Today has been one of those days that leaves you feeling a bit down in the dumps. We started early because we had an important mission: taking Uncle Joan to Kutaisi airport. He was heading back to Barcelona, and truthfully, saying goodbye is harder than trying to catch a fly with your eyes closed. Dad Edu and I were left alone in the Navara, looking at each other with that "well, we'd better keep exploring" expression.

To cheer ourselves up, we headed towards Zestafoni. Dad Edu’s eyes were sparkling at the prospect of seeing old buildings, so we parked next to the massive Zestafoni Ferroalloy Plant (the GFM). This place is a giant; it's the country's largest producer of silicomanganese and is basically the reason this city exists as we see it.

We tried to hunt down the famous mosaics that decorate its walls, but the factory is shut tighter than a biscuit tin when you've been naughty. We went to the Hotel Sakartvelo to see its interior mosaic, but we had no luck, and some metal statues we were looking for nearby seem to have vanished into thin air. But we didn't give up; that's what being adventurers is all about.

We took a drive in the campervan and things improved. We saw the old Palace of Pioneers, which is now an art school. Near the train station, we were blown away by the Soviet reliefs on the walls and we found the entrance to the Municipal Park, which has a colonnade and a statue of a worker that are pure period style.

After so much concrete, we decided we needed some nature. We drove an hour north to Katskhi to see the famous Katskhi Pillar, that towering rock with a church right at the very top that looks like it’s going to touch the sky. Dad Edu drove past the usual car park and turned onto a dirt track that’s only for brave cars like ours.

We climbed and climbed until we found a spot that looks like a small crater surrounded by sandy walls. We are completely sheltered from the wind and, best of all, there isn't a soul around. It's the perfect place to miss Uncle Joan while I gaze at the stars. Tomorrow is another day.