Day 3: ROSHKA TO SHATILI

Today basically consisted of 8 km back down a mine shaft to the turn-off, then 20km straight up Bear Crossing Pass (Swartberg Pass is a pimple by comparison) and 20km down the other side -1500m elevation gain, thunder, lightning, heavy rain & hail, a very well-timed coffee stop in the middle of nowhere with some potent vodka to warm us up and glace apricots thrown in for good measure and we ended up in a fascinating little village with an ancient fortress perched on the hillside…

Day 4: SHATILI TO MUTSO

We made it exactly 10km down the road today only to be stopped in our tracks by the weather – it would be Life-threatening to proceed over Atsunta Pass – a 10 hour hike a bike to 3400m, in these conditions, so we hunkered down in a little cafe, then when the rain subsided, hiked up the mountain and explored the most amazing local ruins.

Now sitting out further heavy rain while eating and drinking the little cafe out of all their supplies, then off to overnight with Mundia – a local resident and brother of the cafe owner – we figured if we looked pathetic for long enough someone would agree to accommodate us, as there is nothing here aside from a few houses and of course, the life-saving cafe. We finally checked into our “5 star” accommodation in the shadow of the ancient tower. Let’s hope the weather improves for our assault on Atsunta Pass tomorrow…