Getting to Tblisi, Georgia - Part 1

Margaret and I have just returned from our whirlwind 20-hour trip to Tblisi, the Georgian capital city. After a busy day of Dad and Margaret clowning in our little village and again in the larger town just south of us, Vanadzor, our gracious Peace Corps host, Mary, had arranged a driver to take us to the border of Georgia, then the driver had arranged for us to meet up with another driver who would take us on to Tblisi. As can happen when juggling languages, border crossings, visas, passports and expectations, things can go awry at times. Our wonderful Armenian driver, Narek (who is a PE teacher in a neighboring village) drove us through the stunningly beautiful jagged mountain passes of northern Armenia. The views were breathtaking, and if we had time enough we would have stopped at the two UNESCO cathedral/monastery sites that were along the way. We saw the signs and at least knew they were prominent and unique places in this part of the world.

One thing in particular we noticed throughout all the small towns and villages on this trip north, were the huge, abandoned buildings that could have been energy production facilities or factories of some kind.  Mary had told us that after the Soviets left 20 years and these facilities became privatized, the new owners would then sell off all the current equipment and then just leave. Many of these buildings looked like the manager locked the door 20 years ago and never returned. In many cases, cranes that were helping assemble the building, were left--and they've since rusted over. We've seen that all over Armenia, but it was even more noticeable heading north. And the contrast of the sheer natural beauty is a pure contradiction. It leaves you thinking that with some foreign investment, this could be a thriving place--much like we were to see in Tblisi. After some harrowing winding turns in these narrow mountain roads--partially on gravel, we arrived at the border. We met the new driver on the Armenia side of the border who had apparently had multiple re-entry visas, met us and had a long conversation with Narek. We began to get concerned when this conversation turned lengthy. Finally resolved, we got our passports checked and climbed into this new drivers' car, not really knowing his understanding of what and where we wanted to go in Tblisi. Coming from a truly developing country, we were anxious to see what Georgia would present us.

We passed through the border crossing and immediately noticed a difference in the pristine nature of the crossing itself. As we drove away, the roads were in much better condition, complete with paved sidewalks in the small towns we passed through. The drive from the border to Tblisi was a little more than an hour, and as approached the outskirts of Tblisi, that's when trouble started....