Batch 26 — The Great Sojourn — theNOSTOMANIAC.com

154 - Svaneti and the Svans (Mestia, Georgia)

I left Abkhazia and returned to Georgia. I needed more time in the 'khaz,’ but the language barrier, money issues (no ATMs, no credit cards), and a slight tingle of foreboding pushed me onward and upward. Always heed the tingle.

I crossed the border back to Zugdidi, then hopped a mini-bus to Mestia in northwest Georgia near the Russian border. Mestia lies in Svaneti, the land of the Svans. The landscape is breathtaking, the people friendly, and the history long and varied. It was eight days well spent, a highlight of my Georgian exploration. Without the time or inclination to update my journal, I went with whimsical bullet points. Go…

Georgia, Batch 26by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacNovember 21, 2022Mestia, Svaneti, Svans, Ushguli

153 - Sukhumi's Primate Correctional Facility (Sukhumi, Abkhazia)

The institute began as a Soviet project to create a race of hybrid super humans with the strength to carry out the laborious work of industrialization without the mental capacity to complain about it. Scientists injected sperm into female chimpanzees without success. Allegedly, they took it a step further, inseminating human females with monkey sperm, though no one has ever admitted this publicly. I’m guessing, if you’re willing to do the former, the latter ain’t so much of a reach. (For more info, see Stalin's space monkeys)…

Abkhasia, Batch 26by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacNovember 13, 2022Georgia, Abkhazia, Sukhumi, animal rights

152 - Ghosts of Sukhumi (Sukhumi, Abkhazia)

As I wandered the streets, I tried to imagine the horror. No small task when confronted with the throngs of Russian tourists plying the beach and surrounding area. Yet, there were still monuments to war strewn about the city, not the least of which was the Council of Ministers building gutted during the conflict. Many members of the deposed Abkhazian government refused to flee, a decision that led to their not-so-glorious deaths.

The ruin still stands, serving as a grim reminder. I wondered if it remained as a testament to independence and victory over the Georgians. The “Alley of Glory” monument dedicated to Abkhazia's fallen war heroes…

Abkhasia, Batch 26by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacNovember 6, 2022Abkhazia, 1992-93 Abkhazian War, Georgia

151 - Not Quite A Country (Republic of Abkhazia)

The causes of the 1992-93 Abkhazian War are complex and too numerous to expand upon here. A lot of very bad people did a lot of very bad shit on both sides. All the mayhem and bloodshed led to the ethnic cleansing of about 250,000 Georgians. Russian government actors, or various rogue elements therein, were (allegedly) behind much of the instability in the former soviets after the Soviet Union’s dissolution. Chaos reigned supreme, and it’s unlikely we’ll ever have a full accounting…

Batch 26, Abkhasiaby Mr. Nos T. O'maniacOctober 28, 2022Gali, Zugdidi, Enguri Bridge, 1992-93 Abkhazian War

150 - Georgian Hospitality (Tbilisi, Georgia)

I had my first peek at a marani (Georgian wine cellar) where Shota's family produced its own wine with grapes plucked from vines hanging over the courtyard. It was also my first taste of Georgian chacha (brandy), the local firewater stored in large glass jugs containing sticks of oak to add color and flavor. It’s their version of vodka, ranging from 50-80% alcohol. To me, it resembles an unholy combination of vodka and tequila. In the immortal words of Ralph Wiggum, “It tastes like burning.” Shota, being the…

Georgia, Batch 26by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacOctober 17, 2022Georgia, Martqopi

149 - Rough Patch… continued (Tbilisi, Georgia)

Drugs. Alcohol. Gambling. Money. Fame. (Insert personal vice here.) We all have a path to self-destruction, a dependency waiting to be realized. We’re all addicted to something. Some compulsions are more acceptable than others, but all can lead to perdition. My obsession was a feature, not a bug, of a quest to live unencumbered by convention… right? I’ll go out there, paint myself into a corner, and force a reckoning. I’ll figure it out. Fuck yeah. I’m a not-so-recovered travel-holic. My addiction was (is) wanderlust. (Or is it novel encounters?) It consumed me. Had I channeled it…

Georgia, Batch 26by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacOctober 13, 2022Georgia, Tbilisi

IV - Que Sera

LIFE IS. WHAT? DUNNO. OR DO I? No, I do not. Yes, yes, I do. Is it beautiful and sad and ugly and magnificent and horrible and heart-wrenching and blissful and temporary and mysterious and tortuous and toxic and intoxicating and unbearable and indescribable and haunting and stupid and amazing and… and… and… and? I want to absorb it all, take it all in, be absorbed by it, run away from it, run into it, run with it, chase it, let it chase me, comprehend it, do whatever it is I am supposed to do with it… which is… which is… I don't know. I will never know. You won’t either. Do I want to know? Do you? Yes. No. Maybe. No. No. Definitely not. Yes. What the fuck am I talking about?

misc, Batch 26by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacOctober 6, 2022

III - O Brother Where Art Thou?

To reiterate, Hank the Handyman I am not. But I know someone who is: my brother. He’s one of those “not smart” people. Every time I encountered circumstances highlighted above, I thought, Bet Gil could fix that shit. Ah yes, insert clichéd “Jack of all trades” meme. Thing is, the cliché started somewhere and is alive and well in mon frère. I’ve been hard-pressed to find anyone more dedicated to finding new and interesting ways to repair things others would discard in frustration. Case in point? We had a riding lawnmower that was something of a dinosaur. Compared to today’s options…

misc, Batch 26by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacOctober 5, 2022