First cache in Georgia placed by Latvians brings you to a point of
magic view and uneasy history of relations between Georgia and
Russia. If you stay in Gudauri for your skiing/boarding vacation
enjoy a 2 hours walk to find the cache and return.
Getting there you will find Gudaur Abyss, a 600-meter drop
offering spectacular views of the mountains. Peter Nasmyth in his
book "Georgia: in the mountains of poetry" describes the place:
"Soviet propagandists, not content with a majestic view of barren
mountain-scape and moraine boulders - known locally as the "Stone
Chaos" - had added a stone chaos of their own. Disguised as a
viewing platform, they had constructed a giant semi-circular piece
of "people's art" right on the edge of the Abyss: an enormous
50-meter-long mosaic replacing the view with a joyful proclamation
on the fruits of the Russo-Georgian Treaty of 1783; a pact marking
the formal beginnings of fraternity between the two nations. A
treaty callously abandoned by the Russians a few years later with
the abolition of the Georgian monarchy and then the Church. These
facts were well known to every Georgian; yet in blithe obedience to
that old slogan 'tell a lie enough times loudly enough and it
becomes a truth,' this mural portrayed in candy colors a history of
the inseparable 'friendship' between the Russian and Georgian
peoples. In the illustrative style of child's coloring book it
depicted a carnival of Georgian mythological figures, Russian and
Georgian churches side by side, an enormous flowing red young man
to signify the Revolution, a group of cheerful, obedient women
workers, then a laughing soldier holding up a Kalashnikov and a
bunch of flowers representing the Great Patriotic War. At the end
of this sugar-coated version of the past came the future. It
appeared to belong to a teenage boy or girl portrayed in rainbow
colors, running beneath a firmament filled, not with angels but
flying cosmonauts, their arms outstretched towards empty space. As
a result of this monstrosity, none of the passing Georgian cars
stopped here any more, preferring an uninterrupted view of nature's
achievements further up."
The cache is hidden under the platform, please be careful as it
is close to a 600-meters drop. It includes a log-book, pencil as
well as a chocolate from Latvia and coins of Latvian currency.
Small note on cache maintenance: There is a local
cache guardian. Name and contact info on file with
geocaching.com.