After crossing the Georgian border quickly and succesfully (this time is the first time anyone checks Apollo’s chip…), we arrive in Tbilisi after less than two hours. Apart from getting our monthly dose of good coffee, we came with a specific purpose this time.
After many weeks of debate and consideration, we finally decided to apply for a Russian transit visa two or three weeks ago. This was the main reason for our visit to Yerevan. Unfortunately, however, we were unable to obtain a visa there. Therefore, our last option is the Russian Visa Centre in Tbilisi, which handles visa procedures for Russia. Since Georgia cut diplomatic ties with Russia, this is now handled through a section of the Swiss Embassy. It’s very complicated. In practice, this means that we have to pay a lot of money to the visa centre to handle the procedure for us.
So, we spend our time in Tbilisi getting all the documents ready, queueing in the visa center and giving them our passports, as well as a lot of money. The, we have to wait. Supposedly, it’ll take roughly 10 working days, so we have a good two more weeks to explore Georgia. Which is not a bad prospect, as we were really looking forward to coming back here.
We head west again to explore the south of Georgia and after a few spots at the Tsaika Reservoir and Paravani Lake, and a short visit of Vardzia, we turn north again and head to Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park.It feels a bit funny being so close to the Turkish border again, which we associate with being not too far away from Europe, yet knowing what plans we have and what far away destinations lie ahead .
After spending one night just outside the national park, we went for a short but intense hike together. Svenja enjoyed it so much that she decided to go on a two-day hike with Apollo at short notice. The next day, we stock up in Borjomi (the city is named after the Georgians’ favourite sparkling water brand), get her a permit to enter the national park, and spend the night in a hut inside the park.
The guide at the visitor centre promised her ‘a challenge’, and she’ll soon learn what the Georgian definition of that is.
The next day, I dropped her off at the start of the hike. While I enjoyed a relaxing day at a campsite, she went on an almost 40 km hike with a total ascent of almost 1,500 m over two days (here and here). Unfortunately, the stay at the hut is somewhat overshadowed by the bad behaviour of another group of visitors, so she gets up early the next morning to head back. All in all, it was a great experience for her! However, her hiking boot was a little too small and put too much pressure on one of her big toes, which hurt quite a bit. This will come back to haunt us later…
We’re heading back to Tbilisi to pick up our transit visas, which haven’t arrived yet. It’s almost the end of August now, and Saturday the 23rd marks our first wedding anniversary. It’s crazy how quickly the time has passed since then! We embarked on this adventure almost six months after we got engaged, and since then another six months have passed. And what a year it’s been! From the hassle of getting the camper ready and finding a solution for our flat, to finally getting started in the middle of winter in Germany, and all the wonderful experiences we’ve had on this trip, the challenges we’ve faced both externally and internally, and the amazing, exciting and beautiful places we’ve seen. It’s hard for me to put into words, so on this blog I try to convey it through pictures. I’m deeply grateful for the Great Journey we’ve had so far!
We spent our anniversary doing what we know best: enjoying the great coffee shops, restaurants and bars of Tbilisi. We know that this may be one of the last times we can enjoy this Western lifestyle for a long time.
I haven’t taken many photos since we entered Georgia again, but below are some impressions of this part of the country.