Mestia

Svaneti Region

Georgia

(1500m. 4920 ft.)

October 9, 2012

My dear driving enthusiasts,

North of Zugdidi, the mountain road begins.  It’s a good paved road, but on the very first incline, the international sign indicates “Fallen Rock Zone.”  As I climb higher and higher here in the Greater Caucasus, rocks big and small litter the road. 

Fields of pebbles, rocks of all shapes, and from time to time a boulder the size of a piano have tumbled down the steep sides of the mountains.

As I drive, I wonder, “Will I be in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

I steer around the impediments with ease and confidence, shifting the gears up and down as I proceed up the one lane mountain “path.”