13 May - Batumi - Samtredia – 131 km
Once
in tiny Georgia, everything appeared different from Turkey. Not only
was Georgia less than a 10th of the size of Turkey it was far less
populated and home to just 3.7 million people compared to the nearly
80 million in Turkey.
Everything was vastly different the food, the
people and even the scenery. Misty snow-capped mountains in the
distance, wooded ravines with waterfalls and old ruins, gave a
slightly medieval feel. It was a great day of cycling past many
traditional homes on large plots suited to subsistence farming. The
only thing that spoiled the scenery was the old disused factories
from the former Soviet 5- and 10-year plans. Many of the villages
looked half-forgotten with dilapidated buildings and villagers,
seemingly, living under the breadline. The Georgians were extremely
reserved, to such an extent that they even appeared unfriendly. They
stare at us, and we at them, and the kids kept a safe distance, even
the dogs seemed wary of us. That night we stayed in a room above a
petrol station, with no hot water and torn bedding (we slept in our
sleeping bags).
14 May - Samtredia - Zestaponi – 81 km
We
peddled along admiring the scenery, while crossing rivers and
passing through densely wooded areas and small villages, even
although some were half abandoned and quite depressing looking. We
found a place to pitch our tents next to a river in a very idyllic
spot. We were still struggling to get used to the unsmiling people,
so different from Turkey. The language, Georgian, was somewhat more
tricky to master and appeared very much like Russian, or maybe they
were indeed speaking Russian. We could hardly manage the basic words
like hello, goodbye, and thank you.
15 May - Zestaponi - Agara – 85 km
We
left rather late at 10.45, as it was such a sunny morning and such a
beautiful spot. We stopped ever so often to buy cherries from
roadside stalls, neatly platted on a stick. It was an enjoyable ride
along the river and through the mountains, over a pass and down the
other side. We stopped in Agara for a Khachapuri, the local staple.
A friendly man invited us to camp under the verandah of a disused
bar, as he thought it was going to rain. No sooner had we pitched
our tents, and it did start pouring down - what a good thing we
followed his advice. At least we could cook and sit outside our
tents, as it poured the whole night.
16-21 May - Agara - Tbilisi – 116 km
The
sky was still overcast as we packed up, but fortunately no rain. We
cycled to Gori, the birthplace of Stalin, and had a look around.
There was still an amazing number of statues of the man left
including a large one in the town centre. We seemed to get a bit of
rain just about every day. We did not mind as it was not cold and in
such a lush green place one can expect rain on a daily basis.

We
cycled into the capital, Tbilisi, and found that there were hardly
any budget hotels in town. Eventually, we took a slightly pricey
room, but with breakfast included it usually was a loss to the
owners.
We
were learning fast, and this time we first phoned the Azerbaijan
embassy to find out if we could get a visa at the border. The answer
was a definite “no”, and that we had to apply for one at the
consulate where there was a 3-day processing time. In the meantime,
we moved to cheaper accommodation nearer the centre of Tbilisi.
Nasi’s Homestay is an institution, and popular with budget
travellers where just about every nook and cranny is filled with
beds and where we could stay for just a few Lari. It is, therefore,
a place where one is bound to meet some interesting characters.

22 May - Tbilisi
We
packed up and cycled to the embassy where we, as usual, had to wait
in a long queue. Once inside the building, we were informed that we
first had to pay for the visa at a bank in town. Then it was back on
the bicycles into town where we'd just come from, and with receipt
in hand, we returned to the embassy. After waiting in line again, we
handed in all the papers and were told that we could collect it
later that afternoon.
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