The Old Tower

It's the first early morning hours. The surrounding breathtaking. The most beautiful mountains of the Greater Caucasus surrounding me, laying in paradise garden, viewing the incredible green mountains topped with the towers of Svaneti like a fairy tale, the sun slowly rising up higher to its fullest potential,  a cup of coffee in front of me, fresh Georgian bread, cheese and homemade jam next to me. 

"Would you like breakfast tomorrow?" She asks me once I had put down my bags. "No." I automatically reply since I have just enough cash left to pay my room for the two nights wishing to even extend my stay. I ask her again for the exact price per night and tell her that I didn't bring enough money from Mestia for all the days up in the mountains. I feel bad. I can already feel her kindness, she's smiling at me. 

Slowly the sun is moving towards me, warming my face. I feel home. Again tears quietly rising from my eyes. This beauty of Life. I can't put it to words. This must be the wholeness of the Universe. 

Eating this chewy, soft bread getting me addicted every day again just like the sweet orange jam which neither one I would prefer back home, is now making this moment flawless. 

I come down the stairs from the balcony. Just hanging up the phone, smashing my wine glass that hours before Maria had served me her homemade wine, her husband bringing me a broom. "Lina. This is your name right?" Three pairs of curious, openly smiling Georgian eyes are looking at me. Maria, Beso and Macho. "Yes" I say and smile back at them. "Sit. Have Chacha with us." Beso says. This offer I do not decline. I smile happily feeling again the first day of my arrival as part of this Georgian family. We talk about my travels. "You have many friends" is their first comment. I look at them. I arrived with my Slovak/Czech friends that I met during hiking, later my Dutch/Italian friends come by bringing me something and only few moments later my Belgian friend walks by starting a conversation with me over the balcony. "I just thought of you. I bought a big bag of SvanSalt. Let's have a drink later. I'm staying down at the guest house." 

After a moment of confusion I understand who my many friends were. Yes, I start laughing, I made a few encounters on the way. It must have looked interesting having me as a new arrival behaving like I've been living here for long, randomly talking to people walking by. I realize I feel home -  again. I sit with them a few more minutes, drinking the Chacha, speaking about my friend Karina I met here over 3 years ago. The smiles on their faces become brighter. "Oh yes Karina. Good girl. She was here so long. She has a Georgian husband. How is she and her child?" I share pictures from our hike the week before. 

As I return from dinner I sit down again, get two Chachas, a coke to chase and the right number of cigarettes with it from Beso. Maria is packing her things, cleaning up, finishing off the day. "We go to my husband's mother's house to sleep. You're the boss now. Just turn off the lights before you go to sleep." She announces. Im happy with that order. Sinking into my soft pillow only minutes later, covered by the heavy blanket in the cold night of the Georgian Caucasus. Protected by the majestic mountains in the back of the old Ushguli towers, feeling like petted in pink clouds, falling into deep sleep. Peaceful, in love, safe, taken care of. 

Waking up Maria offers me coffee putting the fresh breakfast in front of me. Here I am. As I am. With my hungry stomach being reminded of what I've once, not too long ago found somewhere in the middle of Albania. A place that reconnects me to myself, others and the Whole, touching my heart. 

Hours later in the day, coming back from hiking another impressive trail to a glacier, manifesting our ride back, stopping at beautiful view point up the hill, a young Georgian man follows me, going down the hill after stretching my body from the long days of walking through the mud up and down the mountains, starting a conversation, accompanying me through the muddy allies of Ushguli back to my (guest) house as he knew the way, having  me already spotted the day before. 

Inhaling my noodle soup as if I hadn't touched food in weeks, feeling the unusual amount of outdoor activity once again in my never ending hungry stomach, Maria is coming up the stairs, puts down a notebook with her number and says: "You're boss again. Two new guests are coming. They have this room. You show them. I will be back in one hour." And off she goes with her husband, driving up the hill, taking away the WiFi, my SIM card out of order, in the garden of Eden. I love this. Trust. Freedom. Finding homes in an instant of a moment. Sakartvelo - Ushguli. 

Maria did not even return after two hours, making me spend quality time with myself writing these lines. The Universe has its ways.