K'ala and Ushba Vertical Panorama, late July 2010

(From now until January 16, I'm in Canada, but still posting Georgian images for now.)
Mt Ushba again, top centre, with part of the village of K'ala below, and the Enguri River.  Also taken on Kvirikoba day, also a panorama assembled from several photos.  Clouds coming would soon obscure the mountain as usual, but until then all they did was add more interest to the sky.

As for this day being Christmas Eve... no apologies for refusing to wish you a mere "Happy Holidays".  No, this season is called Christmas, like it or not.  Have a Merry Christmas.  Or don't take it off at all, if you're serious about protesting a Christian holiday.  Grinch, grumble, &c.

Mulakhi & Ushba Panorama, late July 2010

July 29 is Kvirikoba, possibly Svaneti's most important Orthodox festival of the year, held in and outside a little church high above the village of K'ala with a fabulous chased gold icon of Christ, one of the Orthodox world's most important.
This panorama I took on the way to that festival, near the pass between the villages of Mulakhi and Ipari.  Here we are looking back towards the former at centre, with Mt Ushba peering over the top in the distance just left of centre.

Mestia Panorama, October 2010

Not panoramically formatted, this is nonetheless a stitching together of several frames.  Again, from just outside where we used to live.  The clouds and snow are a bit over-white, but I like it anyway.

Mestia Panorama, October 2010

Time to switch from Ushguli panoramas to a few more from Mestia - this was autumn, October, from just outside our first host family's house.  (We've now moved to a new host family, and even bought a little wood-burning stove to heat our room with.  MUCH cosier.)

Ushguli p a n o r a m a

From April 2009, just to be different.  It was only then that I felt it to be safe enough to slog up to Queen Tamar's Summer Tower fortress in heavy snow without bringing an avalanche down onto myself.  The fortress's remains are at left, the village spread out far below.

PuAsNhOgRuAlMiA

(Get it?  Tip:  read the capital letters together first, and then the small letters.)
This one's at sunset, daringly featuring the sun himself.  I lived in the top hamlet of the village, right of centre.

Panoraaaaama...

...of Ushguuuuuli.... February 2009, as usual.
Well, this one's hardly a panorama as the technical definition of such is an aspect ratio of at least 2:1.  But it was assembled from a few shots put together.

and now back to our regular programming .]

Yes, that's right, another panorama of Ushguli or part thereof, from another different angle, but also from February 2009.   I was going pretty crazy shooting these in that month, especially given that I had no idea when I'd find a programme for doing the assembling of the panoramas from the individual images.  Seems to have paid off - it's not every year I get to spend a winter or 2 in this fabulous if forbidding location.

Panorama: Upper Ushguli, February 2009

Another stitched panorama - I took so many sets of these from different locations, now it's time to reap the rewards at last.  The small house just left of centre is where I spent 2 winters while teaching English in this fabulous location.

Panorama: Upper Ushguli, Dawn, February 2009

It was plenty cold enough as I took the frames which, assembled, became this panorama; but the lighting of the long sunrise rays made it all worthwhile.  Mts. Lamaria at right and Shkhara background centre.

Panorama: Above Mulakhi, December 2008

This one's got Ushba's twin peaks at left of centre, in the distance, and more to the right of that (near centre), the long village of Mulakhi.

Panorama: Lower Ushguli, December 2008

Another stitched panorama, featuring the lower 2 hamlets of Ushguli, also from December 2008, before we had much snow.  (Later in the year there was enough, lasting long enough, to make the village sick of it, as they usually are by the time of mid-April.)  Right in the middle is a church with fresco fragments on its outer wall.

Mestia Panorama, September 2010

From the newly renovated concrete road to the ski resort, scheduled to reopen in December by Presidential Decree.  One of the best places from which to see the town, IF Mt. Ushba is cooperating and poking its twin peaks above.  Lali & Giorgi, the son of our host family, visible at far right.