2019 in Review

Up at frozen Ala Kol lake near Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Dear Readers:

Some wind-driven cardboard snow in Goderdzi

Once again our Earth has travelled another 921 million kilometres around the Sun, while our Sun with its whirling attendant planets has rotated another 7.25 billion kilometres around the distant centre of our Galaxy.  Another 365 days have passed by, and it's time to reflect on 2019 and what it brought.

Welcoming in 2019 in a homestay near Goderdzi

The year began with Terri and I driving around Georgia on a ski trip.  We welcomed in the New Year in a tiny village near the Goderdzi Pass, in a tiny guesthouse in which the family welcomed us warmly into their New Years festivities.  The skiing was decidedly disappointing, however and Terri was chilled to the bone by the lack of heat in the house, so we pulled the plug after two days and returned to Tbilisi via some birdwatching in Poti, on the Black Sea coast and some sightseeing around Georgia's second city, Kutaisi.  Our previous skiing, the week before in Svaneti, had been much better, and indeed proved to be the best skiing of our winter in Georgia.

Terri in Gudauri

The winter passed by in a blur of work and increasingly desperate attempts to find snow in the mountains north of Tbilisi.  It barely snowed in the Kazbegi area for most of January and February, and conditions were dire:  bare ground showing, with patches of hard-packed icy "snow" here and there.  Even ski touring was disappointing.

A view of the entire Georgian Caucasus from Bakuriani

Admiring our tracks at Gudauri

A rare snowy day of backcountry ski touring to Lomisa Monastery

Eventually my sister Saakje and her partner Henkka, who had planned to come visit me for some skiing in the Caucasus, cancelled their trip and I took off during our March break from classes to visit them in France instead. They had had a snow drought, but some excellent snow-hunting by Saakje saw us have an amazing week of powder descents in the high Alps, followed by bicycle riding and tennis in the sunny afternoon warmth in the valleys.  It was a relief to the soul after a distinctly poor winter.

Lovely backcountry snow near Guillestre, France in March

Cherry blossoms from our very own backyard trees.

Camping with Douglas the Delica

Terri had disappeared in February to visit her family in New Zealand, her OTLC school project in Zambia, and the beach in Bali, and finally returned in early May.  Spring was beautiful, with cherry blossoms galore on our backyard trees, and we got out a few weekends for some camping and hiking.  

Cherries from our very own tree!

Soon enough it was mid-June and school was over. We managed to harvest our cherries and completely filled our freezer with them. 

Upper Boz Uchuk Lake

We then packed our backpacks and flew to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for an unforgettable summer of hiking and mountains.  We based ourselves at first in Karakol for a series of hikes on our own in the spectacular Terskey Ala Tau range of the Tien Shan, up to shimmering glacial tarns and wildflower-carpeted meadows full of horses and sheep and Kyrgyz cowboys.  It was good to get out on our own two feet, carrying our tent and stove, and explore this spectacular corner of the world.

Not a bad place to pitch a tent!

Relieved to have made it to Komsomolskiy Camp after a rough day

The second part of the summer's adventures involved hiking up the massive Inylchek Glacier through the heart of the Central Tien Shan to the foot of its two most iconic 7000-metre peaks:  hulking Pik Pobedy and elegant, perfectly sculpted Khan Tengri.  We walked from camp to camp, using the services of Ak Sai Travel, who run mountain climbing basecamps at the end of the Inylchek as well as a series of trekking camps for people like us.  It was challenging hiking, particularly in terms of  route-finding, and had its scary moments, but the sweeping views of the immense wild beauty of the mountains made it worthwhile (although Terri might still have some lingering doubts.....)

In my happy place

Dikiy Camp by night

Terri with the mighty peaks of the Central Tien Shan

Atop a 3900-metre pass with our trusty steeds

We finished our Central Asian swing with a crazy 5-day horse trek to remote Kel Suu lake deep in the wilds of Naryn Region, right up against the Chinese border in the little-known but stunning Kokshal Mountains.  It was tiring and tough on the body, but an unforgettable experience.

Tired but happy after a long day in the saddle

A steep downhill in the Kokshal Range

Terri and our horse team at Kel Suu Lake

The view down from Udziro

When we returned to Georgia at the beginning of August, there were still two and a half weeks left before the start of school, so we loaded up Douglas the Delica and drove to Racha, the one area of the Georgian Caucasus that we had not yet explored.  After a tough, frozen hike up to Udziro Lake, we drove on further to the rugged back road into Svaneti.  Terri took the wheel and drove us up over the challenging Zagar Pass to Ushguli, where we had been the previous autumn.  We then did another week of hiking the length of upper Svaneti, staying every night in guesthouses along the way, marvelling at how popular this trek has become with foreign tourists.  

A frosty August morning at Udziro Lake

Douglas conquering the Zagar Pass

Atop a pass looking across at the Adishi Glacier, Svaneti

Terri in the wildflowers

Mezuri chapel with Mt. Ushba behind

On the hike up to Abuli fortress

Finally, however, the school year started and we returned to Tbilisi.  It was a busy fall, with me teaching AP Calculus and AP Physics for the first time, and coaching cross-country running.  We wanted to escape the city every weekend for camping and hiking, but we were repeatedly foiled by rainy, cold weekends.  We did manage to make it to the barren high plateaus and mountains of southwestern Georgia's Javakheti region and its amazing ancient megalithic monuments. 

Admiring the megalithic fortifications of Abuli

Terri and the millennia-old fortress of Abuli

Lovely cliffs below Shushi, Nagorno-Karabakh

It was a relief when fall break arrived and we were able to load our camping gear into Douglas and head south into Armenia.  It was an intense road trip, covering lots of kilometres through stunning terrain.  I particularly enjoyed a return visit to Nagorno-Karabakh, a beautiful place with a tragic recent history of civil war and ethnic cleansing.  We got in some quality hiking and visited ancient petroglyphs high in the barren mountains of the south.  Both Terri and I agreed that Armenia will deserve a return visit next summer, this time for much more hiking along a section of the newly-built Trans Caucasian Trail.

Zontik Waterfall in Nagorno-Karabakh

Lovely Tatev Monastery

Terri amidst the ancient standing stones of Karahunj

A petroglyph of a man hunting an elephant, Ughtasar

Ughtasar petroglyphs

Morning light on Mt. Ararat from Khor Virap monastery

Since our return to Tbilisi, the weather has turned cold and we have huddled indoors.  I have been trying to play our piano on a regular basis, trying to emulate Glenn Gould by mastering Bach's Goldberg Variations, and both Terri and I have been taking cross-fit classes.  I have been doing some weightlifting for the first time in my life and while I can't say that I love it as a sport, it's not a bad idea as I get inexorably older to do some weight training.  The unstoppable rush of time is starting to show in grey hairs on my head and a definite downward trend in physical and mental energy, although I'm hoping that this will abate once I get back to travelling and away from the grind of teaching.

Speaking of travelling, there is only a week left of classes before Christmas holidays start on Dec. 13th.  This winter we are heading to the warmth of Panama, our first time to visit Central America.  We will meet up with my mother, Saakje and Henkka on the beaches of Bastimentos Island before my mom flies back to Canada and we head off into the highlands for some hiking and wildlife spotting.

Next year will see the end of our two years in Tbilisi.  School ends in June and after a few weeks of roadtripping through Armenia, Turkey and Iran, we will fly to Canada to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday in the Muskokas and then continue on to South Africa to pick up our beloved Stanley (currently in storage outside Cape Town) and resume Stanley's Travels.  We can't wait!  Another round of "pretirement" travels is just around the corner.

We can't wait to get back to this sort of life again in Africa!

I continue the dispiriting process of trying to get my book on the Silk Road published.  I am hoping to have some good news on that front before we head off again into the great unknown, but there's nothing happening yet.  Any leads/tips/introductions to publishers and literary agents would be gratefully accepted!

I hope that this holiday season finds you enjoying life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness wherever you may be in the world.  I hope that 2019 was a good year for you, and that 2020 will be even better.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you all!

Graydon

Majestic Khan Tengri