|H| The big arrival to the farm in Vakisopeli, Georgia

After strolling the streets of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, we are ready to take the minibus (locally called 'masjoetka') to Shuap'Kho, Dushet'Is Raioni, Georgia, the first stop on our wat to the farm. Kakha, a local colleague of Jasmijn's father, is so nice to bring us to the bus station, and we will be very happy he does so. What a chaos we find at the bus station... Too many busses, too many people, no structure, and bus destinations written only in the Georgian alphabet. Without Kakha we would have been completely lost, as little locals speak English. Even for Kakha it is challenging to find our 'majoetka' to Shuapkho. After 10 minutes we find it. We negociate about our drive to shuapkho and book ourselves 2 seats. One hour later the engine starts and off we go for a 3-hours drive. The drunk neighbours and the very (sometimes over-) hospital other passengers make this trip quiet unique. We are immediately submerged in the real Georgian culture, nice!

Arriving in Shuapkho, a village of 70 people and the final stop of the 'masjoetka', everyone gets out and drops their belongings, mostly groceries from the city, on the ground. A few pigs run away with an old man's tomatoes and enjoy the juicy snack; poor old guy... Now, only 14km are left ahead of us to arrive to the farm in Vakisopeli. A taxi, which Kakha also arranged is waiting for us. 14 km might not sound a lot, but in this mountainous valley it means another hour and a half driving. We are well shaken and stirred when finally arriving. Nodar, the 4th generation farmer and our point of contact, opens the gate and is awaiting us. The calm we find here in the middle of nowhere is amazing. The gorgeous scenery and the warm welcome makes us feel like actually being in the middle of somewhere.