August 12, 2009 New Blackboards

The new blackboards finally arrived at #6 school. What a saga these have been! In any event, 18 new boards were delivered and installed.

Keti chats with Aliko

Stacking

Installed!

August 7, 2009 Visiting Valeri's Cows in Gujareti

We, Gill, Mako, Valeri and Bob went on a long, rough and very uncomfortable ride, driven by Valeri's friend in Jeep to an abandoned village in Gujareti to where Valeri has pasture and some cows.

Village abandoned in the 90s by Ossetians

Meeting the cows

The petchi where all the food is cooked



Gill plays cards with Sopo and Akaki

This lady showed us how the cheese is made

A walk in the fields

The driver, Dato, Gill and Valeri

Akaki and Gill

Bob get's a gift of a hat - a bit small

Valeri, Sopo and Gill

Cutting the hay for the winter with scythes

Lunch

Sopo loved the headlights

Marina, Sopo, Akaki, Mako and Gill

On the return journey, we had a breakdown

Eventually fixed

Svaneti

July 19

Today we, Gill, Amy, Mako and Bob, went to the base of the glacier. It was a long hard walk over rough ground, but it was a wonderful day!

En route

Signs indicated where the limit of the glacier was
in prior years. Global warming has reduced the
size of the glacier steadily over the years.

Our guide

The glacier

Mako at the base, testing the water!

Under an ice shelf

After the walk back - tired but satisfied

A picnic at the guards hut

Returning home

Svaneti

July 18

Today we went for a drive in the surrounding country. Again the roads were very rough and so we were in a large SUV.

En route

Local fauna

This chick was out in the open - perhaps fallen from its nest.

Enjoying the scenery

The local school's entrance
The remains of the river's ice dam

Picking wild strawberries