Flat: Khaishi, Svaneti
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The dreaded day came for which I had practiced and had experience in my earlier car, but so far had been able to avoid in this one for over 2½ years.
It happened when I was driving a car completely full of shopping for our shop back up from the Zugdidi trip, which included the vehicle inspection I wrote about last week. Driving with all four wheels active, in 2nd gear in snow, a couple of km below Khaishi, suddenly an extra vibration began, something new. It was that gentle. Had I been barreling down a highway somewhere at 110 km/h, the result on my control could have been far scarier. As it was, I was able simply to pull to a stop from my 20 km/h and have a look. A Flat Tire, rear passenger side.
Evening was approaching; snow had already been coming down for quite a while and I had this to deal with on my own. Dig out the bag with all my travel goodies in it: steel tow cable, jumper cables, jack, tools, shovel and more. I removed the spare tire from its position under the rear of the car, loosened the bolts of the flat tire with the tire iron and my full weight of c. 55 kg, and jacked up the car as high as the jack would allow.
Not high enough, as it turned out, to remove the damaged tire! That alone left me stuck and needing help. A call to my insurance company, which has been receiving $65/month for the privilege of being such, was no help at all, even when they eventually found me in their system, while my name and phone number had done nothing to locate me (vehicle ID did the trick). Svaneti is, apparently, outside their zones of support, or a flat tire doesn’t count as an accident, or something. Note to Self: DROP them, loudly enough to be heard for a large radius. Replace with something better.
By this time, Georgian Mountain Law being what it blessedly is, a minivan with three men had stopped and jacked me up high enough to exchange the wheels. One of them was local and insisted on putting me up for the night; otherwise I would have walked to Khaishi and tried my luck there, where at least there are a couple of guest houses and such. I drove slowly behind them to his house, parked the car, brought in to his freezer a couple of things needing the cold, and was installed for the night.
It turned out that the young man’s mother was a teacher at Khaishi school, and we had given her a ride to Zugdidi once; she was delighted to put me up. Some elarji (potatoes and cheese) and ajapsandali (mixed vegetable stew, spiced up for the Mingrelian renovation guys) and wine later, I retired for the night, most grateful for a roof, full belly, warmth and safety.
Next morning, we retrieved an electric tire pump, filled the somewhat disused-depleted spare tire, I said my goodbyes, was allowed to borrow said pump as a just in case for my onward journey of nearly 50 km, and off I set again, uneventfully, home.
Further Notes to Self: buy a similar pump (mine was recently spoiled by local guys; don’t lend out the new one!), a higher-extending jack, a new tire as the flat one is really irreparable; and consider winter tires into the bargain, despite the expense and the hassle of swapping out and storing the other set… Be Prepared better, former Boy Scout, for as much as possible!
By Tony Hanmer
Tony Hanmer has lived in Georgia since 1999, in Svaneti since 2007, and been a weekly writer for GT since early 2011. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with nearly 2000 members, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/
He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri:
www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti