After our experiences in the Kaçkar Mountains, we drive the last stretch along the Turkish Black Sea coast to the Georgian border. What follows can only be described as an hour and a half of absolute chaos. I alone had to interact with five people, every single one of whom was incompetent. After we finally get through, we have to endure almost two hours of fast-paced, reckless rush-hour traffic in the outskirts of Batumi, the first major city just across the border, until we finally find a place to park for the night near the coast in the evening after one of the most exhausting days of our trip.
The next morning, we head to the airport because we’ve had enough of the perfect chaos that is Georgian road traffic regulations and just want to get away. Just kidding… The real reason is that our good friend Lukas is joining us for 10 days of our trip, which we’ve been looking forward to for a long time. After picking him up, we drive about 1.5 hours to Kutaisi, the third-largest city in the country, in the ancient region of Colchis. Kutaisi is one of the oldest permanently settle cities in the world.
We spend two nights here in a guesthouse and explore the really pretty city center, the cathedral, and the Motsameta Monastery just outside the city. From Kutaisi, we continue north, always towards the High Caucasus, where we plan to go on many great hikes. On the way there, however, we first go underground, namely to the Prometheus Cave, which houses evidence of over 2.5 million years of Earth’s history.
In these first few days in Georgia, we also enjoy some excellent Georgian wine and get our first taste of the exquisite cuisine. Of course, we also have the opportunity to catch up with Lukas, because the world continues to turn in Germany while we are happily traveling around here. It’s nice to have a piece of home with us again after almost five months of traveling!