dating back to the 12-13th C. The complex extends ½ km into the heart of the mountain. It was completed in the reign of Queen Tamara and could accommodate 20,000 people. Today, only about 750 caves remain.
Photo courtesy of Flickr
From there, it was the long drive back to Tbilisi and the search for a cold beer. We finally found a place called “Santa Fe” with cold white wine, A/C and good Mexican food.
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