2024: Basecamp Georgia & 5 New Countries!

2024: Basecamp Georgia & 5 New Countries!

Here we are again. At the risk of repeating myself I find it quite bewildering how fast these years roll around. Remember when you were a kid and the long, (manageably) hot summers went on for seemingly decades? Indeed it is 12 months since I published my last end-of-year update 2023: Island Hikes, Small Town Life & Visa Blues.

Despite 2023 being a fantastic travel year for us, we had ultimately failed in our bid to establish a long term home base. Seriously, I could write a book about the difficulties of a self-employed Serb and Brit finding suitable digital nomad residencies together.

At the beginning of 2024 we had few fresh ideas. Eventually, knowing that all we truly needed was a stable base for the year, we decided on a return to Georgia. After all, we could stay visa free for twelve months and there were some advantages to knowing the lay of the land.

We arrived at the end of January, setting ourselves up in a cheap, basic but spacious apartment in the neighbourhood of Isani. Initially at least it served us just fine. The WIFI was solid, there was a huge supermarket just down the road and we could get to the historic centre with a 10-minute taxi ride. Moreover, we enjoyed calming mountainous views that stretched across our living room and kitchen windows.

2024: Basecamp Georgia & 5 New Countries!

Although largely concentrating on work and personal projects, we did re-familiarise ourselves with some of our favourite Tbilisi haunts. Breakfast at Cafe Dante is always a cosy experience.

It was delightful to return to the National Botanical Gardens of Georgia too. Where, to our delight, we came across the same cat in precisely the same spot as during our previous visit fifteen months prior.

In truth we could have been quite comfortable in our Isani apartment long-term. But as usual our wretched luck with residential surroundings soon kicked in, as it nearly always does. This time it was a combination of the apartment above ours and our appalling next door neighbours.

The flat upstairs, as far as we could tell, mainly sat empty. But once or twice a week some teenagers would flood into it and have the loudest most obnoxious parties imaginable. There was blasting techno music, manic laughing, play fighting and wild sex that went on until 04:00.

How do we always seem to find these places?

And yet that was a less shitty situation compared to the family next door. Every single night, virtually without fail, the mother and daughter would launch into vicious fights. They screamed, threw stuff at each other and slammed doors. Each time it could go on for up to an hour. The father meanwhile, in an attempt to drown it all out, got into the habit of turning the TV up as far as it would go. It was hell.

Thus it came to be that at the end of March we transferred to a new apartment on the other side of the city in the district of Saburtalo. Our one bedroom apartment was situated in a modern, trendy neighbourhood called My Jikia House.

The complex is very cool, a self-sufficient bubble with shops, cafes, restaurants, a gym, barbers and anything else we might need right on our doorstep. Before long Botanica Cafe became our favourite haunt. A place we could go for blogging, lesson prep and chilled mornings on our days off.

What’s more, My Jikia had much-appreciated green spaces away from Tbilisi’s tiresome road rage culture. I’m talking trees, plants and flourishes of local art that give the compound its cosy and characterful feel.

2024: Basecamp Georgia & 5 New Countries!

As for our apartment, it was ok. Nothing more than a glorified studio, we had just enough space to do our things but not an inch to spare. Overall though, with no asshole neighbours to deal with, the new digs signified a significant improvement.

But in Georgia something or someone will always get you, and once again there were several factors that ensured My Jikia would not be the long term base we craved. This time it was due to our living room and bedroom facing a large primary school playground. Yes, for 6 hours of every weekday (a rotation of play time for various classes) it was pandemonium out there.

Furthermore, a design office at the end of the street doubled up as some kind of unofficial motorbike showroom. Time and time again people came to try out motorbikes that these guys put up for sale. And guess what, our street was their test runway. No, they didn’t care that this was a residential neighbourhood where people lived and worked.

Nevertheless, we made the most of our four months at My Jikia. In our free time we managed to deepen our understanding and appreciation of Georgia’s capital with numerous new field trips. One afternoon we did the 90 minute hike from Vake Park up to Turtle Lake.

Turtle Lake.

We also discovered the joys of Lake Lisi and its accompanying beach. Very much off the tourist trail, Lisi proved a wonderful retreat for peaceful morning walks and jogs.

In May Sladja and I had an incredible experience when, en route to Galleria Shopping Mall, we found ourselves having to work our way through a huge protest outside the Georgian Parliament.

I’m not gonna get into the political situation in Georgia; anyone who follows the news might be aware of the unrest that’s been bubbling away across 2024. It’s definitely a situation that we’re keeping an eye on. And one which may (or may not) end up influencing our decision on whether to return to Georgia in the future.

At the end of May it was high time for a trip. Clearing the work schedule, we headed to the mountains for a week with our very first hiking holiday together. Heck, we even bought proper hiking boots to mark the occasion.

Our destination was the mountain valley town of Stepanstsminda in the exceptionally beautiful Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of Georgia’s northeast. To get there, we hired a driver who gave us an unforgettable private tour of the legendary Georgian Military Highway.

Typically the drive takes somewhere between three and three and a half hours. However, our excellent Gotrip driver Gia made sure to stop off at nearly a dozen fabulous spots along the way. This meant the drive took nearly double the usual time, but we didn’t care. Not when we got to stop at the stunning Ananuri Fortress.

2024: Basecamp Georgia & 5 New Countries!

Elsewhere on that magical drive, we stopped to check out bubbling mineral springs and dramatic war memorials. We also saw Soviet era mosaics, a World War II cemetery, mountain viewpoints and a vintage car graveyard.

Stepantsminda itself is a fascinating little valley town. Sadly parts of it are quite run down, while in other neighbourhoods we became reacquainted with our old friend Captain Construction with the local council making efforts to propel the place into the 21st century.

Not that we had come to hang out in the town. Rather, the trip was all about the region’s superb scenery and hiking trails. In that sense our week was a resounding success with hike after memorable hike. Among the best, we hauled ourselves up Mount Kazbek for a visit to the 14th century Gergeti Trinity Church.

Another highlight was the absolutely breathtaking Truso Valley. Home to twisting mountain paths, flat valley trails, gurgling streams, a variety of mineral springs, an abandoned village and the ruins of a 17th century fortress right on the Russian border, this was a day that will live long in the memory.

Truso Valley.

Returning to Tbilisi, we quickly fell back into our routine for a few months. But on July the 19th we left Georgia for a 4-week trip around The Baltics. This was the longest break I’d taken from teaching since launching the school back in 2021. Man, it felt good.

Our trip began in the Latvian capital of Riga where we based ourselves in an Airbnb apartment for six nights. We allowed four days to explore the city, which we did in our usual forensic fashion.

Riga is just lovely, with a handsome old town, lush parks and some really fascinating under-the-radar sites that (as usual) seem to escape the attention of a lot of visitors. I’m really looking forward to writing up the city in full one of these years.

From Riga we set off on a number of spectacular day trips. First up was the magnificent Kemeri National Park, where a woodland trail led us to the 3.4km boardwalk through Kemeri’s sublime wetlands.

We also loved the coastal town of Jūrmala where we spent much of our afternoon learning about the Latvian poet and playwright Aspazija in a museum born out of her former residence.

For the rest of the day, and well into the evening, we simply wandered the town itself and its lovely stretch of peaceful coastline. So peaceful in fact that we stayed on the beach for dinner and drinks.

2024: Basecamp Georgia & 5 New Countries!

Another day played out in and around the town of Sigulda and its trio of historic castles. A number of gorgeous national park trails link up the various sites.

For our final few days in Latvia we left Riga for some glorious days on the Livonian coast. Arguably the highlight of our time in the country, we undertook the challenging but highly rewarding 20km hike from the village of Mazirbe to the village of Kolka.

But actually, with all the exploring, we covered more than 30 kilometres that day. Some of it on the beaches themselves. But much of it across the tiny woodland villages of Pitrags, Košrags, Sīkrags and Vaide. Picture perfect communities where locals live in wooden houses and speak the Finnic revival language of Livonian.

In total we were out on the coast for over 12 hours and didn’t get back to our guesthouse in Kolka until late at night. It was perhaps the most exhausted Sladja and I have ever been, but worth every single second.

Latvia’s Livonian Coast.

With our time in Latvia regretfully over, we made our way into Lithuania for a 3-day stay in the capital, Vilnius. Unfortunately the weather had taken a dramatic turn with torrential rains and high winds.

It was no joke, with one windswept street we passed through featuring a giant tree that had collapsed onto someone’s car!

Hampered by the elements, we managed to stay out of harm’s way in various cafes, restaurants and churches. In addition to an entire afternoon at the impressive Palace of the Grand Dukes museum. Think of it as a tour through Lithuanian history.

Finally the weather cleared and we got to wander the old town and Bernardine Garden before climbing the Hill of the Three Crosses for fine views over the city.

Most memorable of all was the leafy neighbourhood of Užupis. A self-declared republic with its own constitution (I’m not kidding), the district is a fascinating warren of craft stores, cafes, restaurants and curious street art. 

With the poor weather having killed some of our plans, it felt like we were leaving Vilnius too soon. But alas we had already booked our train and indeed an overnight stay in the northern city of Šiauliai (pronounced show-lay). 

2024: Basecamp Georgia & 5 New Countries!

In truth the only reason we had come to the city was for access to the nearby Hill of Crosses, one of Lithuania’s most impressive curiosities. But to our utmost delight, Šiauliai turned out to be a revelation!

With just one day at our disposal we explored the streets, strolled the parks, chilled by Lake Talkša and paid visits to the lovely Cat Museum and Museum of Photography. 

As for The Hill of Crosses, we awoke early the next morning to take a bus into the country. A gargantuan collection of over 120.000 crosses and crucifixes planted into a hill, it is indeed a stately and somewhat bemusing site.  

A place of faith, remembrance, resistance and reflection, the hill is also home to effigies, rosaries, Virgin Mary statues, saint carvings and written messages of love, hope, grief and regret.

Our next Lithuanian base was the pleasant coastal city of Klaipėda. With its fine maritime history, cobbled squares, sculpture parks and 19th century half-timbered houses, we really enjoyed our days poking around.

Klaipėda, Lithuania.

But much like Šiauliai our intention was to use Klaipėda primarily as a base from which to explore. This time our main focus was The Curonian Spit, a 98-kilometre UNESCO-approved strip of sand dunes, forests, beaches and villages that separates the Curonian Lagoon from The Baltic Sea. 

No doubt about it, this was the highlight of our stay in Lithuania. Much of our investigations took place in and around the idyllic village of Nida, home to hundreds of wooden fishermen’s houses. One of which, the former home of the German novelist Thomas Mann, now stands as a museum.

From Nida we set off for the dramatic Parnidis Dune, a compact desert-like landscape perched 52 metres above sea level.

It was hard work hiking the dune but the rewards were immeasurable, with large sections of the trail all to ourselves and little strips of beach where we could rest and swim.

A few days later we stopped by the Curonian Spit village of Juodkrantė, a similarly quaint affair.

2024: Basecamp Georgia & 5 New Countries!

The main draw here is the Hill of Witches, a massive forest park home to over 80 wooden sculptures depicting the tales and characters of Lithuanian folklore.

With our time in Lithuania at an end, we took the excellent Lux Express bus service to Tallinn for an 8-day stay in Estonia. After 3 weeks of intense travel, we felt like it was time for a period of rest. Slow things down a bit.

We rented a house on the edge of a forest in the capital’s peaceful Kose neighbourhood. With woodland river trails and indeed the pretty Pirita Beach nearby, it was the perfect place to recharge.

Eventually we were ready to immerse ourselves in Tallinn’s charms. And that’s what we did, with explorations of the old town, the historic Marzipan Gallery, the Banned Books Museum, the Soviet Statue Graveyard, Toompea Castle and the KGB Museum experience at Hotel Vilu. To name just a few.

As if 3 new countries wasn’t enough, we realised that while in Estonia there was a unique opportunity to add a 4th. With Helsinki just a three-hour ferry ride from Tallinn, we’d have been crazy not to grab the chance to experience a bit of Finland.

2024: Basecamp Georgia & 5 New Countries!

I’m gonna level with you. Usually I’m ideologically opposed to visiting a city or country for just one day. But this time I made an exception, figuring that if we took the earliest ferry possible and the latest service back, we would have around 12 hours to hit the streets of the Finnish capital.

I’m certainly glad we took the plunge. Among the many cool things we experienced that day, I have particularly fond memories of seeing the icebreakers in dock on Katajanokka Island. Of popping our heads into the Moomin Shop and visiting the unique Temppeliaukio “rock church”.

We had a blast wandering around the fabulous Helsinki Central Library Oodi too and trying a reindeer dish at a fancy restaurant. Overall, it’s a city we loved and one we definitely need to get back to someday.

We got back to Georgia on August the 19th. Instead of chancing our luck at yet another Tbilisi apartment, we decided on a return to the peaceful (ish) spa town of Tskaltubo. In fact, we went back to the same apartment we first stayed in two years ago.

2024: Basecamp Georgia & 5 New Countries!

The apartment was cheap, spacious and just a 10-minute walk from a huge forest park.

It was just what the doctor ordered to see out the transition from late summer into autumn and then winter.

Our spot in Tskaltubo was far from perfect. There were still barking dogs abound and the upstairs neighbours were so dreadful we labelled them Noise Pollution Family. And yet, it was still the best base we’ve had from our various homesteads across Georgia.

In mid December, having spent virtually the entire year in Georgia, we flew out to Azerbaijan for a two week stay. Its capital Baku is a captivating (albeit hectic) city where spectacular Islamic architecture comes peppered with uber-modern skyscrapers and Soviet remnants.

During our stay I was fortunate enough to collaborate with one of the city’s leading tour companies, Bag Baku. In fact, the owner Sabina arranged for us to have a clutch of absorbing experiences that stand as some of the most unforgettable of our five years travelling the world together. More on all this coming soon…

2024: Basecamp Georgia & 5 New Countries!

At the end of December we arrived back in The UK. It had been almost three years to the day since I was last back home for Sladja’s first visit to Britain. After a lovely few days in Christmassy London we transferred to our long term base in the homey village of Tean in Staffordshire.

Having lived here for 4 months back in 2022 this handsome village is starting to feel like another version of home for us hopeless digital nomads. Thanks to all of you who have supported Leighton Travels throughout 2024 and helped make it a record-breaking stats year on the visitor counter. Happy New Year!

I’ve been living, working and traveling all over the world since 2001. So why not check out my huge library of travel reports from over 40 countries.