Jumaskhure

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” 

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sundays tours for me became a habit. This time in Nia’s car we decided to visit Dedoplistkaro, Kakheti region. Tinatin offered us to visit Jumaskhure (Kakliskhure). To be frank, I hadn’t heard about the place before. So many places we, the Georgians know ourselves little about.

If you go to Kakheti region, you should stop at Badiauri to get fresh Kakhetian Shoti (bread) and cheese. So we kept our traditional customs and bought freshly baked shoti and cheese and set off to Dedoplistskaro…

It was warm and sunny autumn day. On the road we came across with a raft of turkeys. It was first time I have ever seen turkeys and an old amaryllis…

So we reached Dedoplistkaro. There we decided to visit the administration centre of tourists, where we were informed about the territory of the Jumaskhure.

The road wasn’t bad but our driver drove carefully.We were fascinated with the beauty of nature. Autumn in his usual multiple colors was reigning… Along the road there were pomegranate’s trees. We picked them up and have them on the way. Grown wildly pomegranates tasted sweeter…

We passed quite a few kilometers. Passed land ready for sowing of wheat…On the stone a tired azerbaijanian was sitting… We asked him the way to Jumaskhure, he showed the way then asked for a cigarette. He said he hadn’t smoked for days… Unfortunately there was no smoker between us…

And at last we reached Jumaskhure. We passed the narrow piece of land between the rivers and saw the house where guards lived. He had noticed us and met warmly. He told many interesting things about the place.

Jumaskhure is the natural peninsula. It is surrounded by the river Alazani, which is a trans-border river. The river flows on both sides of the peninsula. “The land is being taken by the river Alazani every year when it floods. If the river breaks this small connection land, the beautiful place will be left out of the border.” Surmanidze, the man we met there and guided us, told us. He worked there and was glad to see us-tourists from Tbilisi. It was unusual for him. He told us that it was the grove forest and contained a special wild nut species. He showed us animals footprints. As Nia is a biologist she showed much interest in flora…

We sat at the river for a long time fascinating with the beauty of the nature and dreaming how nice it would be to stay there for more than a day… Beauty, quiet atmosphere, fresh air...Would you like more after a Tbilisi busy day?

We shared our meal with the guard. Eka had brought some bananas and snickers for her, but didn’t eat and gave him. He was happy as he hadn’t eaten it for a long time. There were no shops nearby…

We were full of impressions… But Tbilisi and our daily life was calling back…

“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have first hand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.

Jawaharian Nehru