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‘Georgia on my mind’- second time round!

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It is the second verse because almost to the day three years ago I did a blog post with the same heading as we entered Georgia en route from London to Cape Town.

But back up a bit.  As we leave Baku we get this email from the Azerbaijan immigration authorities. I am still composing my reply. 



We leave Baku early in the morning as it is a 575km day plus a border crossing. Thus was 11 hours with the normal border crossing stuff which you can do without after 9 hours riding.

At the border crossing into Georgia something amazing happens. Out of the immigration booth next to us comes a rich baritone voice singing - word perfect - the Maori version of the New Zealand National anthem!  I kid you not! I nearly drop the bike with fright. Then  the voice stops singing and booms out that the immigration officer is a No 1 All Black fan who just loves his Rugby. We have a quick shouted discussion about who will win the Rugby World Cup. Clearly he wants a final between Georgia and New Zealand. A very nice entry into Georgia. 

Our entry into Georgia was smooth and quick and greased nicely by the impromptu singing.  And then it was quickly down the valley to Tbilisi.



As we come into Tbilisi we pass the turn off to Yerevan in Armenia. We took that exact turn three years ago. We have therefore now completed circumnavigating the world. 

Tbilisi is a lovely city - very  European with cobbled streets, boulevards, castles galore etc. In fact Georgia is a very relaxed place and very super friendly. 

We stay at the same hotel on Freedom Square that we stayed in last time three years ago. The view from the hotel window is the same. The statue of St George slaying the dragon.

And there are interesting buildings. A rugby stadium? 



Like Lego 




And you just have to admire someone living in this house!  Diana stood on her head to take the photo! 



In the morning the GPS tangles  us up in some back alleys before we sack her and ignore her.




Then we head for Batumi on the coast of the “Black and Blue Sea”!  There is nice mountain scenery for a lot of the way. And lots of handicraft sellers 




Then we see the sea, the Black Sea.

Ir

We stay at a waterfront hotel in Batumi. It would have to one of the nicest looking cities I have ever met 








Next morning we cross the border into Turkey and ride for nearly 600 km down the coast to Samsun. The road is good, the temps are nice and the sea sparkles on our right. It is a good day “in the office”. We see hazel nuts being dried and sold on the side of the road.



It is then an overnight stop in Sansum and then another 500 km day down to Bolu - a small city of no great fame. On the way we stop for a cup of Chai from this machine 




Tomorrow, all going well, we brave riding through Istanbul and cross the Bosphorus Strait from Asia to Europe. A milestone indeed.



















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