We arrived in Tbilisi and promptly went to bed. Our hotel was directly in front of Sameba which is the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi. We spent the early throes of the afternoon exploring it. It is a beautiful cathedral and has a stunning mountainous backdrop. We got our laundry done, bought presents for friends we were meeting in Batumi and Yerevan and picked up our tracking unit from the local Fedex office. In the meantime we had a quick lunch of some delicious Georgian pies. Getting a late start (as always) we left for Batumi, a city on the Black Sea.
A quick word about Georgian policemen. They all look like they have been transplanted from New York to Georgia. They drive Ford Interceptors and their uniform is exactly the same as NYPD uniforms. Mike felt right at home.
Along the way we stopped in Gori, the birthplace of Josef Stalin. Unfortunately the museum was shut by the time we arrived, but we did get to see one of the last remaining statues of Stalin along with the house he was born in, which is preserved in a square in the town.
One of the last remaining statues of Stalin.
After exploring and checking out a very poor souvenir shop, we continued to Batumi. The roads through the mountains were narrow and tight but the scenery was stunning. Unfortunately there were a lot of cows ambling across the road which we thought was quite dangerous. Our worst fears were confirmed when we came across a cow that had been run over by a minibus. When we got to Batumi, Mike again used his points for a free stay and got given a room with a balcony, which we made plenty of use of. Mike and Vova promptly crashed while Alex got picked up by Beka's father in law and got back to the hotel room at 4am (Beka is a good friend of ours who manages the World's End Market where we had our leaving party). The next morning we all took an executive decision to stay another day in Batumi and swim in the sea.
The view from our hotel.
After dealing with the hotel, we went to the beach, and Alex and Mike decided to go jetskiing. Hilarity ensued. After negotiating over the price for 20 minutes of riding time, we got on - Alex driving and Mike on the back. We made it all of 10 meters from the beach before Alex managed to overturn it! The staff started shouting and swearing and swam out to tow it back. A Georgian Coastguard cutter turned up to add to the fun and proceeded to give a massive telling-off to the guys who supplied the jetski. We traipsed back to the shore where the staff were fairly glum; because they had forgotten to make us sign a contract, they couldn't fine us and had to return our money
Oops!
Earlier on in the morning, Alex had explored the main market in town, and discovered a woman cooking in a small shop. There was one table and a stove and an oven. Trying some of her food, and finding the food amazing, Alex brought Vova and Mike back, where we had one of the most amazing meals of the trip so far. We were given Salad Olivier, Alapsanjani (cooked peppers and aubergines) and stuffing for Dolma. Easily the most delicious meal of the whole trip and it only cost $15 including drinks and bread. Pati, who was the elderly lady who owned the shop was delighted that we loved her food and kept asking us to come back and try more things the next day. We regretted that we weren't staying for longer.
Inside the market.
The delicious meal we had at the market.
Later in the evening we went out with Beka's father in law and his friends. This was a Bacchanalian feast with plenty of singing, toasting, drinking and dancing. Toast after toast followed to the friendship of the Serbian and Georgian people, The friendship of the Moldovan and Georgian people, the success of our journey and the cause we were raising money for, the wonderful climate of Georgia, Georgian wine, Georgian home made brandy, Georgian food, friendships and every other possible toast. This carried onto until 4am! Mike felt horrifically hung over the next day while Vova and Alex were bouncing around like Energizer bunnies. We left for the long drive to Yerevan at midday.