Omalo -> Diklo – Forest, Meadows and Village

18. June 2023

 

 

There were a few other people in the accommodation and mattresses had been laid out on the balcony where people were also sleeping. Including a dog. During breakfast, the cows started to graze and then we also set off.

 

 

 

By the way, in Tusheti there is no electricity from power lines, only solar. And they seem to me to have very good storage capacities, despite little or no sun on some days, we always had enough for all electronic devices and hot water, except for the last day.

 

 

We walked a bit through the village and then turned into the forest. There we went down well, over a bridge and up again on the other side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The path seemed less frequented, but was well marked. Then we ended up on a dirt road and came over a hill and had great views and flower meadows and soon a hamlet: Shenako.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our route was not so long that day (about 13 km) and so we had plenty of time to have a drink in Shenako and to visit the place. Shenako is situated at 2,070 m, has a few houses, a few of which serve as guesthouses/cafes, and 4 people who live here all year round. It also has a church built in 1843.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here you can now see a little better how the houses are traditionally built. They have walls made of this slate stone and wooden balconies, windows and doors. I don’t know how the roofs were built before the current ones, but because of rain and stuff, this one is probably better. When something is rebuilt, they often keep the old style.

 

 

 

 

 

We walked on and saw a flock of sheep in the distance. Oh dear, that could mean dog stress. We approached slowly. And we were lucky: there was a shepherd who had calmed his dogs and they then made no sound. Nevertheless, we hurried past more or less quickly.

 

 

 

 

But we hiurried anyhow as it looked like afternoon rain.

 

 

And we were lucky: we reached the accommodation dry, looked at the rain and could still go on a small sightseeing tour afterwards. Here we were alone in the guesthouse, which was run by a nice woman who did not want to be photographed. She was visited by her neighbours and a Georgian guest who has been coming here for years. The guest was wearing a bathrobe, which looked very funny. The women were sitting in the kitchen chatting and chatting and laughing. Very nice. Our hostess had arrived early by helicopter.

 

Diklo is the last village before the border with Dagestan. There is a military post there that keeps watch. And because it is very lonely and boring there, the soldiers are often replaced. And locals are allowed to fly in the helicopter – I don’t remember if it’s for free or for a little money. In any case, the landlady had arrived so early that she could already plant her garden.

 

 

 

 

After the rain stop, Nino and I went out. There is an old fortress to visit, but it is 3.5 km away in the zone for which you need a permit. But it was too late for walking there.

 

 

 

There is Christianity in Tusheti, but the pre-Christian animistic and pagan beliefs are stronger. There are certain sites where sacrifices are still made – like here directly opposite the guesthouse:

 

 

Many of the sites are not allowed to be entered, especially by women. Here they had taken good precautions and simply put a fence around it so that no one would accidentally get too close. The beam with ropes is for sacrifice.

 

Then the sheep were driven home and we had dinner.

 

 

 

About the accommodation: we always had neat clean beds with bed linen and towel, toilet was often down the stairs, the showers had hot water and there was a richly set table for breakfast and for dinner as well. In the evening always with thick soup and except once with still warm dishes beside the usual small cold dishes. It was always delicious and absolutely sufficient for vegetarians, despite the fact that people eat quite a lot of meat. At lunchtime we always had packed lunches – and together they cost around 35 euros per person.

 

I found it an overall nice day, but I was worried about the next one. We had already seen our turn-off with this sign:

 

 

Would we encounter angry dogs?