Waterfalls!

 03-03-2022

The nice man who drove us from the train station to our hotel (number one) is coming for us today at ten. That means there is plenty of time for all the morning stuff, including breakfast, before he is due.  even though Ammar reminded him that we had changed hotels, he went to the wrong place;  but Ammar called him and he'll be right over! That gives Ammar time for another cup of espresso!  After last night's surprise, he's entitled!  He came home around midnight and flashed the 600 lari he had won! We're still playing on the casino's money!

It's about an hour's drive to the Makhuntseti Waterfall and along the way our driver tells us that today is a holiday in Georgia, it's Mothers' Day!! And March 8th is International Women's Day! We stop to see the confluence of two rivers, the Adjaristskali and the Chorokh, with markedly different colored water. He tells us the they are both low right now.

Medea was being refurbished when we were here last.

interesting fence

new football stadium

We pass the Ajarian Wine House and agree to stop for a wine tasting on the way back.

Next we come to the Makhuntseti Bridge over the Adjaristskali River.  It is all rock and very photogenic.  There are also some lovely little flowers (maybe a kind of African violet?) that grow near by and while I'm climbing everything to get interesting angles on the bridge, our driver is busy picking me a handful of posies! What a sweetie! One of the ever-present street dogs wants to be in the pictures, too.

for those who want more infirmation

When I've exhausted my creativity, we drive on to the main attraction, the Makhuntseti Waterfall!!  Oh boy! Oh boy!! Can't wait! I've been trapped in the city for too long and I need my Nature fix!  And this is a good one! There are steps to climb and not very many people and you can feel the spray.  I had dithered about booking this trip today because it looked like rain on the weather apps;  but all the rest of our days here looked about the same. It turned out to be gorgeous!  So much sun that there was a rainbow!  We talked about living in the mountains with a waterfall nearby; not so close that it would keep us awake, though! I'm feeling rejuvenated and Ammar is happy, too!

Next stop - wine tasting at the Ajarian Wine House! Beautiful old place with many different wines to their credit. While I'm taking flower pictures Ammar signs me up for three wines and he opts for a cup of coffee.  I go for the semi-sweets and while we investigate the little museum downstairs, our lovely hostess prepares our beverages and a little cheese board with three kinds of cheese, prunes, and apple pieces. There is a rose, a white, and a red, all semi-sweet, and I'm amazed to find that I really the white one!! While I'm finishing the cheese, Ammar disappears and returns with a bottle of the white for me!!

We're heading home now, but our driver stops and says, "There's a little waterfall here; do you want to see it?"  Well, duh! Size isn't everything!  This one is charming in its own right!

Now we're heading home, at one point the car next to us rolls down its driver's window!  What the heck?? Turns out the driver is the son of our driver's wife's sister!  Small world!  We get out a block or two from home because Ammar has spotted a toy store.  We're on the hunt for a mechanical bank for Bashar's youngest daughter. So far, no luck.  Ammar is also hunting for a pair of puppies to take back to Jordan to sell!  I'm steering clear of that one!  I have no idea with the quarantine laws are like here or in Jordan!

for us NPR fans!

Back here in the city it's gotten cold!  I have to stop and put on my jacket and when we get back to our room I even close the window!  Admittedly I hung out of it for several minutes first!

After a little rest time I begin this blog and Ammar goes down to get his espresso fix.  Later we'll call our new best friend and ask him to take us to the fish market.  I'm thinking shrimp and salmon tonight - and no wine since I have this beautiful new bottle waiting for me!  And I'm still trying to finish the bottle from the last time at Fishlandia!

I don't know what's going on with my email.  There is about a ten-hour lag time before I get a message!  And my phone won't send some text messages.  Others go through without a hitch! And I haven't heard from the kids, which I'm hoping is just a techie glitch.  I guess I'll see!!

Yay!  Everything is fine!  So glad my kids are techies and know so many other ways to reach out to me!

When I left off, Ammar was winning downstairs and suggested I come down so we could go to dinner.  Well, I turned my 100 lari into 150 and had a cup of cappuccino and a bunch of pistachios before we actually left!  By then it was way too late for the fish market, so we ran through the raindrops to McD's across the square and got something that was close to what we ordered!  But the good news was that I got a FB message from Stu and when I got home there were emails from both kids! 

It will be an early night tonight and tomorrow we may go into the Old City to shop andd then get our delayed seafood dinner at an early hour!