roofs . We ’ d made it !
The towers are almost windowless with small openings under the roof overhang at the top . A long time ago , when raiders roamed the area , these protective fortresses served as home for people and livestock and kept valuable possessions safe . Now people live in houses sprawled between the towers . All are marked by harsh winters , sporting makeshift repairs with whatever was to hand . Ushguli has a wonderfully ramshackle charm with its narrow , stone-paved paths between buildings and wildflowers sprouting everywhere .
The first rain drops began to fall thick and heavy onto the sandy road as we arrived in the Village . With no time to get our bearings , we found the pub for shelter . Only trouble was , it was down a road made of loose stones the size of anything between a tennis ball and a honeydew melon . There was no way we could ride across that !
Encouraged by the thought of a cold pint Aidan hobbled into the freshly gravelled car park . He ’ d made it , but he was in trouble . He couldn ’ t get off the bike because the side stand kept sinking into the loose pebbles and the bike was going over . My help would be handy right now . But I had cleverly stopped on a sideways slope with no way of parking my bike there .
Nothing for it then ! I aimed , closed my eyes , opened the throttle , and bounced over the tennis balls . To my surprise I was still upright when I opened my eyes . I ’ d managed to screech to a halt in a more solid spot that would support my side stand and went to help Aidan out , just as the heavens opened .
The pub was packed with locals hiding from the rain . We grabbed a well-deserved beer at the bar and looked around for a seat . Everything was occupied , except a giant ornamental chair right in the middle of the room . Out of options I carefully perched on the seat ’ s edge . It didn ’ t take long before some
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