Love a bit of architecture. Got it in spades here. The first bath house was built in 1870 as the waters were known to be beneficial. In 1913 they were proved to be medicinal… radon apparently. Stalin’s first visit was in 1920 and 3 spa houses were hastily erected using 4000 labourers. The Soviet’s ‘acquired’ the territory during the 1920s and declared it a Balneotherapy centre – treatment of medical conditions using mineral water. After WW2 there was an explosion of construction. By the 1950s there were 9 bath houses in Central Park and a further 22 sanitarium and wellness centres around the park.
At its peak there were 125,000 Soviet visitors p.a. There was even a direct train from Moscow. It was not just the party elite who visited. Every citizen had the right to rest and leisure. Good workers would buy a voucher for an inexpensive amount. About one third of a middle class monthly income. As well as baths there were entertainments in theatres, libraries and conference halls.
A bustling and thriving city. Lots of restoration and modernising in 1980s. Until 1991. Georgian independence. Visitor numbers dropped to less than 1000. Most of the buildings were abandoned and stripped of tiles, radiators … anything that could be reused or sold. Refugees from Abkhazia were housed here from 1992. Most of them were eventually rehoused the last ones officially by 2023. Although one building was full of clothes that looked like more recent squatters. And I was charged £1.25 by an elderly lady to enter one, where were living, to see the public areas.
I think we were lucky to be able to enter so many of the buildings. The Georgian government has tried a few times to ressurect Tskaltubo to top spa destination. Recently a number have been purchased and are being restored. Fences around some went up only this year. Stalin came here regularly on holiday. His bath house No. 6 is one of the few that is restored and operational.
We must have walked over 9k. The first park was through a huge beautiful park – Central Park. Loved it.
Central Park The first one we enteredOne of the functioning bath houses in the parkRestored Bath house No 6 where Stalin had his treatmentsThis was a public bath house – each grave was a bathLooked like squatters as no effort had been made to make the rooms home. They left piles of clothing. Here and in other hotels, the wallpaper in each room was different Hotel Medea. It was recently cleared of inhabitants and a guard on duty to prevent people moving it. Now a major wedding photography venue – 2 lots whilst we were thereMedea must’ve been beautiful in its daySome of the hotel / bath houses were for guests from specific jobs. This is metallurgist. Another was Miner. You can see which rooms are inhabited. I paid £1.25 to look at the public rooms. The concert hall with not so grand pianoEntrance hallThink it was the dining room as kitchens nearbyCould see daylightRenovations in progress, just When we left Tskaltubo, road hazards were cattle, pigs, horses, dogs, chicken andgeeseWe drove up to a peaceful ruin parking
Very heavy rain all evening and overnight with the grounds getting soft. I was concerned about getting Jez out of the campsite, but J guided the wheels over the best route. Phew. We filled with LPG (£ 0.37 per litre), replenished our cellar 🍷 and bought diesel. Lovely when the right things are empty / full.
We were headed for Kutaisi, but I plotted two activities en route.
The first was Vani archeological museum. Award winning as the exhibits really were well presented. Love the use of mirrors behind the artifacts. Vani was a cult temple / necropolis centre. Largely undisturbed and few tombs raided, with finds going back to C8-7 BC. A lot of gold and treasures were found. Mid C3 BC the Greeks arrived and there was a Hellenistic influence. And coins indicating trade. I was particularly struck by the bronze casts from C1 BC. They really were particularly fine.
C1 BC
Our second stop involved us abandoning Jez as the track was very pot holey and muddy. So were we (muddy not holey or even holy) by the time we had walked to Dikhashkho Sulphur Geyser. With our lack of on board shower, we didn’t fancy joining the others in the sulphur bath. I dipped my fingers in and the water was warm and smelly.
Apparently the tiny pool gets crowded at sunset
We parked up along the river in Kutaisi. A spot recommended by a motorhome builder / hirer. We are hopeful that he can perform magic on some of our needed repairs.
What a parking
Kutaisi Twice
21/09/25
An over 20,000 steps day. We walked twice into Kutaisi. Back for 1.00 to meet Rustam. He builds small campers and rents them and motorhomes. Repair isn’t really his business but there just aren’t any other options in Georgia. He said he’d have a go at most issues, but wouldn’t touch the Alde wet heating. We gave him a key to Jez and he returned that afternoon to do the work:
A screw had broken off that holds a window arm to the wall
A drawer handle had come off and the threads sheared.
The 220v system had stopped working on inverter. It works as if we are on hook up, or should. I’d tested the 220 by plugging in the external orange cable with an adapter, so I knew it was the connection. Rustam unconnected and reconnected everything between them. And it worked. Yay.
The roof light over the bed leaked in heavy rain whilst driving. We’d had it resealed 18 months ago, but Rustam thinks it is a rooflight design fault. We had replaced a wind up handle roof light with a bar to open some years ago, saving about £150. We may be able to block the ventilation holes with a rubber strip.
One shower drain had broken the tray around it. Rustam looked at the fitting of the tray, but to remove it would have involved first removing the shower walls. So we went for just sealing it over, leaving us with one drain.
Total price €150, so happy.
We just wandered Kutaisi in the morning.
Passing water gushing off a mountain and women sweeping debris from drains along the road. Where are the men?The rusty pipe along the road was Russia’s cheap way of supplying gas to properties. Cheaper than burying underground. I read that it recommended to call should you smell gas, 💥 boomSo many cars are missing front or rear bumpers. The driving is only beaten by Albania on the bad driving scale. Georgia is a major importer of used cars from the USA, which they repair and sell onto Russia and the ‘Stans. Either, a fair few of the wreaks make it onto the Georgian roads, or more worryingly, damage is caused whilst on the Georgian roads.
In the afternoon we went to Bugrati Cathedral. One of the 4 most important Georgian orthodox cathedrals. Gelati Monastery, which is a must see, is closed for renovation so Bugati is doing a production line in weddings. A standing service is held off to the side. Seems to be a quick affair with no music or guest / family readings. Three weddings just in the time we were there.
Bugrati cathedral Controversial as it was significantly restored, with a modern wing and supporting part of the inside. UNESCO very unhappy so moved the cathedral from a world heritage site to a site at risk. But having looked at the photos of the state it was in before, I’m with Georgia, not the purists.Supper was delicious. Walnuts in aubergine and chicken sauce, but smooth. My leftovers made 2 soups and a bottle of good white was only £10
Kutaisi Walking Tour
22/09/2025
We crossed the hydro plant and walked into town along the other side of the river.The river is still raging muddy water after all the rain and we could see Jez in his parking.
We did a guided walking tour with one other couple … Hungarian father and daughter living in Geneva. He grew up in London from age 9 and spoke English with a plummy accent, she with a strong accent. A good tour and it cemented some of the history I’ve been reading. Our guide does speak Russian, but is reluctant to use it … we witnessed this when a Russian lady asked for directions. He also advised against visiting 2 museums as they’d been built by Russia. I asked about the flood of Russians (I had read 1.2 million) after the invasion of Ukraine (either to avoid conscription or as they disagreed with the war). He said if you heard a loud booze fuelled party late into the evening, it was Russians. He also said that Georgians charged Russians more to rent or buy property.
Colchis Fountain – I’d driven around it … no rules at all. A complete free for all in every direction Quite a few statues around. Chap in the right, outside the No 1 public school, had taken the Georgian historic archives and treasures to France in 1921to protect them from the invading Red ArmyRestored open parkTells the history of Georgia
Lunch was fairly liquid, as one yummy glass of wine became 3. A recommendation from a young journalist who was at the next table. I got her to write down the names of some good wineries. We ate a hot chicken liver, onion and mushroom fricasse with iceberg lettuce – an interesting combination but it worked. We had taken the large rucksack and I filled it with meat, fruit and veggies at the daily market.
Our only evening visitors were cattle and a horse!
It was a surprisingly quiet night with the sound of the waterfall drowning out any truck noise.
A 15 minute drive to the border, with a quick stop to buy water. We were through the border into Georgia in 35 mins. J had to walk through.
We drove to Batumi. I’d not intended to visit, it as it is a holiday destination, but the old town was lovely. Once we had managed to find somewhere to park!
A wide leafy boulevard along the beach. The town planners had foresight not to allow hotels right on the beach Not seen one of these before. Also lots of boxing booths Batumi Tower: tallest in Georgia at 200m. Built 2012 …… with a ferris wheel near the top!Alphabet Tower: celebrating the uniqueness of the Georgian alphabet and peopleAli and Nino monument. He is Muslim, she Christian. At 7.00 p.m. they move for 10 mins. Merging and separating. Symbolising eternal love Astrological clockBeautiful restored buildingsWe also saw the less attractive Soviet style apartment blocks, similar ugly functional design to those we saw in Slovakia
The reason for going to Batumi was to get a Magticom sim and some cash. The Magti sim was £12 for unlimited data for a month and so far seems fast.
We tried to stop at Carrefour but couldn’t park, so stopped at a small supermarket to buy wine and beer. Felt we needed to celebrate being in Georgia, so our dry week was only 5 days.
On a very basic campsite for 2 nights to shower and do laundry. Seems to be a shower hose over the toilet and I’ve been warned it’s not hot! But my hair definitely needs doing.
Laundry all hanging in the shower and off every hook inside as the heavens opened. And now the twin tub spinner has stopped working, so it’s actually all dripping
Laundry
19/09/2925
Late up. Rain did not encourage us to rise. But then then the sun made an appearance so all the laundry went onto the clothes airer. I was about to tackle the bedding, but with dread as the twin tub spinner has stopped working. Quite a work out for J and I to hand wring. We did it the first year full timing, but as soon as we got back to the UK, I bought the twin tub. To be honest, it is 9 years old, so doesn’t owe me anything. I was filling the watering can and the campsite owner offered to drive me to a laundry about 5 km away. 2 large machine loads was only £4, but wash only as their drier broken.
We wandered into to local town along the promonade. Had a late soup / omelette lunch … and 2 very large glasses of wine each. Wine rubbish but how lovely to be able to order booze out … other than our side trip to Dublin, all meals out have been dry for 2 months.
Whilst out, our fabulous campsite owner messaged … he was off to collect our laundry. Could I pay him for his time and fuel? No, but he wouldn’t mind a bottle of beer. So we found a shop in the town and carried back 2 bottles, but they are 2.5 litres each. He seemed pleased. And I’m pleased to have all the laundry done. I’m not so pleased that I can’t get it all dry … it’s back to piss-cipation again until Monday.
Clune Gap Years 