11th stage "Baku, Azerbaijan"

The alarm went off at 5:45 a.m. and at the same time Ben called to ask about the taxi. There was still no confirmation from Bolt, so I mentally prepared myself for a bus ride. To my surprise, the taxi Dan did come and everything went as planned. Exiting and entering the country was also completely unproblematic. Anton was at the airport as agreed and drove us to a hostel in downtown Baku. My first impression of the city was impressive and this impression was confirmed as I explored the city over the course of the day. Super-modern buildings, everything spotlessly clean and the people are all modern and well-dressed. You can see that the country has money.

The motorbikes will be picked up tomorrow. Anton will take us there. If I have time, I will take a look at the old town, a world heritage site.

05/29/2024: Anton actually picked us up from the hostel today and drove us to customs. Luckily for us, he also managed the entire process there, so that we got the motorcycles out of customs without any problems. Without him, it would have been a real challenge.

Because everything went so smoothly, there was still time for a tour of the old town. You can find the pictures above. I actually wanted to go to the beach boulevard again, but I'm too tired for that now. Last night was extremely restless because one of my roommates snored a lot and, to make matters worse, got messages on his cell phone. Since Ben checked out today, I took the opportunity and took over his sleeping space.

05/30/2024: Today I had planned to visit one of the mud volcanoes and a place where gas comes out of the rocks and burns. Both near Baku. The so-called mud volcano was rather disappointing, it seemed to have been extinct for some time. In comparison, the Burning Rocks were more interesting. But not so much that you absolutely have to see them. The drive there, out of the city, was more interesting. You immediately feel like you've gone back in time. The roads were much simpler and there was no trace of the capital's splendor. Everything was dry and dusty. The many small towers all over the landscape were also remarkable. You get the impression that Azerbaijan is floating on a single oil/gas bubble. Shortly after noon I was back again. In Baku there are people on many streets who regulate and monitor parking in a street or a section of a street. This was also the case in the street in front of the hostel. After two short conversations, if you can call them that, with one of these people, it was clear that I could park my motorcycle there for free. Very nice and a nice gesture.

This evening I went to the beach boulevard again. It's just wonderful there in the evenings.

Tomorrow I want to leave for Alat very early and look for the ferry. According to the plan, a ship should leave at 12pm. But I've read that the ferries only leave when they have enough cargo and that can sometimes take a few days.

nothing to do.nothing to do.