Batumi - next mandatory stay

On Friday morning (07.06.2019) my alarm clock wakes me up again. Just before seven I slowly get out of bed. I pack our seven things and walk with the Big Guy to the tram stop in the center of Lustdorf. There is a coffee and a small breakfast at a supermarket. Shortly after eight, I see the first possible train heading towards the fishing port pass us by. We go to the train station and wait. The next two trams unfortunately go back to Odessa, so I try my luck with a minibus and manage to get on. We get off at the fishing port and make the short walk to the Borej building, where I can buy our tickets. There are already plenty of truckers on site who need stamps on their papers, only the office staff is taking a while. I immediately think of the 'Don't be late!' announcements on the ferry and smile. Around half past nine, the office starts its work and I can buy my tickets, this time even at a cheap rate. We are supposed to meet at the port area for customs control at two o'clock, so I use the time to upload pictures, read, do Duolingo, and write a travel report. I also have a cup of coffee in between. Around one o'clock, we head to the ferry port and can go through customs after a short wait. There, Rango first starts barking at a sniffer dog of the officers, causing some commotion. After visiting the veterinarian, we have completed all formalities and can check in on the Kaunas shortly after. I already know my way around the boat. I settle into my cabin, have a snack, treat myself to a little training, and then take a long shower. Some laundry also needs to be washed. Around half past seven, we are invited to dinner. I share the table with Torsten from Dortmund and two Lithuanians. After that, I take a stroll on deck with Rango and wait for the boat to depart in the late evening. After leaving the port, we head towards the destination.

In the night to Saturday, I wake up from time to time and think 'A bit cold, you could put something on.', but then fall asleep again immediately. Somehow I'm pretty exhausted. So the next morning I wake up with slight muscle pain and a bit of a stuffy nose. After breakfast and a walk with Rango, I lay back in my nest, increasingly struggling with headaches, chills, and most likely a fever. I caught a pretty bad cold last night. So during the whole crossing, I only make it out of the cabin for meals and short walks on deck with Rango. I can handle less and less of the offered meals.

On Sunday, June 9, 2019, we arrive in Batumi around noon and check out on time in the afternoon. I have to divide the short way to the familiar campsite at the Alphabet Tower into two stages and take breaks in between. I set up my tent and go to sleep. Some other campers give Rango water, he got some food before we left the Kaunas. In the evening, I only bring the Big Guy into the tent.

On Monday morning, I take a short stroll on deck with Rango, organize drinking water, and shower at the beach. Then it's back to the nest. In the early afternoon, it's time for me to get some local currency. I give up on exchanging my remaining hryvnia, as a discount of more than 20% seems outrageous to me. I organize something to eat and see if the coffee tastes good again. It's going well. Except for the headaches and weak knees, the other symptoms have largely disappeared. Then it's back under the tarp. After a small dinner, I walk with the Big Guy to the beach again, shower, and wander around a bit.

On Tuesday (11.06.2019), I can finally get the eVisa for Azerbaijan. In a reply email, I am assured that the visa will be delivered within the next 72 hours. For now, I abort the visa application for Tajikistan, as I need an address with telephone number, which I can't organize quickly. Otherwise, I spend the day swimming, sleeping, and at the McDonald's WiFi hotspot.

On Wednesday, bad news awaits me. The Azerbaijanians have emailed. In processing my visa application, they noticed that due to the working hours of the visa office, the next possible entry date falls on June 19, 2019. I have to agree within 7 hours, otherwise it will be even later. The whole visa nonsense costs a lot of money (in this case $85) without any real service behind it, it consumes time and nerves, and now the brothers turn out to be unreliable as well. Everything sucks, another week wasted... I'm now very glad that in the end, I decided against a visa for Russia (planned for early August), it seemed to me that everything would be too tight time-wise. How prophetic. Of course, I still agreed to the new entry date without complaining.

So I spend Wednesday and Thursday in Batumi and with increasing recovery, I can increasingly enjoy the sea, sun, beach, and city.