Stepantminsda

A gentle start to the day visiting Svetitskoveli Cathedral where a funeral was taking place with an open coffin. The cathedral is always open so families must accept that they cannot have a completely private service. We endeavoured to be discreet, others did not.

A hearty Goergian lunch at a roadside cafe with a political message on the door, extra.

Feeling very full and quite dozy we unwittingly embarked on the trickiest walk thus far. No path, a long ascent at high altitude and far too fast a pace understandably annoyed some of the group.

Salome, our Georgian guide, “read the room” and we abandoned plans to visit a fortress that looked very intimidating. Cutting the route in half made it very doable and soon we’re back on form enjoying the amazing views, when we weren’t looking at our feet.