MIA

No need to worry - I'm safe and sound back in Tbilisi after wandering the mountains of southern Georgia, where Internet access was non-existent...

Not that I had any time to write anyway, with a demanding schedule over the past five days that consisted of not enough sleep, plenty of Georgian hospitality, and some amazing sightseeing...

Oh, yea - there was an election in there too! But being an election observer here means not enough sleep and plenty of Georgian hospitality...

The election committee in every precinct insisted on welcoming us with an offer of "tea" - which included a prolonged series of toasts featuring locally home-made wine that had the varrying effects of hard apple cider (VERY hard) to semi-sweet moonshine. The one time I managed to waive off the wine they provided me with bottled water - which, I discovered during a toast, was filled with vodka...

Considering that I traveled along some of the most horrendous roads imaginable repeating this process in a dozen mountain villages, I think I'm holding up fine - and will hopefully shake it off during the 24 hours of flying and layovers that I will be starting at around 2 a.m.

In the meantime, I'm going to get cleaned up...

SPB