Iprari, Caucasus Mountains

We’re well and truly in the mountains now. Everywhere you look there’s this amazing vista of jagged peaks, snow capped mountains and glaciers. We’re really only a short distance from the Russian border up here.

The walking is steep at times and the track stony and dusty. It’s very dry and can still be hot during the day.

The wildflowers are all in bloom and they make an amazing foreground for pictures. There are butterflies everywhere and bees of course, they make a lot of honey in the Caucausus mountains.

The local wine takes a bit of getting used to, not least because it comes in a plastic bottle. A lot of it is home brewed and it’s designed to be drunk immediately. A glass is about all I can manage.

The accommodation is more basic but warm and comfortable and there’s a hot shower which is a bonus after a day of what’s reasonably hard walking.

We’ve just done our hardest day – 22km and it was hot and dusty but the views were to die for. It doesn’t get much better than this.

A few more days then we’re back to the city and a few final days of culture and history after the trip finishes before I come home.Read more