Yesterday we went out to the monestary of David-Gareji which is in the desert. We were given an extra special blessing there in that there had been a lot of rain earlier in the month and the whole reagon was a blanket of wildflowers. We passed donkey and horse carts, sheep, cattle in the road (ever seen a brindled cow?) and miles and miles of what looked like open pararie. At the monestary we hiked up past the main house and onto the ridge where we could explore the old caves and their frescoes, some dating to the 12th century or before. This is a hard kike in parts as it is sometimes very steep and most of it has a 400+ foot drop off. We were surrounded by not only the flowers but yellow bodied starlings, eagles, and hawks. We even saw a lizard or two. At the end we visited the grve of David Gareji which is in the main "house" and saw the caves where he and his first deciple lived. Everyone felt great for having managed the hike and several of us women doubly so for having done it in a long skirt!

We then drove to a restraunt in the nearest village (an hour away) and had a mini Supra... much more wine and food than we could have hoped to eat over about a three hour period. Our hosts called it a practice run so that we would have a little idea of what to expect.