Fly Tusheti Air
"I think God likes you." Kote Daviditidze of Tusheti Airways smiles. After a night of thunderstorms the sky is crystal blue, with a few photographically perfect white clouds. We are at the airport with our digital equipment, anxiously awaiting Tusheti Airways' sole helicopter to be readied for flight.
Everyone knows today's journey could be quite unforgettable. A helicopter trip to one of Georgia's most remote, most coveted areas — Tusheti National Park, far to the north on the Chechen/Daghestan border. But we all know that cancellation is the hallmark of the Caucasus.
Within half an hour our two Byronic looking pilots, Zaur and Dato, have the rotors spinning. A mysterious cargo is piled up in the aft compartments. As the Soviet helicopter chassis vibrates up through our bones Michael Zilber shouts 'I'm glad I didn't tell my mother.'
Field Team
RESEARCH TEAM
