Sitting on Nino's balcony It's past midnight. I hear voices, distant TVs. I see headlights race up the hill on the far side of the river. I read, write, contemplate. I'm reading The Moor's Last Sigh by (Sir) Rushdie. I copy passages that speak to me into my journal: (She) drank her own bitterness and called it sweet, walked in her own desert and called it lush ... If Nino were here there would be endless Georgian toasts and bottomless glasses of strong liquor. Suddenly, skyrockets explode in the sky. I am literally thrilled by my private show. Traveler Tales Getting [View Full Entry]

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Som vanlig er med nasjonaldager her omkring, ble vi vitne til digre men relativt vennlige militærparader... [View Full Entry]

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Dagen etter hviledagen i Kutaisi var det fremdeles meningsløst kraftig motvind, men vi kunne ikke bli der lenger, og tok fatt på veien videre østover. Det gikk meningsløst treigt treigt, og vi var i tvil om vi i det hele tatt ville klare den planlagte etappen på ca 10 mil før det ble mørkt. Det ville nok vært mulig å finne et krypinn i Zestaponi ca halvveis, men byen virket lite fristende, så vi hamstret vann og croissanter og fortsatte. Etter Zestaponi begynte stigningen mot en fjellovergang på knappe 1000 m. Fjellandet Georgia er ikke bare omgitt av noen av [View Full Entry]

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Her er en kort oppsummering av hva som har skjedd siden forrige blogging. Mer utfyllende blogger vil komme etterhvert... Torsdag 17. mai Sykkeldag fra Trabzon til Hopa. 17,7 mil på selveste syttendes mai! Vi passet på å få i oss respektable mengder iskrem denne dagen, og nynnet Valdresmarsj mens vi syklet med Svartehavet på venstre side. Fredag18. mai Sykkeldag fra Hopa - grensa til Georgia - Kabuleti (via Batumi). Den georgiske grensa bød, på tross av mange rykter om korrupt grensepoliti og tollere, på den bortimot enkleste grensekryssinga hittil. Resten av dagen ble bruk [View Full Entry]

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A place like Georgia makes one realize how much we take for granted. For instance, the assumption that a country has one (or maybe two) names. This is Georgia, Gurcistan, Gruzya, or Sakartvelos, depending on which language you're speaking. It's also a common assumption that progress is linear - forward. I was once talking with Janvier about how Europe could have plunged into the Dark Ages and completely forget the technological accumulation of the Greeks and Romans. I see the exact same process at work in Georgia (and Armenia, but this blog is about Georgia): enormous factories; solid public [View Full Entry]

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I made it to Tbilisi, the capital of the Republic of Georgia. After leaving Hopa I entered Georgia, not knowing what awaits me...and I was surprised. First by their alphabet which reminds me to Thai language...then by the plants and the forest around Batumi, a city, directly located at the Black Sea coast where you can find the only subtropical climate in the region. Also the hospitality of the Georgians made me wonder, I was hitchhiking to the border with a Turkish truck who told me that he can take me further to Tbilisi when he'll be finished at the [View Full Entry]

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Ruten saa langt Georgia viser seg aa vaere nok et land vi ikke oensker aa dra fra. Det forrige var Tyrkia, baade fordi Tyrkia var trygt og litt kjent, men ogsaa fordi Georgia fremstod som ganske roeft med rykter om fullstendig korrupt politi og grensevakter, mye kriminalitet og et helt uforstaaelig alfabet. For tyrkerne er ogsaa Georgia et Stan-land, nemlig Gurjistan. Marerittet var et foerste mote med Gurjistan preget av dollarsultne georgianske grensevakter. Da vi skulle krysse grensen mellom Tyrkia og Georgia viste det seg at det var nettopp det - bar [View Full Entry]

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We arrived at the Georgian border, our car devastated by dirt and snow, and breezed through the checkpoint without hassle. Americans don’t need visas to Georgia, which I find a remarkable turn of events given the history of the region. A quick stamp and we were off. Others weren’t so lucky. I didn’t care. The dramatic mountains followed us north, and, while obviously pained economically, there was a notable and sudden change the moment we set foot inside Georgia. Road signs were often bright and new, and frequently in proper English too. Sure there were plenty of Soviet-e [View Full Entry]

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The old town of Sighnaghi is being torn apart at the moment apparently they are trying to beautify the city and all the fascade, streets and buildings are being remodelled all at the same time, it looks like a war torn village at the moment but it would be interesting to see how it looks like in a couple years from now. We met an American who lives here and shows us a bit of the town and the carpets and paintings in their collection, there was also some TV reporter on sight and Chris gets to be interviewed for [View Full Entry]

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I spent a week in Tibilisi at Irena's homestay and this was the highlight of my time in Georgia. The rest was a disappointment. The country is very much an ex-soviet nation. The older people are still in a kind of shock. The younger generation and the old communists, who managed to grab all they could lay their hands on, are in transition to capitalism, specifically the second hand Mercedes for the less well off and the new 4x4 for the ex-communists and hangers-on. They drive their cars at pedestrians with horns blaring. Indeed for these rather fat unshaven men [View Full Entry]

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