Kazbegi, Conferences, and Site Visits aside, a pretty boring week or two.

Where to start? Martha and I are enjoying a quiet sunday afternoon, the first we've had in a while. For the last few weeks, we've been running around this gorgeous country called Georgia/Sakartvelo, with no pauses or breaks! First things first: Kazbegi. Martha's already talked about this in a previous post, but we spent a lovely and dramatically fogged in weekend at a mountain resort town called Kazbegi. Some (most, actually) of the pictures we've posted so far are from that magical place, and we can't wait to go back and see the place in better weather. Let me explain some of the pictures. (BTW: we're sort of trying to figure out how to use our flickr account from over here, considering we've got a fairly tenuous internet connection at times, but we'll let you know when its back up.)

While we were not able to see the entirety of the majestic peak which is Mt. Kazbek, we were able to hike up and around Stepan's Minda Church, which allowed us a brief respite from a storm, and, also, the most picturesque port-o-lets I've ever seen. Some in our group wanted to attempt a early morning hike to a glacier on Kazbek on Sunday, but were thwarted by a continued rainstorm, and a pretty emphatic hostel owner at 4:30 in the morning.

Overall, a great time, and we recommend it to anyone that is thinking of coming over for a visit. N.B: If you are thinking of coming, stay at the newly-renovated hotel "Stepan's Minda", which interestingly or not, is owned and operated by Kazbegi Brewery (sort of a Georgian Coors) which actually brews its beer in Tbilisi. Come to think of it; that makes it very similar to the silver bullet, which advertizes high mountain peaks, and is actually brewed 10 minutes outside of Denver.

Also, for those who are not ex-professional triatheletes, or passionate

runners (I'm thinking of you Brian and Colleen!!) The people of Kazbegi offer charming Lada tours (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lada_Niva) where instead of climbing a 4k hill and getting a bee painfully stuck between your foot and your sandals, you get to purr your way up to the top, probably with narration (in Russian or Georgian) provided a gregarious driver.