Let it snow!

January 19, 2010
On Friday we packed up for our ski trip to Gudauri and went out to dinner at a restaurant we had not tried before, a Lebanese place. It was fairly good. Then we headed to our favorite funky movie house that was playing Blind Side, a sweet film about a white family taking in a poor African American teen who turned out to be a star football player. The seats in the place are wooden and very uncomfortable after about 15 minutes. I had mentioned this to a dear friend back home so for Christmas James sent us two chair cushions. We took these with us in a plastic bag and were so grateful for them as it never got uncomfortable. This is one of the few places to see movies in English.

On Saturday we got up early as Jock and Laurie arrived at 7:45 to load us up and head to the Embassy where we would meet up with others and caravan to the resort. The Community Liaison Office (CLO) had arranged for a special price for the weekend and reserved a number of rooms. There were five cars in the caravan for the 90+ minute trip. We didn’t hit snow until quite close to the hotel fortunately. The scenery along the way was lovely. Gudauri is at 2000 meters, 6,561 feet in altitude. We had been very fortunate in that a neighbor loaned us a lot of equipment for the trip: snow shoes, gloves, water proof pants, snow shoe poles, etc. Ron and Jock had rented skis and poles. We arrived mid morning and unpacked the car then got the lay of the land. When unloading the car, I was walking across the parking lot to get the next load and my feet flew out from under me and I landed face down, right on my nose. Ouch! I thought I had broken my nose or my glasses but fortunately all was in tack. Just a bit sore on the nose. The parking lot was covered with ice/snow.

Ron and Jock went skiing before lunch, and then we ate and rested. About 3:30 we met up and the four of us went shoe shoeing. What fun! Due to the altitude we have to catch our breath about every 10-15 minutes. It snowed everyday we were there all day long. The hotel package included our meals and as I looked around I think that is because there is no where else to eat other than the other hotels. We were lucky as each meal was buffet and there were enough choices to find something we liked.

On the second day, the lift was not working in the morning so the four of us went show shoeing and climbed the slope up to the first lift stop. Here there was a ‘Vitamin Hut” with Wifi. We were shocked but sure enough there was someone in there with his laptop. We ordered Americanos and hot chocolate. Jock and I had finished the coffee long before the hot chocolate arrived. But it was worth the wait. I tasted Ron’s after he and Laurie squealed in delight saying it was the best ever. OMG they were right, it was thick and so chocolatety! I don’t know how they made it but I can guarantee it had nothing to do with Swiss Miss instant!!

We went back down the slope after taking a dead end trail. There we saw a creative soul who had hitched up his horse to a sleigh and who was taking skiers up to the lift that was working. See photos.

After lunch and a rest, we went to the ‘tepid’ tub which was not hot. The indoor swimming pool was empty. The sauna was functioning and separated by gender. Laurie and I worked up a good sweat then followed another woman outside and rubbed snow over our warm limbs. I liked it all except my feet got really cold standing barefoot in the snow. I went back in the sauna to warm up and regretted not going back out to the snow as it took a while to cool down. That night before dinner we played a board game with two other Embassy staff, Terry, Kirsten and Acquil her six year old son. Acquil was too young to play but hung around and kept us entertained. We sat together at dinner and afterwards, Ron showed Acquil how to hang a spoon from his nose. Kirsten was taking photos of the two of them with spoons on their noses when Acquil announced that they were the ‘nose brothers’. I just about peed in my pants I was laughing so hard. He is a bright and charming kid.

The next day there was better visibility although it was still snowing. Jock had gotten up early and gone out to his car to clear the snow off. He came in to breakfast and announced he had cleared nine inches off his roof. Kirsten, Jock and Ron decided to get in one more ski session. I read in my room. A little after noon we were loaded up and headed out about 12:30. The going was slow at first as the roads were covered with snow and Terry was driving a two wheel drive vehicle. We were caravanning to make sure neither car had any problems. All the others had left after the first day when the ski lift ceased to work. We stopped on the way home at Ananuri where two churches sit side by side. They are surrounded by a crenellated wall at the head of a reservoir. The lower church was built in 1689. Most of the frescos were lost to a fire in the 18th century but some survived. There were carved external decorations. One is a huge cross on the backs of two dragons, flanked by two lions, and two mustachioed angels. The pagan elements clearly show Persian influence according to our tour book.

We arrived home around 4:00 p.m. after dropping off the rented equipment. We ate a quick snack and then walked to the grocery store. I wanted to buy a chicken and cook it to see what it tasted like as we are having a dinner party (our first here) on Saturday. I spent over 40 minutes plucking pin feathers out of that bird. What a pain in the ass! I have already mentioned that I have to wash eggs after buying them here. But the pin feathers made for real work. We rarely cook with any meat so I thought it best to do a trail run. It is good to know about the extra work involved so I can do that the day before if we decide to have chicken. Chickens are not as highly processed as at home. They are not bleached so the skin is much more yellow than our chickens at home. On Wednesday I am going to buy some salmon and try it out then decide on our menu.

We had a good chicken dinner and watched the news on BBC before heading off to bed. On Tuesday we woke up to a light snow fall. We had another holiday, the Georgian Epiphany. So we slept in since neither of us had slept that well. Ron baked two loaves of bread after breakfast. I made granola and walked to a store to see if I could get more wine glasses for our party on Saturday. I found the glasses and got some shot glasses for our Georgian party which will be the last weekend in the month. Georgians traditionally drink chacha (homemade vodka) shots and drink wine with the meal. Unlike Americans who drink before and throughout the meal, Georgians only drink when there is a toast. No wonder they have so many toasts! You get to drink more. The snow changed to mixed snow and rain by mid afternoon. The streets were clear all day but there was a little accumulation on the grass. It was a great weekend and we are thankful for a safe trip and the break from work for Ron.