Day#4 February
14,2019 Thursday
Ila of G7 Euro Travel and Tours LLC our guide met Ruel in the Dunkin Donut shop directly
below our apartment veranda. He was advising Ruel to be bundled up for our
trip.
Levani our driver looked like a gentler version of
Vladimir Putin and was so drawn to Lilli.
We stopped by G7 Euro Travel and Tours office and met Filipino
Ghenies, who I later found out was the husband of Geraldine. She and I were
communicating back and forth through emails. He hails from Leyte and is very
good to deal with.
He gave us lots of good tips.
We had a complimentary dry white wine and some bottled
water and snacks for our 2 hour drive up to the Caucasus mountains.
We headed north bound passing the Tbilisi Mall which was to
our surprise was already in the outskirts of Tbilisi, something like
Mandaluyong to Santa Rosa, Laguna.
Ila our tour guide was very good in English and I already
peppered him with lots of questions. It
was so much fun having a local tell you
about his beautiful place. We learned short words like “Madloba” to mean Thank you and “Lamazi “to
mean beautiful!
As we got off our first stop to look over the Jinvali
Dam, he announced it was the perfect spot for a picture. The rays of the sun
was behind him, and he bearded and all, really looked like a younger and softer
version of Jim Caviezel in the Passion of Christ.
I don’t know if it pleased him or not…but later when I
asked him if Levani will be offended if I say, he looks like Vladimir Putin, he
said, better not mention so perhaps he was not amused as well with the comparison.
I so wanted to have those Russian faux fur Cossack head
gear…it made me feel so sophisticated to wear them...hahahaha. 32 Lari was out
of the question and so I had to let it go with an ouch.
Ananuri Fortress was another beautiful place. Marcelina
was able to ride a chestnut brown horse. She loved it so much!
We then proceeded with the drive and caught glimpses of snow
capped mountains in the distance.
So exciting!
As we neared and neared Gudauri, the houses in various
settlements were covered in snow. Icicles forming in the edges of their roof looked like glass lace and was such a sight to behold!
There were so many small vintage cars on the road. 1970’s
to even 1960’s models still in good running condition, some even carrying big
bulks of produce or farm merchandise on their roofs.
The zigzag up to the resort in Gudauri was slow due to
the volume of trucks and other cars trying to get to the top.
It is more than 2500 feet above sea level and the highest
peak is 2700.
I was a sorry sight trying to walk on icy paths as we got
off the Mazda minivan.
Marina kept teasing me grandma.
Never mind me looking and feeling so awkward, so long I
don’t bump my head in a fall.
Getting to the ski lifts was so rush rush. The staff and
helpers were so go!go! go!
Riding 2 levels of ski lifts was such a thrill.
If you are not ready...it will push strongly for you to sit heavily
on your butt as the speed is quite fast and strong…unlike the cable car ride to
Narikala which was more moderate in pace.
I kept laughing and almost crying while the ski lift
brought us higher and higher to the mountains…I kept remembering the movie we
just watched of the 2010 movie Frozen of skiers being stranded in a ski lift.
Eow!
Anyhow, our pilots were so brisk in going up the highest
peak…we were cold and tense trudging up slowly…we could see gliders lift off…
The wind was strong…the blast of the chute can actually
throw you off guard and you could go tumbling down like Jack and Jill…but, the
view was so out of this world. The color of the sky so breathtaking.
My youngest was picked to go first. She was positioned at
the edge of the cliff. I was behind Marina more than 15 feet away and Ruel was a bit to
our left… glider chutes being unfurled and readied and positioned all around us.
I was breaking into a sweat in fear and almost
hyperventilated…then I saw my baby girl off…she looked so calm and like a pro!
So proud and scared at the same time.
Ruel went next.
Then Marina…and I was left to wait a bit more. 5 gliders
went and they promised me my pilot was coming and so he did. He was named
George and was a tall strong built man. I guess they had to get me a much
bigger person to stabilize my weight or else… the glide would go off balanced
perhaps.
They strapped me up. I felt a bag behind me like a piece
of trash bag filled with 20 pounds of contents. It turns out it was going to be
some kind of a sitting contraption.
They gave me instructions not to sit, “Lady don’t sit,
then after sit.”
I was too scared and tense to understand the instruction.
One. Two. Steps…and I lifted my legs since there were no
more ground to step on…the two Nepali looking guide gave me disapproving looks
and I said to myself…wont I tumble if I tried to step some more when there is
just air to step on…that would be disastrous!
Praise God,we were airborne a few seconds later.
Oh my…it was so calming to just let go and let God take
over.
The view was so so so so WOW!
My pilot kept telling me to focus the Go Pro cam on
me…while I preferred it to get the scenery instead.
It was so wonderful!!!!
It took a bit of an effort to brush away the negative
thoughts of worst case scenarios and just enjoy the ride.
I dunno how high we went…but the skiers down the slopes were
like 1cm or less tall. So tiny like ants.
Then pilot George asked if I was for the extreme ride…at
once I said no!
But, I don’t know, I later got some roller coaster
sensation when he twisted and turned the glider side to side…oh its all in the
video..and we had so much laughs and stomach cramping viewing it.
I looked like a Chinese New Year Pig in a hammock riding
down the mountain slopes.
I was very proud though that I had a smooth and soft
landing. Kudos to my pilot!
It was more than 9 minutes of a bit of heaven and a taste
of how it is to be an eagle scaling heights only I can dream of in my wildest
imaginations.
I kept praising our dear Lord God for this experience and
His care and protection.
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
I had to clamber up a bit of an embankment upon our landing to get back
to safety with the help of two guides…I looked around for Ruel and the girls
and when I did see them…I wanted to kneel my jelo like legs in prayer of thanksgiving. I wanted to kiss
the snow covered ground.
We then had lunch in a very interesting restaurant with
wooden panels for its bar and interiors.
Ila our guide showed us how to eat Kachapuri with the raw
egg. It tasted delicious and thankfully my stomach behaved the rest of the day!
We then proceeded back to the snow and attempted to make
a snowman. It was a very weird looking midget of a snowman.
Ila helped Marcelina make snow tunnels and two young
Lebanese boys were playing in the snow with them in the snow mound.
Yes, Marcelina and I made snow angels and we had snow
ball fight and got some of them in my mouth. It was just like shaved ice for
our halo-halo.
It was so fun!
I praise and thank our good Lord for such a wonderful
experience!
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Here are the youtube links to Marina's, Marcelina's, and Ruel's paragliding videos courtesy of X Gudauri.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GksjZ2u4G6I
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