I got up early to see the morning light on Mt. Kazbek from our balcony. It was quite dark but the size of Mt. Kazbeg was evident. As the sun rose, the cloud came in and coverered the peak.
Once all of us were ready to leave we headed to Gergeti Trinity Church. The road was good and we were able to drive our van up there without any issues. There were not too many people around this early in the morning so it was good. The walk from the parking lot towards the church offered magnificent views of the church with the mountains in the background.
Looking back towards the parking lot from the church we could see Mt. Kazbek looming over.
Part of the church was being renovated/restored. It had beautiful murals and frescos inside.
There were a few vantage points around the church which were accessible by pathways. We could also see Stepantsminda below.
After spending some time there we headed back to the hotel. We got ready and packed our bags and headed to breakfast. Our host had prepared a wonderful spread of local dishes.
After a hearty breakfast, we left Stepantsminda and started our drive back towards Tbilisi and the airport. We passed by all the sites we had stopped to see on our way there yesterday. Our first stop today was going to be the Jvari Monastery. The road going up was flanked with trees with yellow flowers.
Perched on a cliff, this is an orthodox monastery with nice views of Mtskheta and the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers in the background.
The water from both rivers was distinct and we could see the difference in colors as they came together. The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral was also visible in Mtskheta.
We then drove to the next stop which was our final stop on this trip, the Chronicles of Georgia. It is a huge sculpture with vast pillars depicting Georgian history & the life of Christ. It is hard to describe the sheer size of the structure.
Walking around also offered sweeping views of Tbilisi and the the Annunciation Church and the Tbilisi Reservoir with calm blue water.
After spending some time there we started our drive back to the airport. Our route took us along the Tbilisi Reservoir most of the way. The person from the car rental agency was delayed so we had to leave the keys and the pending payment in the car. We parked the car in the parking lot on the departure side of the terminal building as discussed. I also chatted with him about the scratch on the front right bumper and left the amount needed to facilitate the repair. The check-in counters for Air Astana had not opened so we waited around till they did and were the first to check-in. We passed through security check and immigration and headed to the lounge. We were able to access it using Priority Pass and Dreamfolks cards we had. The lounge was simple and clean. It had some food options and also a bar for drinks. I got myself local Georgian beer since I wanted to taste it while we were there and since I was driving all the time I hadn’t had one before. Our boarding gate was right outside the lounge so we didn’t have to walk much when boarding was announced. The flight was good, the crew was polite and professional and the meal was nice. We landed in Almaty early in the morning and had a quick connection to our flight back to Mumbai concluding this trip.