9th stage "Batumi, Georgia"

After three nights and two days at sea, we arrived in Batumi this morning at 9 a.m. local time. I finally left the ship at around 11 a.m. The crossing was OK thanks to a few other tourists on board. One highlight was definitely four dolphins that accompanied the ship for a while. Alongside me, there was a Swiss couple, two other Swiss people and a Berlin motorcyclist who runs a travel company in Mongolia on board. First I wanted to get some money and then a SIM card. To exchange cash you have to register with your passport. Unfortunately, this was necessary because the ATM only gave out a 100 dollar bill. This was because I answered the supposed question of how much money I wanted with 100 dollars. After a lot of asking and searching, I got a SIM card relatively quickly.

My journey today took me first towards Poti (it started to rain here) and then towards Tbilisi. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't so good today. My destination was the cave monasteries of Vardzia. Unfortunately, I took the wrong one, so I had to continue without accomplishing anything. Unfortunately, when I tried to turn around, the motorcycle fell over (for the second time). The first time it fell over, nothing happened at all, but today I had to remove a side part of the luggage rack and reattach it. Luckily, I had the right tools with me, so after a short time everything was OK again.

Today was the first time I drove in the dark, which was extremely exhausting. There are cows, goats and pigs everywhere on or near the road. The worst thing, however, are the many dogs, some of which are lying on the road or running barking next to you. I was glad to finally pass a hotel that still had a room available. Tomorrow I want to make another attempt to get to the cave monasteries. Then I'll go to Tbilisi.