Countries visited: Georgia, Azerbaijan
Cycled mileage in July: 1,107.8km
Cycled mileage per country: 483.7km Georgia, 624.1km Azerbaijan
Total cycled mileage incl. July: 5,124.0km
July mileage not cycled 811.1km (walking, bus, taxi)
Days per country: 10d - Georgia, 21d - Azerbaijan
Days cycling: 13d
Technical failures: 2 Punctures, 1 broken back rack
Link to this month's route
We finished last month in Batumi after arriving by ferry from Bulgaria. Our application for Azerbaijan visas was already submitted at the consulate but it wasn't quite sure how long the process would take. Subsequently we decided to continue our journey towards Tbilisi and return by bus to pick up our visa at some point.
We followed the Black Sea coast and made it to Magnetiti within a day.
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| Remains of Petra fortress near Kobuleti |
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| Uphill ride on the way to Magnetiti |
Locals had been raving about the healing properties of the magnetic sand on the beaches there. It was an interesting place and we enjoyed hanging out at the beach - and drinking the local wine! We weren't hung over the next morning so the magnetic sand might possibly help...
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| Beach in Magnetiti - the black sand has magnetic properties |
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| Relaxing... |
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| Enjoying some homemade wine |
From Magnetiti we continued to Georgia’s second city Kutaissi. We had been there before but it was nice to stroll around the old town once more.
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| Our Georgian all-time favourite breakfast Adjarian Khachapuri |
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| Church somewhere between Samtredia and Kutaissi |
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| UNESCO-site Bagrati Cathedral in Kutaissi |
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| Market in Kutaissi |
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| Downtown Kutaissi |
The next day we took a bus back to Batumi where we could eventually pick up our visas.
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| Finally we got our Azerbaijan visa! |
With the visas ready we cycled on from Kutaissi to Khashuri. The Rikoti pass in between was a real struggle despite its altitude of only about 1,000 metres. After a lot of sun during the last couple of weeks we had to tackle the last bit of the ascend in a thunderstorm.
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| Rikoti Pass |
We met Canadian touring cyclist Jonathan in the most awkward little hostel in Khashuri. Even though we all wanted to go to Gori the next morning we quickly discovered that our pace was too different to cycle together.
We set off without Jonathan and the last few clouds gave way to abundant sunshine soon after.
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| With Jonathan in Khashuri |
We managed to avoid the highway for much of the way and reached Gori just after noon. We checked in to a cosy little guesthouse off the city centre and waited out the hottest hours there. Eventually we went to visit the Stalin Museum. Yep, seriously. Gori is the birth town of Joseph Stalin and the museum the Soviets build to commemorate their leader remains much the same today.
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| It's all about Stalin in his birth town Gori |
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| Stalin Museum |
We rode the remaining 100 kilometres to Georgian capital Tbilisi the next day and checked in to our hostel. We had been looking forward to indulging in Tbilisi’s thermal baths for the last few days and went there instantly. We chose the least touristy experience - Bathhouse No.5. This is where prices are the cheapest at around $2.50 and where all the locals go. Obviously there isn't much luxury, either. Still it felt great to relax in the hot sulphuric water.
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| Bathhouse No.5 |
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| Tbilisi old town |
The next day we changed our means of transport and took a bus to David Gareji monastery. We had wanted to go there during a earlier journey to Georgia but visiting the monastery is a bit precarious as it is located right at the Georgian - Azerbaijan border. Visiting all parts of the compound means crossing the border several times - something that seems more advisable while on a guided tour rather than on your own.
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| That steel rail marks the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan in David Gareji |
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| Lots of caves... |
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| ...all over the... |
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| David Gareji monastery compound |
We had been to Tbilisi before and there wasn't a point in doing sightseeing there really so we continued to nearby Rustavi which is the last major town before the Azerbaijan border.
When we got to the border the next morning we were a bit nervous but all went smoothly and the border guards were more interested in our bicycles than in our visas.
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| Good Luck - Last Georgian sign before the border... |
We easily made it to Agstafa from the border and were pleased with the good quality of the roads in Azerbaijan.
The next morning disaster struck once more as we both felt sick and unable to cycle on. After a couple of days we felt fit enough to continue to Azerbaijan's second city Ganja. We spent another couple of days there to fully recover.
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| Main square in Ganja |
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| Strolling around the park |
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| Old town |
When we eventually felt ready to leave Ganja we discovered two broken rails on Dominik's back rack while loading the bikes. A makeshift repair allowed us to continue to Yevlax where we had it welded at a truck repair shop. The guys there were extremely helpful and didn't even accept payment but invited us to some cups of tea instead.
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| Dominik's welded back rack |
The next few days to Azerbaijan's capital Baku were a slog. The roads were smooth and had ample shoulder but the heat, oh the heat! We changed our daily routine to set off with sunrise and finish cycling before noon bashing out around 100 kilometres each day.
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| Cycling through the awful heat |
Once we reached the Caspian Sea the wind picked up and we were forced to stop 30 kilometres short off Baku in a random place. It was one of the weirder hotels so far mainly catering (international) workers of the Azerbaijan state oil company SOCAR. So even though it was right in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no facilities nearby, it was quite comfortable and it also featured a Soviet-style canteen that was a lot of fun.
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| First view of the Caspian Sea near Alat |
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| One of the weirder hotels so far |
We finally reached Baku the next morning and went to the Uzbek embassy as soon as we had checked in at our hostel. The visa application process is relatively straight forward but time consuming. Also we were told it would take up to 8 working days for our application to be approved. Bummer! To top it all off we then learnt that there was no way for us to obtain a Turkmenistan visa in Baku.
We reassessed our plans and decided to take the notorious ferry across the Caspian Sea from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan rather than cycling through Iran and Turkmenistan.
The waiting time for our visas went by exploring the old town of Baku and visiting some of the less known attractions nearby. Highlights included petroglyphs and a site with about a dozen baby mud volcanoes that were blowing out thick, cold, grey mud. We also discovered the reason why Azerbaijan is called the "Land of Fire" - right in the outskirts of Baku there is a small park where natural gas is streaming out the ground. some 60 years ago a shepherd’s cigarette accidentally ignited the gas and the rock is still "burning" today!
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| City walls of Baku old town |
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| Maiden Tower |
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| Home is never too far away... |
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| Book muesum |
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| Downtown Baku |
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| Clinkstone in Qobustan national park |
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| Petroglyphs |
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| Exploring another clinkstone with our Swiss friend Miguele |
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| Mud Vulcanoe near Qobustan |
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| Somehow hypnotic... |
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| ...Watching the thick mud bubbling |
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| That is about as big as these vulcanoes get |
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| You can tell from the number of photos... |
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| ...we just couldn't get enough of this bubbling mud :-) |
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| You wouldn't expect it but the mud is actually cold |
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| "Extinct" mud vulcanoe |
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| In Rome do like Romans do - Smoking nargileh in a Chaikhana |
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| The "burning" rock |
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| It's all about oil in Azerbaijan - pumping units in the outskirts of Baku |
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| Fun afternoon with locals in Baku - yet another inivitation :-) |
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| Performance at Baku's Fountain Square |
Surprisingly we received a notification that our visas for Uzbekistan were ready - only 5 days after applying! We rushed to the embassy which is in a residential area and rather difficult to find. With the visas sticking in our passport we went back to the city centre and on to the ticket office for the ferry to Kazakhstan. There was no confirmed sailing for that day or the day after but supposedly in 2 or 3 days. We were advised to check in with them every morning. We were still waiting for a sailing when the month ended.
With only around 1,000 cycled kilometres this month and last month respectively we feel like we didn't make much progress at all. Hopefully things change for the better next month!
