A year of open water swimming

As I mentioned once or twice - I like to diversify the sports that I do, and also try to experience a new sport every year or so.
About fifteen months ago I started with open water swimming - at first just body-surfing but later swimming longer distances in various sea conditions. Here in Israel, one can enjoy outdoor swimming almost all year around, except for a few months here there in the summer. The reason is that the water becomes too hot for swimming, filled with jellyfish and the beaches are crowded with people. In winter on the other hand it is much cleaner, cooler and no jellyfish.
Best time to practice is from October to June because even in January water temperature never drops under 15-16°C. It is still possible to swim without a wetsuit if you have trained yourself a bit. Personally I got myself a wetsuit (because I am just a newbie) and use it from January to February - depending on the day and on my mood, but it's not needed rest of the year. Putting on the wetsuit helps because it gives you some buoyancy and helps you to swim faster (and of course keeps you warm).
Going to sea is much more fun than indoor pool swimming provided that you can swim well enough and feel yourself comfortable in the water. Of course you should avoid getting in when it's very stormy, or when you feel tired or dizzy. You must know about the rip current phenomena and how to behave if you find yourself in one. Never swim against the current and always stay calm even when you feel being dragged from the shore. If you feel that there is a current away from the shore, don't fight it  - swim along the shore, diagonally, to get out of the current, usually it takes just a few strokes. I had experienced this a few times (near the wave breakers or where there is a change in depth of the sea floor) and it can be a bit unpleasant at first - just stay calm and swim across the current to get back to the beach safely.
Now I am thinking to try some other kind of water sport like surfing, kite-surfing, paddling or maybe even getting a sailing license one day.

Hiking in Georgia - part Two - Kazbeg

This is the second post in Georgia trip series.

We arrived to Tbilisti in the afternoon and since I don't like cities very much the plan was to spend a night and continue north to the Kazbeg mountains. Saying that Tbilisi a very nice place to visit - there is some old town, a few nice views and there is no shortage in places to eat and drink. That seemed just what I needed to refresh myself a little before heading to the mountains again.

Tbilisti from above

The next morning we went to the Didube station to look for a Marsrutka to Stepantsminda (Kazbegi). This time the ride was much more comfortable, and lasted about two hours. After some time we found out guesthouse (Nata and Mito guesthouse). In the town itself you can do some mountain biking, horse riding and hiking in the area. The main attraction is the Gergeti Trinity church located above the town. It should take you about 1.5 hrs walking to get there (if you can't walk, there are cabs that can drive you there.). We managed to make some horse riding and resupplied ourselves before the trip to Bethlemi hut in the next morning. It goes without saying that there are enough places to eat and drink in the town. 

Gergeti and Kazbegi panorama

Gergeti, from above

The hike to Bethemi hut is a somewhat harder trail from the town which is located at an elevations of about 1km to the hut which is at 3653m. It is not easy but shouldn't be a problem provided that you can handle the elevation. You can stay at the hut for a night, or to camp in a tent outside. Keep in mind that there is no food in the hut, and thought they can give you some blankets it is might be wiser to bring your own sleeping bag. You can buy a gas cartridge for a stove in the town, but you better bring one with you from Tblisi. If you are feeling adventurous and has the right equipment you might try to ascent to the peak on the next day (5047m) but that's technical and depends on the weather. On the next day we climbed to some point neat 4100m and started descending back to the town from there.

Kazbegi Glacier from above

Mount Kazbeg, and the glacier

The hut

We didn't take with us almost any food, so I recall this two day hike as rather hungry experience, but the views were worth it.
We spend another two full days in Stepantsminda, enjoying some mountain biking, visiting the Gergeti church and just wandering around.
Keep in mind that the weather in this mountainous area is changing very rapidly and what looks like another sunny day can turn to a hale storm in a second and then to sunny again in a matter of minutes.

Near Stepandsminda

Valley, view from above

The last day and a half of our short trip we spent in Tbilisi, enjoying city's night life and chilling in the shade of the botanical garden.

I more than recommend visiting Georgia. This country has so much to offer for a backpacker and travelling there was a pleasure.

Hiking in Georgia - part one - Svaneti, Mestia, Ushguli, Tbilisi

One of my favourite journeys was two weeks long trip to Georgia, and not only because of the beautiful mountains, glaciers and lakes - but also because of the food, wine and hospitality of the people.

I find Georgia a very convenient country to travel in, at least from backpackers perspective:
* It is relatively easily reachable (from Europe or Israel)
* The country is pretty cheap even in the capital
* It's not such a big of a country and it is easy to reach almost any region from Tbilisi
* It is a relatively safe country
* The back-country is authentic and not spoiled by tourists
* The people are friendly, and there were a lot of guest houses everywhere I visited

Besides that, the country offers some higher than 5km peaks (Shkhara at 5,068m, Mount Janga at 5,059m, Mount Kazbek at 5,047m) with numerous glaciers in between, great wine and excellent food.

Tblisi to Svanti
My first half-a-night at Tbilisi I spent walking on the streets, simply waiting for the mini bus (Marshrutka) to Mestia, a town in Svaneti.

Tbilisi at night

Fortunately, the Mini bus arrived and more than twenty people were packed in a small vehicle that was would have been tight even for fifteen. The journey was supposed to last about seven hours, but definitely felt longer. It was a very hot day and there was no AC, inoperable windows and loud music. My friend threw up two times and later recalled this trip as Orwell’s room 101 journey. The situation became even worse the road started to ascend into the mountains. The driver speeded, paid no respect to the continuous separation line and honked before every turn (probably in order to warn the other drivers that he is coming through). I looked that the driver was about forty-forty five years old, and thought that if he reached such an age - this is probably safer than it appears.

Our Mini bus at a refreshment stop, which was indeed needed

Finally we arrived to Mestia - the capital of Svaneti region. We stayed in a very decent guest-house and started our trek the next morning.

Mestia

Mestia

Sine I couldn't find any trekking maps - I just used my smartphone with maps from OpenStreetMap (via http://osmand.net/, not related, not sponsored, not affiliated) and it was good enough.
The region is very beautiful and it got more and more wild as we moved forward. The hike itself wasn't too hard and we finished it in three days instead of four. First night we stayed in Zhabishi, on the second in Adishi and from there we walked to Ushguli.
On the first day of the hike I had a terrible food poisoning and felt awful, but quickly recovered in the next few days.

Near mestia

A local bar

The path from Zhabishi to Adishi had some steep ascend in the beginning, but was much much easier later. On your way you could see a lot of Svanetian towers (in almost any village) and enjoy some of these perfect mountain views.

Near Adishi

Near Adishi

Shkhara glacier

On the third day of the hike we crossed the river near Adishi on horses (the service is provided for a small fee by locals). And after a nice ascent were awarded by a great view to the glacier. On your way to Ushguli - don't be temped to make a shortcut and keep the touristic track (and not the road). It's harder because of the ascent and the descent but much nicer. We arrived to Ushguli at the sunset and stopped in a nice guesthouse for two nights. In the village you can resupply yourself with some wine (and evening without a glass of wine in Georgia is a wasted evening).
In the area you can walk to a nearby glacier or make a tour on horses. You can easily make your way back to Mestia on a Minibus that goes from Ushguli to Mestia. We spent another half day in Mestia enjoying restaurants, views, and getting ready for the hell trip back to Tbilisi.

This red wine I packed for the road is the reason why the seven hours ride back was much more comfortable

Many thanks for our host from Guesthouse Marina in Mestia who called the Minibus driver and told him to pick us right from the guesthouse.

This concludes the first part of the journey to Georgia.