SEPTEMBER - NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER 2024

Introduction

I am a bit late with this newsletter because the past period was an absolute rollercoaster…

Where to start?

Grateful, I can’t feel anything but grateful for all the golden people I am surrounded by.

The month started off smooth and it looked like September was going to be a good not crazy but good month until …

The storm

Locals say they have never experienced something like this in their entire life. Normally tornadoes don’t exist in mountains but here we are in the mountains hit by a tornado that in 15 min did enough damage that we needed to close the glamping for at least 20 days.

When I got the news I was in Belgium in my apartment. A call from Kirill came and the first words were: “The glamping is destroyed”. At first knowing Kiril who sometimes can exaggerate a bit I asked for more details and while the whole glamping wasn’t destroyed it quickly became clear that there was serious damage. Luckily though nobody got hurt. Immediately I went into my problem solving mode which most of the times I do when shit happens but honestly there wasn’t a lot I could do from Belgium.

When Lisa got home and I had to break the news to her, that’s when it hit me. I’m not someone who cries easily, but at that moment, I did. But after that moment of release, I felt strangely calm. Why? Because I knew we had an absolute dream team. And over the next 20 days, they proved that 100 times over.

Repairing

The moment I heard the news, I booked a flight to Georgia for the next day, ready to jump in and help with the repairs. But, of course, life had other plans — an airport strike delayed my trip by three more days. While I was stuck in Belgium, the team at the glamping was already in full swing. They assessed the damage, salvaged whatever was still usable, and got the ball rolling.

There was a lot to do. The small damages were everywhere, but the biggest hit was to our beloved bathroom building — it took the hardest blow (literally). But instead of dwelling on it, we made a list and got to work:

The To-Do List:

Clear the rubble (some of it had fallen 20 meters down the slope)
Build new showers and toilets
Repair and reinforce the platforms
Replace the damaged tents
Prepare for the wedding

Deadline: 20 days. No more, no less.

The reason for this “impossible” deadline? Alina and Sergey’s wedding. They’d been dreaming of getting married at Glamping Tago for months, and their friends and family had already booked flights to be here. Postponing wasn’t an option. If we missed that deadline, we wouldn’t just disappoint a couple — we’d let down 30 people who had travelled across the world to share in such an important moment with them.

So we got to work.

When I finally arrived, the team was already deep into the grind, and I joined them. For 20 straight days, we worked non-stop. Every single day. No weekends, no breaks. Speaking for myself (and I think I can speak for the whole team), I’ve never worked this hard physically in my life. By day 3, every muscle in my body hurt. By day 20, they still hurt — and, honestly, they hurt for many more days.

I could go into detail about every step of the process — from hauling rubble to building the new bathrooms — but I’ll save you the long story. Here’s what matters: we did it.

The glamping reopened the day before the wedding, complete with 2 brand-new, upgraded showers and toilets that are actually better than the previous ones.

Golden people

Looking back on it all, while what happened was definitely tough, the experience of repairing the glamping turned out to be something I’ll never forget — and not just because of the work itself. Watching our team push themselves to bring the glamping back to life was honestly heartwarming. Moments like these remind me just how lucky we are to be surrounded by such golden people.

While the whole team gave it everything they had, there are two people I need to highlight: Kiril and Alewyn.

Kiril, our manager, went beyond anything I could have expected. He showed incredible leadership, kept the team motivated, and made sure the new bathrooms were ready in time. It’s one thing to lead when things are easy, but true leadership shows when things get tough — and Kiril showed up.

Then there’s Alewyn, who originally came to us as a yoga teacher volunteer. He could have left at any point to go volunteer somewhere else, but he didn’t. Instead, he stayed, rolled up his sleeves, and worked 12-hour shifts for 20 straight days — sometimes even through the night. I still can’t believe it. His work ethic and heart are next level, and it’s people like him that make you believe in the goodness of people.

To Kiril, Alewyn, and the whole team: thank you. I’ll be forever grateful to be surrounded by people like you when things get tough.

End note

This whole experience has only deepened my love for Glamping Tago and the village of Tago itself. If anything, I feel more motivated than ever to keep improving the glamping and to support the growth of this beautiful village. My heart is here — and it’s here to stay.

Changes

Bathrooms

The biggest change has been our bathrooms. After having to demolish the original bathroom building, we built brand-new facilities. For the remainder of this year, we now have 2 showers and 2 toilets located under the dormitory, but that’s just the start. By next season, this will expand to 3 showers and 3 toilets in total.

Designing these bathrooms was no small task. Of course, we had to make sure they had beautiful views (because what’s a bathroom at Glamping Tago without a view?). But since the location is close to a walking path, we had to get creative to keep the views in while keeping privacy intact.

Here’s how we did it:

One-way glass — so you can see out, but no one can see in.
Smart glass — for an extra layer of privacy when needed.
Strategic lighting — to keep things private at night while still feeling cozy.

There are two modes for the bathrooms:

View Mode — clear views outside, minimal lighting inside.
Cozy Mode — more cozy lighting inside, no views.

Now, I know it might be hard to imagine how all of this works. I’ve tried them myself, and let me tell you — they are more than approved! Right now we don’t yet have good pictures but here is already a tiny sneak peak of the new bathrooms at night.

What is next?

For next season, we’re planning to add even more facilities, including 2 extra toilets, close to the restaurant. We’re also considering adding an outdoor wooden yoga deck where the old bathroom building was, giving you a whole new place to soak in the views.

More details to come in the next newsletter!

Events and collaborations

Wedding of Alina and Sergey - better than imagined

If there was ever a time to feel the pressure, this was it. With everything that happened just before the wedding, the timing couldn’t have been more intense. But somehow, everything clicked, and it turned out to be absolutely amazing.

To be honest, Alina and Sergey’s wedding is pretty much how I imagine my own dream wedding: a small, boutique-style celebration with only your closest people, spending the whole weekend together. It wasn’t just about celebrating the couple — it was about celebrating everyone who’s important in their lives. And that made it feel special on a whole different level.

The weekend was split into 3 main parts:

Ceremony & Reception — Emotional, heartfelt, and beautiful.
Outdoor Dinner — Picture this: dining under the open sky with good food, Georgian wine, and great people.
After Party in the Yurt — Let’s just say, the last guests went to bed at 7am. Enough said.

The whole group stayed for 2 nights, which I think is the sweet spot. On the first night, everyone gathered around the campfire, got to know each other, and set the vibe for the weekend. Day 2 was wedding day, with heartfelt speeches, incredible food, and of course, a lot of Georgian wine. By the time the after-party started, the mood was just right.

In Alina and Sergey their own words:

“It was better than I could have imagined, and all our guests said that it was the best wedding they had ever been to!!”

Can’t really ask for more than that, can you?

Prague yoga collective - a first retreat

This summer, we had the pleasure of collaborating with Alex from the Prague Yoga Collective for the very first time. Now, first-time collaborations always bring an extra layer of stress — lots of questions, a few uncertainties, and in this case, Alex had never been to Glamping Tago before. Add to that the fact that their entire group flew all the way to Georgia just for this retreat, and well we definitely felt the pressure to make sure everything was perfect.

But, in the end, it all paid off. The retreat went so well that Alex is already planning another one for next year. Mission accomplished!

(PS: That’s not to say everything went perfectly smooth, but that’s all part of the adventure, right?)

Their retreat had a perfect balance of 3 key elements:

Yoga — Daily sessions to get centered.
Relaxation — Enough downtime for people to truly recharge.
Adventure — Exploring the natural beauty of the Adjaran mountains, because how could you not?

It’s rare to see a retreat find the balance between doing a lot and not overwhelming people, but Alex and her two amazing teachers Kara and Caitlin nailed it. They kept it active without burning people out.

In their words:

“Everyone loved the retreat and Glamping Tago. They said the facilities and staff were excellent. They also loved the food, the views, and the whole experience.”

Not going to lie — hearing feedback like this is fuel for the soul. We can’t wait to welcome them back next year!

Mint adventures - 4x4 self drive family tours

The last collaboration I would like to highlight is with Maria Pertek an amazing woman form Poland with whom we have already been collaborating 3 years!

It’s always cool to see their convoy of 8+ 4×4 jeeps arriving at the Glamping and I can assure you having a group of 16+ Polish people and their kids at the Glamping creates quite the atmosphere!

With her company Mint adventure she creates the most amazing self-drive 4×4 tours in Georgia and for years Tago has been one of the highlights of her trips. The cool thing is that her trips are family focussed! Often people think that adventure and kids are difficult to combine but Maria with her tours makes it so easy and fun. Because the kids are all around the same age they can entertain each other so the parents can spend some private moments. While at the same time having an amazing bounding experience with the whole family!

We are looking forward to more nights singing Polish songs around the campfire!

Bookings are open for next season!

With the season now behind us, we’re excited to announce that bookings are open for next season! To be completely honest, we are receiving more retreat requests than ever before, and some dates have already been booked.

If you’re considering hosting a retreat at Tago, let me know. Even if your plans aren’t finalized yet, we can set aside your preferred dates while you figure out the details. Looking forward to hosting your retreat in 2025!

Outro

This newsletter was a bit different from the usual — at least I hope so! Not as many “improvements” to share this time, but don’t worry, we’re already back at it with big plans for next season. I’ll be sharing some of those in the next newsletter, so stay tuned.

On a personal note, Lisa and I recently returned from Georgia, where we closed down the season (with a lot of snow) in the most beautiful way possible. But I’ll save the details for the next newsletter — let’s just say it was one to remember.

Now we’re back in Belgium, switching gears and going all-in on preparations for the next season. Exciting things ahead, and I can’t wait to share them with you.

That’s it for now.

See you in the next newsletter!

Jonas
+995595300735

Glamping Tago is a small start-up set on a mission to enhance mindful traveling, providing equal care and love to our guests, environment and team members.

We do so, by creating a comfortable space in one of the most authentic places in Adjara.

Turning it into a getaway where people can reconnect with themselves, step into adventures and begin new stories.