Shot at the end of April 2026, on a calm and lovely Sunday morning, this video started with a simple plan: go out and hunt for morels - murķeļi. Spring, fresh air, perfect timing… everything looked right.
But plans shifted quickly.
After the first attempts turned up nothing, we didn’t push too hard — instead, we adapted. Rather than chasing mushrooms all day, we pointed the car toward the city of Gori, letting the trip evolve on its own. And that turned out to be the right call.
We decided to start our Gori stop the right way — with food. First stop: Erisoni Restaurant. A reliable favorite. Solid Georgian dishes, generous portions, and exactly what was needed to reset the day after an unproductive mushroom hunt. At that point, expectations had already shifted — no morels, but definitely still a good day ahead.
From there, there was one clear objective — something that had been sitting unfinished since 2022. Finally make it up to Gorijvari Monastery. For some reason, every previous attempt had failed — wrong timing, wrong route, or just not committing to it.
This time, we made it.
A small note: sometimes Google Maps tries to be too clever. The “optimized” routes can take you through unnecessary detours or strange paths. In this case, sticking to the main roadsides worked much better — simpler, more intuitive, and actually faster.
Reaching the monastery after all this time felt earned. And the view over Gori? Absolutely worth the wait — wide, open, and calm in a way that makes you slow down for a moment.
Of course, the day still had its share of unexpected moments — including the slightly surreal encounter with a man carrying a freshly killed chicken near the monastery. Not something you plan for, but somehow part of the story now.
From there, the journey continued as it had started — with one more attempt to find those elusive morels. On the way back toward Tbilisi, we stopped near the village of Kavtiskhevi for a final search.
Still nothing.
But not a complete miss — we did find some juniper, kadiķis. Not the original goal, but enough to call it a small win.
So no morels this time. But instead: a spontaneous trip to Gori, a long-delayed visit to Gorijvari Monastery finally checked off, a great meal at Erisoni, a few unexpected scenes along the way, and a reminder that sometimes the best trips are the ones that don’t go according to plan.
