Ch 33, Day 23: Spanish in the Svaneti Mountains

 24.6
kms, Sept 17, 2021

The
Traveler wakes up next morning excited about today adventure—even
though he still isn't sure if the road ahead is open or not. Either
way, he is going.

He
heads out through town, enters the Gateway to Svaneti to “conquer”
this unconquered land.

It's
a sunny day—still a bit on the warm side, but the Traveler doesn't
mind. He knows high altitude is coming, and he's looking forward to
it. He soaks in the beauty of the rugged gorge—taking a little
sidetrip to explore a cave with a spring coming from deep inside.

Finally
he reaches his first Svaneti hamlet, a couple houses squeezed bet

ween
the road and the river. Here his is pleasantly surprised to find a
nice little cafe by the road that is open. Definitely can't pass this
up, so he heads inside.

As
the cheerful owner prepares him a cappucchino, she asks an odd
question. “Habla Espanol?”

This
definitely catches the Traveler off guard. He's often asked if he
speaks Russian—even German... but Spanish? What's the connection?
He's also cheered to finally be able to put some of his language
skills to use.

“We
used to live in Barcelona” the lady explains. “My
daughters were born there. Actually, many folks from this region
live in Barcelona.

Soon
the two teenage daughters come and chat in perfect Spanish accents.
“We also speak Catalan” they tell him.

“So
where do you like it the best?” he asks.

“We
like it much better here” the girls sincerely answer 'Here we're
close to nature—it's a lot of fun” Does seem a little surprising
that teenage girls would prefer life in the mountains over a great
city like Barcelona.

“So
do you consider yourselves Spanish or Georgian?” he asks

They
think for a bit. “Both”

Finally
the Traveler continues on, pondering on this. He wonders what this
means for the future of this region. Svaneti has managed to stave
off foreign invaders coming to destroy their culture for thousands of
years. But what if people just voluntarily leave? Couldn't that
bring the demise of their culture as well?

He
continues on, past the village of Rtskhmeluri. Here the
Traveler notices that the tiny church iis not built in traditional
Georgian stye, bur rather unadorned squarish building. He hopes to
learn more of what role religion plays in this culture.

Folks
are quite friendly, greeting him along the way. A couple fellows
sitting for a picnic by the side of the road insist that he join
them. They are from this region finishing a full loop up and own the
Svaneti Valleys and sure enough, one of them speaks Spanish and used
to work in Barcelona!

“Years
ago, someone from this region went to work in Barcelona, he then
encouraged others to join him... now lots of people have emigrated
there. However, due to the financial crisis, some have lost their
jobs their now.”

They
also reassure the Traveler that the road ahead is open. “For cars,
the road is often closed du to landslides. But if you're on foot,
it's always open.”

The
Traveler continues on. Only a few people live along this narrow
rugged valley. One one hamlet Tsiplakakia, he decides to
count as a “town”. He passes valleys which seem even more rugged
and undeveloped, with rushing streams tumbling down to join the
Tskhenistskaki River. This area is starting to feel more and more
isolated.

And
then... a tall pillars marks the entrance to Lentekhi, the
main and only real town of Lower Svanenti. Here two valleys meet,
one from the west and one from the east. There's just enough flat
land to squeeze in a town. This definitely looks like the place to
stay the night before continuing on up in the the real “wilds”.
The Traveler has no trouble finding a little family run eatery which
doubles as a guesthouse, and asks if they have a room. They say
yes... although it turns out to be just the living room they quickly
turn into a bedroom, with only a curtain separating him from the rest
of the family. Seems folks in this area have caught on quick to
seeing tourism as an chance to make a bit of money, and don't want to
miss this opportunity.

After
enjoying his khachapuri a traditional dish from this region
which is a bit like a pizza with chunks of meat in the dough, the
Traveler heads to explore the town. Lentekhi is the main and really
only town of Lower Svaneti, so it's a good place to stock up on food
for the days ahead. According to Google Maps, there are a number of
little restaurants and guesthouses up the valley, but the Traveler
knows he should just take that for granted. Especially after a year
of no tourism due to the pandemic, many of these may have permenantly
shut down.

There
is a traffic circle with a tall sculpture shaped like a sword, with
sculptures on three levels showing warriors, scholars and
farmers—perhaps a display of the diversity of Svan culture.

Lentekhi
is the meeting point of three river valleys: the Kheladura River
comes from the west, with several hamlets up this way. The Laskadura
comes from the north, and it looks like its just wild, untamed
mountains up that way. The Traveler will be taking the
Tskhenistskali River Valley Eastward, as this is the only road that
will actually lead him to the Upper Svaneti across the mountain pass.

Or
is it? He comes across a map in town, which shows a trail that
climbs directly over the mountains, above the snow line. It does look
tempting... but the Traveler wonders... how well is it marked? Am I
properly geared up for that challenge.

A
local fellow come over. “Don't go that way.” he warns the
Traveler “that trail doesn't actually exist”

The
Traveler figures he'd better heed that warning.

Lentekhi
isn't really the “mountain tourism hub” he'd been expecting.
Most tourists who come to the Svaneti Region go directly to Upper
Svaneti. Not that many do the full loop that the Traveler is taking
. And those who do, do it in 4x4s, motorcycles or bicycles.

Still,
the town does have some classy touches—like a sculture of a man on
top of a mountain covered with mountain goats, holding a sphere... A
nice alpine style hotel which incorporates a “Svan Tower”--a
structure very typical of this region which the Traveler will be
learning much more about in the days ahead.

Doing
a loop back through town, a couple fellows insist that the Traveler
sit with them to take turns playing some music. One of them hurries
off to the store to buy drinks and stacks to share a set up a little
party right there in the sidewalk.

A
couple young fellows with a soccer ball come by. They immediately
talk to the Traveler in Spanish.

Yep...
these kids too were born and raised in Barcelona. They speak Spanish
and Catalan—and when ask which culture they identify with most, the
answer is “both”.

Again,
the Traveler wonders what the future will be for this region. Other
than a little bit of tourism, it doesn't look like that there are a
lot of options for making money and prospering here. The land is too
steep for farming. There are a lot of forests, but even that doesn't
seem to be exploited much.

The
Svan culture has endured for thousands of years because nature has
provided it with natural protection—and also because people really
didn't have much of a choice but to try to survive and make do with
whatever resources they have available. Now, in a more peaceful,
interconnected world they have options. They can stay. Or they can
look for greener pastures elsewhere. But if they do, chances are,
their children will lose those vital pioneer and survival skills and
will never be able to live of the land. It will just be a place to
come on vacation. And, as several local folks tell him later, this
means that there's a very real risk that the culture could disappear
forever.

So
a culture that was never destroyed by invaders could be destroyed
by... peace and prosperity? This is a perplexing thought.

The
Traveler finishes his day by climbing up a long stairway to a little
church perched high on a hill that gives you a grand view of all
three river valleys coming together... than flowing south down the
road the Traveler just came from.

It's
been a good day. And the Traveler suspects it's going to get even
better.