Birds

One last vacation update: we are all home now except for Micah, who has now been cleared by a doctor in Berlin to fly home tomorrow. So we will have one whole day with the entire family together, before Jane helps Noah drive his stuff out to New York City to begin his grad studies at Columbia.

Moving away from the vacation, on a recent plane flight I got to wondering how high birds can fly. In investigating, I came across this fascinating article on the Audubon site. Bar-headed geese fly directly over Mt. Everest! I had no idea birds could fly that high. A scientist points out that these geese can fly at over 50 mph under their own power; "add the thrust of tailwinds of perhaps 100 miles an hour if they are lucky, and these birds really move." And in the following article, it says that the highest flying bird recorded was a kind of vulture called a Ruppell's griffon which was unfortunate enough to be sucked into the engine of a jet flying at 37,900 feet. If you're interested in the wonders of nature, I recommend this article.

Home and almost

So, I got home on Wednesday, fairly uneventfully, except that the
airport from hell (JFK) got me again. They had only one runway open
and their usual backlog, so my 6:15 flight left at 10 pm. Noah got in
last night, having to wait a long time for me to get him since I
foolishly thought he'd be coming in at the main terminal rather than
the charter terminal. (Ah, Iceland Air!) Micah and Jane are somewhere
in Europe, having missed their connection to Berlin, so waiting for
tonight's night train. We'll get together again yet!

Today's photo is of one of the main things that kept us sane in
Tbilisi, a darling kitten at our guest house. She almost got smuggled
home with us.

Micah in his hospital room in Tbilisi. Note the luxurious accommodations. And ask him about the toilet paper sometime! However, to be fair, they had good X-ray and other test equipment, and he was well cared for. I just feel like donating some IV stands to their ER.

Mt. Kazbeg on a clear morning. This was the view from our guest house. Mt. Kazbeg is the sixth highest in Europe.

Half gone

I know, some people think I've been half gone for a long time, but I'm referring to the family. Half of us left Tbilisi a few hours ago. Micah had another X-ray done, and it was almost all clear, and he's feeling much better, so he and Jane are headed for Istanbul, followed by (in whatever order they come to them--my geography's a but hazy in the region) Macedonia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Germany. Noah and I are envious of their itinerary, if not of the several straight days of bus and train travel. But it will get Micah to Berlin safely, and he and Jane have the time. (Micah has also made that journey before, so it's familiar to him.) Meanwhile, Noah and I fly out of Tbilisi around 3:30 am (which, oddly, is when most flights leave Tbilisi!), going to Berlin via Riga. I'll fly home from there tomorrow (via New York), and Noah will follow on Friday (via Reykjavik). It felt odd to split up the family after so much time together, but we talked it all through extensively, and all agreed that this was the way that made the most sense for us.

I promise, still, to add some Georgian photos once I get out of Georgia (where it's very expensive to use my iPhone with its photos for these posts).

So, thanks for the prayers--the health ones seem to have been answered, and now it's just the diverse travels.

Health update

We're still here in Tbilisi. Micah went to the hospital yesterday (Saturday) evening, complaining of faintness. They kept him overnight for observation, but it seems to have been related more to his intestinal bug than his pneumothorax. That is holding steady, maybe getting a bit better, so we'll go back on Tuesday for another check. If it's improved sufficiently, he may be cleared to travel by land to Berlin. He'll have to wait there for awhile, since as I said, you aren't supposed to fly for two weeks after the condition clears. Noah and I are still mulling our travel plans, whether we will fly to Berlin ahead of Jane and Micah. The excitement continues!

Still in Georgia

So, life happens. Shortly after my last post, Micah had a recurrence of a previous pneumothorax (a partial collapse of a lung). He had been told it could happen again, but this isn't the very best time or place! So, we spent a few hours at a clinic and then an ER, returned there this morning (the doctors are all very capable and helpful, and the costs are amazing--so far, for exams by several doctors, two types of X-rays, an EKG and blood tests, maybe $30), and here's the scoop as of now: The pneumothorax is present, it has grown a bit since yesterday, and we're to go back on Sunday so they can look at it again. It may resolve itself, or they may have to drain it with a tube. The problem is flying--it isn't a good idea to fly in this condition. One doctor we talked to said that even after it is drained, Micah should wait another 2 weeks before flying.

As I write this, it's the middle of the night in the U.S. A little later, we'll try to reach doctors and insurance there to get more information. We could take bus and train through Istanbul to get to Berlin without flying, but all of that will wait at least until we know more on Sunday.

In the meantime, I ask for your prayers for Micah (who is feeling pretty well except for some chest pain--he's still able to walk around town with us), and for us as we try to figure all of this out. Don't worry overly much, at worst it will just take longer to get home. I'll try to update when we know more. If you want to reach me, use mplsbf@visi.com.

The other end of Tbilisi

So, after a week or so, we are getting ready to leave Georgia, and since our flight doesn't leave until 3 a.m. or so, I have time in an internet cafe (only 1 Lari an hour!--about 65 cents) to do some catching up. Photos still to come later.

This has been a fascinating week. We have had wonderful experiences here, even though there are some rising tensions with Russia. On Friday, July 31, we took a marshrutka (a 16-passenger van) down to a town near the border with Azerbaijan, and from there a taxi an hour into the desert over "roads" to an ancient monastery, David Gareja. Parts date to the 6th century. Among other things, we hiked up and over a ridge line, to where there are cave cells for monks (now abandoned), some of which have beautiful frescoes--many vandalized, but still nice. And the Azerbaijan border was only feet in front of those caves, so we stepped over and added that country to our itinerary.

Saturday, unfortunately, we found out what it's like to have the stomach flu in Georgia--pretty much like anywhere else. All of us except Noah (who, of course, is acclimated to here) got it. We were grateful for good plumbing in our room.

But it was the classic 24-hour bug, so we were recovered enough on Sunday to go rafting with some friends of Noah and some other Georgians--about 16 in all--on a nice river about 1-1/2 hours away, the Aragvi. Oddly, even though Georgians scorn seat belts while driving 80 mph in the wrong lane as oncoming traffic rapidly approaches (!!), we all wore life vests and helmets for the rafting. It was a Class 2 river, so not too scary, but a whole lot of fun. We were glad our guide gave instructions in English. Afterward, they provided a picnic on the banks, with freshly-roasted pork, tomato-cucumber-basil salad, bread, cheese, and wine. We were also entertained by one of the crew, Sandro, who enjoyed his alcohol very much.

On Monday, we bought Georgian rugs--very nice ones, handmade, a few decades to a hundred years old, for about $200 each. Then we headed to Kazbegi. To get there, we boarded another marshrutka, this time the four of us crammed in the very back of a packed van, and went over a mountain "highway" (yes, there's a theme there) into the Caucasus mountains. They are the highest in Europe, quite a bit higher than the Alps. We ended up in the town of Kazbegi that seems to have a mythical reputation among Georgians. Everyone seemed pleased that we were going to go there. And it is beautiful--in a valley amid the mountains. On a clear day, the view is dominated by snow-capped Mt. Kazbeg, the highest in the area at 5,037 meters (16,525 feet). I'll post a photo once I get to Germany. According to legend, it is the mountain upon which Prometheus was chained as punishment for bringing fire to mortals. For the next couple of days, we hiked in the area, staying at a very nice guest house where we had three huge rooms, two huge meals, and the company of a rooster, some chickens, and a goat, all for $40/person/night. We hiked over a pass 5 hours to a mostly abandoned village somewhat near the South Ossetian border, walked about 40 minutes out of town to a mineral spring that had delicious and refreshing carbonated water; hiked, jumped, waded, and climbed to a waterfall up near the Russian border (this is a small country), and generally had a fine time. The four of us also played Settlers of Camar, a fun board game that Noah had become hooked on--now we all are.

We returned home yesterday evening, today we bought a few souvenirs (watch out--I now have a Georgian dagger!), and as I said, soon we will leave for the more familiar land of Germany. Our itinerary there includes Heidelberg, Weimar, and Berlin.