We had lunch (with some furry friends) at a hillside restaurant overlooking the valley, with a view of the Caucasus Mountains. Had the clouds not prevented a full view, we would have seen the top of Mount Shkhara, which at 17,037′ is the tallest mountain in Georgia. One of our group was able to get a distant photograph of a small portion of the glacier with his telephoto lens.

After lunch we walked farther down the hillside to the middle village, the site of the UNESCO World Heritage Site; it is the most preserved of the three villages.

The lower village still has a few residents, small cafes and guest houses, but it primarily an agricultural village. It is here where we met our vans for the trip back down the road to Mestia.

Tomorrow, weather permitting our most difficult hike is planned. Given the trend in the weather, however, I’m guessing it will be a day taking in the local scenes of Metsida and preparing for our long drive back down the mountain.