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Antoine Toulmonde

Joined October 2021 Message
  • Georgia 2021
    Day18

    Touring Tbilisi

     November 4, 2021 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Time to visit Tbilisi city which till now had just been a point of transit through our travelling.
    One day was definitely not enough but Anya, a kind Georgian guide from free walking tours helped us to see and learn what we could of Tbilisi.
    But we also learnt a lot about Georgia, things that could have helped us during our trip.
    1) Dili = big. A word clearly mandatory in Georgia where big thank yous are often needed seeing the georgian’s kindness.
    2) The Georgian cross that looks like the Mercedes logo is actually based on Ste Nino, the bringer of Christianity to Georgia and made her cross using not very straight vine branches
    3) khinkalis (Georgian Ravioli’s) which we found very filling are actually not so filling if you eat them correctly without eating the 100% dough top which is not very tasty, what we obviously did!
    A nap in the botanical garden, great cocktails at Lolita bar, the best meal eaten yet at culinarium Kasheria and a most deserved body scrub and sulphur bath at Gulo’s thermal sulphur bath was exactly what was needed to end these great 3 weeks!    Read more

    Kathrin W

    Sounds like a highlight! Wish you guys safe travels back 😀

    11/5/21Reply
    Frédérique Colmant

    aaah ....cool toutes ces rencontres

    11/5/21Reply
     
  • Georgia 2021
    Day17

    Abudelauri Lakes day 2

     November 3, 2021 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    After a rainy night, we started hiking to the highest lake out of the 3 located at 2840m above sea level.
    We were in a cloud almost the whole time and the end of the trail was covered by a thick layer of fresh snow.
    On our way down through Roshka a lady was cleaning sheep whool at a guest house where we stopped for a coffee. We almost finished her stock of fresh milk it was so good.! We even bought a litre to go and a box of her natural honey.
    Good news, the car was still where we parked it and it still had its 4 wheels inflated.
    We came back to the capital for our last night where we coincidentally joined a group of international people (Armenia, Kazakhstan, Ukrainia, Georgia) for dinner in a small local cafe. We were entertained by the party dancing and one eager Kazakhstan girl determined to dance with each male present and nott go home alone. No matter her persistance and strong grip she did not manage to lure Antoine to the dancefloor.    Read more

     
  • Georgia 2021
    Day16

    Abudelauri Lakes day 1

     November 2, 2021 in Georgia ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Back in the wild for real!
    We start a 2 days hike from Korsha to reach the three Abudelauri lakes (one green, one blue and one white).
    After a first day of 15 km and 1300mD+., we camp at an altitude of 2600m with a 360* view of high snow covered peaks and the green lake on one side and the valley of Roshka on the other.
    Our best hike so far✌️    Read more

    Marie Colard

    trop beau !

    11/4/21Reply
     
  • Georgia 2021
    Day15

    Lagodekhi, Georgia

     November 1, 2021 in Georgia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Lagodekhi National park - finally back to walking, camping and long days of hiking 😍😍
    Or not...
    With the heavy rains of early October all the bridges on the trail to the black rock lake have been washed away and the trail is therefore closed 🥺
    A bit bummed by the news we stroll around Lagodekhi, watch a local Georgian football match and find our best guesthouse yet.
    Or not...
    Halloween is upon us and our host is clearly taking her witch costume very seriously, she even has the missing teeth 😐

    A clear blue sky brightens our mood and we head out determined to see as much of the park as we can, trail closed or not. Our balance skills turn out to be quite good considering our very high centres of gravity, logs and stones making very good bridge alternatives.
    After almost 1000m D+ of walking and lots of woodpecker watching, we trekked back regretting not to have taken all the camping gear with us.
    Moral of the story; Georgians are very quickly discouraged by broken bridges.    Read more

     
  • Georgia 2021
    Day14

    Vashlovani National Park day 3

     October 31, 2021 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    This will be our last day in the park. We hoped to have a better day than the last 2. After an early breakfast, we were ready to hit the road. The car wasn't... Flat tyre! Time to unpack the freshly packed car. Spare tyre : check. Jack : check. Lug wrench : on holiday. And the useful rangers have no car and no tools. They called another ranger that was supposed to come one hour later (Georgian timing). After 2 hours, a pack of crisp, a couple of beers, a game of cards later, a car finally arrives, driven by a proud 10 yo polish boy. The parents were useful and helped us to change the tyre. 2 pm, good timing to hit the road. Plenty of raptors were waiting to be photographed on our way back. It saved a bit the visit.Read more

     
  • Georgia 2021
    Day13

    Vashlovani National park day 2

     October 30, 2021 in Georgia ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    We drove through the park hopping to see animals, (unfortunately no mammals wanted to see us, we only saw birds). Nevertheless, the landscapes are breathtaking (if only the visibility was more than 20 m...). The paths (well supervised by military men) are quite challenging even with a 4x4. We spotted bear footprint during our evening walk. We ended up at a ranger station and spent the night there. The pistachio tree and Juniperus are 2 remarquable trees present in the park.Read more

     
  • Georgia 2021
    Day12

    Vashlovani National park day 1

     October 29, 2021 in Georgia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Do you remember the passage in the movie the 12 tasks of Asterix, the Pace that sends you mad where they have to do some administrative work? Well, it's more or less the same to get in that national park. First, we have to reach the visitors center in Dedoplistskaro to pay the entrance and get the map. It doesn't seem too difficult but of course we arrived at lunchtime : office closed. We decided to have lunch on a hill where a monastery oversees the town. Second try : office is open but the lady doesn't speak English. Georgian way : call Nino and give the phone to the tourist BUT DON'T TOUCH IT (covid obliges). Nino explains what document we have to send her. She gave us her number (with 3 numbers missing, not very helpful). Next step : border permit to get from the police station a bit further. Georgian efficiency, we only wait 40 minutes to receive this handwritten paper. It's 3PM, good timing to get in the park with our freshly rented Nissan XTrail 4x4 (Ndlr prononced quatro quatro).
    The way is well indicated to get in the park and we find it right away (get the irony in my writing please). Or we end up driving close-by the Azerbaijan border... twice until we were escorted by military men in a buggy to our campsite. Its 6 PM, we did literally nothing of the day and didn't see a iota of the park. We spend a rainy night in the tent surrounded by golden chackals calling (it surprisingly sounds similar to hyenas call that are also present in the place).    Read more

    Andre R

    oh wow. That sound awful. I love the Astrix reference. I know exactly what scene you mean haha. Quatro Quatro. 😂

    11/4/21Reply
    Marie Colard

    Haha mon dieu quelle aventure ! cette fois tu n'as pas couru en dehors de la tente en entendant les animaux sauvages ?? ;)

    11/4/21Reply
    Colette Minjauw

    Ha ha non pour le coup j’ai retenu la leçon 🤪

    11/5/21Reply
     
  • Georgia 2021
    Day11

    David Gajeta Monastry

     October 28, 2021 in Georgia ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    After a long drive through the semi arid desert, we arrived at the David Gareji monastery, located next to the Azerbaijan border. The area is well protected by military forces of both countries.
    The visit was enlighted by the beauty of the landscape (color layered hills), a raptor seen on the way (buse féroce?), the charm of the monastery and the presence of a rare bird : the wallcreeper. This bird is often compared to a butterfly (through its flight and its shape). Let's hope we will be as lucky for the next national parc (Vashlovani).Read more

    Marie Colard

    Super beau !

    10/28/21Reply
     

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