Alilo

Celebrating two Chistmases didn't drag me out like last year. I must be adjusting. We spent Orthodox Christmas with the faithful in the Alilo procession through the center of town up to Sameba cathedral. It was bitter cold with biting winds. The participants raised their crosses and flags, chanted ancient carols, and collected offerings for the needy along the way. We followed along, marveling at the wonder of a tradition that has endured for so many centuries.

Svaneti

On the morning of our last full day the clouds cleared for a few hours and we saw the mountaintops and patches of blue sky and it was, in a word, glorious. We chose that day to ski at Hatsvali, and as we took the lift to the top with the sun shining through the falling snow, it felt as if we were in a sparkling white, speechlessly beautiful, glorious piece of heaven on earth. 

Words and images could not do it justice, and it was so cold my camera froze anyway, so instead here are a bunch of pictures of us not skiing at the bottom.

The next day as we drove home, the children cried and made lists of all the things they would miss.

We made occasional stops along the way to breath in the fresh mountain air one more time and to savor this unheralded gem of Georgia: Svaneti.

Mestia, digging in

The snow was delightful.

The children never tired of jumping, rolling, packing or playing, nor being generally soggy.

It snowed almost without stop all week.

The snowflakes were huge, like big white butterflies fluttering down.

We took in the local sites, including the churches, monasteries, and a fantastic Museum of History & Ethnography.

Of course we were visited by the ubiquitous friendly village dogs.

I enjoyed the all around low maintenance.

This guy maxed out on free candy from generous Mestians.

And we left a trail of snowmen in our wake.

Our new guesthouse, featuring electricity and insulation;

and our new view (the car remained mostly parked and covered in snow).
In our warm dry beds, everyone was well asleep by the time the fireworks started going off on New Year's Eve.