Sept 15- Melon Give-away

Met another cyclist today, Stefan from Germany. He had just arrived in Azerbaijan a few days ago after spending the last nine months cycling in rural China and Central Asia. He asked us to help him eat one of the melons he had been given by some fruit vendors up the road. He also "warned" us that these fruit vendors will offer us so many melons and pomegranates that our bikes would collapse if we accepted them all. A few kilometers further Stefan's prediction came true. We managed to find room to accomodate two large pomegranates and three melons. Such generosity. One guy (far right in picture carrying a white bag) even waved us off the road to not just give us fruit for the road but to feed us the sweetest slices of watermelon. The perfect refreshment on that hot, muggy day.
We made it close to Haciqabul that evening where we camped at a gas station where James had stayed two years ago.

Sept 14- Another 100-ish Kilometers

Nothing exciting to report from today. The road was really bad in certain parts. Met up with the large east-west highway which was wide enough to grant us about half meter of a shoulder. What a treat!
Lots of road widening construction zones. Very busy road and still crazy drivers. Camped at a road construction machinery depot and had tea with some of the guys.

Sept 13 continued

Later we asked to camp in a small town past Sheki. A family offered us a room but we said we would be happy to just camp in their garden. They were the funniest bunch. Communication was a bit difficult. Azerbaijani is basically a dialect of Turkish so they understood the bit of Turkish we have learned but we, especially I, really struggled to understand them. Despite that, the vibe was great, I have not heard and participated in so much laughter for a long time and we struggled to find room for all the delicious food they heaped infront of us.

In the picture I am trying to copy Samira  beating sheeps wool to fluff it up for making mattresses.

THANK YOU SO MUCH SAHIB, DÜRYE, SAMIRA, FEZANE AND SABINA FOR THIS FUN TIME. YOU GUYS WERE SO COOL TO HANG OUT WITH. TAKE CARE!

Sept 13- it's getting dry

Left the kind family an hour later than planned because we had forgotten about the one hour time difference from Georgia.
We followed the main highway towards Sheki. The ride was beautiful, the road lined with big trees and nice fields and hazelnut groves made up the rest of the landscape as we slowly veered away from the mountains and into the more arid center of Azerbaijan. Unfortunately the road surface and traffic were really bad and the constant honking almost drove us mad. Just SHUT UP! Fortunately the road quieted off later on and we could really enjoy riding. Many people were out harvesting walnuts off the trees lining the road. I was glad to be wearing my helmet because they would not stop shaking the branches while we passed underneath.
At a small pullout, two truckers came over to share their tea and snacks with us. So kind.

Sept 12 cont. - Hello Azerbaijan

We crossed the border no problem. For the rest of the day the road snaked along the lush base of the Caucasus mountains.

In the evening we pulled off the road to have some dinner. We just about sat down when a lady leaned over the wall that our bikes rested against and asked if we wanted some tea. Assuming she would just hand it over the wall we continued our dinner preparations but she soon returned and motioned us to follow her.
They set up a little table out in the yard where tea, fruit preserves and other sugary treats were served. I read later that being served tea and fruit preserves is a sign of welcome on Azerbaijan. They had two loaded persimon trees in the yard which we got to snack from. So delicious. Three generations of that family sat with us and it was a very good time with them. They were really interested in our trip. We were invited to stay for dinner and were even offered a room to sleep in but we prefered our tent since it would be cooler outside.

THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE VERY WARM WELCOME TO AZERBAIJAN.  ALL THE BEST TO YOU.

Sept 12- Last day in Georgia :-( off to Azerbaijan

After a special Egyptian omelette breakfast we got ready to leave our "last homely house". Danuta gave me one of her beautiful pink roses to liven up the bouquet on my bike. (By the way, it made it all the way to Baku)

DEAR DANUTA AND JAN, THANK YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH FOR THIS HOME AWAY FROM HOME YOU HAVE GIVEN US. YOUR GENEROSITY WILL ALWAYS BE AN INSPIRATION TO US AND THE WARMTH OF YOUR WELCOME SOMETHING WE WILL NEVER FORGET. THANK YOU AND ALL THE BEST TO YOU!

The road from Signaghi to the valley bottom was steep and bumpy. The view was great though. Wild pommegranate trees lined the road. Perfect for snacking.

From Tsnori we took the road across the wide valley to Lagodekhi near the Azerbaijan border. It was an interesting ride. At one point about 50 meters infront of us a tour bus' tire exploded sending a cloud of dust, rubber and tire wires in all directions. A universe of tire wires with endless opportunities for punctures has been created in this very moment!

A few kilometers later a large flock of turkeys was herded across the road blocking traffic for long enough to strain the impatient Georgian driver's nerves. It was hillarious listening to about a hundred agitated turkeys gobbling their way across the road.
Traffic was not too heavy but enough for us to regularly gasp and shake our heads in disbelief. As I mentioned previously, Georgian drivers have an insane obsession for overtaking. If there is a vehicle infront of them it has to be overtaken. We have observed it many times during rush hour how multiple cars would pull out of their lane and leap-frog their way up the line of vehicles. Often times there would also be oncoming traffic at the same time but those vehicles just move onto the shoulder with two wheels to avoid a collision with the overtaking vehicle. Just insane.  The worst scenario is like the one above but with two cars overtaking in opposite directions. In other words there are the two lanes of normal traffic with two cars driving towards each other between them. With just seconds before a collision they slot back into their lane. In the bigger cities where there are multiple lanes going in the same direction, the white lines are really just mere suggestions because in reality the number of "lanes" is determined by the number of cars that fit next to each other. Throw a few cows in here and there with honking every few minutes and you have the perfect scenario. Thinking back now I wonder if we aren't a little bit insane too for riding our bicycles on these roads.
We have thanked God many times for keeping us safe. Many cyclists come through Georgia all the time but I still believe it is a miracle that we have made it through unscathed.

THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR PROTECTION.

Aside from the crazy roado conditions, we have had a fantastic time here in this beautiful, hospitable country. Hope to be back and thanks again to all of you who have been so welcoming and kind to us.

Sept 11- more Signaghi

While I was busy peeling ten kilos of figs, James wire brushed and painted some old bed frames. We both really enjoyed doing something other than riding, especially since it was a help to two very kind people who we have come to like very much.

In the evening Aleksandra and Wieslaw returned from their wine tasting excursion and successful carpet shopping trip. Good choice guys!

For the electricians out there one of the attached pictures should be very eyecatching. This house is wired with cloth insulated wires that are, for the most part, being kept from touching the walls by small ceramic insulators. Interesting. A bit scary too.

Sept 11- Shopping in Signaghi

At first Danuta and Jan just told us to rest and eat today but we were very happy that they eventually some opportunities arose for us to help out a bit. I went to town with them to get groceries. I got to carry a 10 kg box of figs back for making jam. Yummy!!

They took me to a carpet shop full of beautiful hand made carpets. Out of curiosity we asked the price of the one shown in the picture: US$ 1200!

Sept 10- continued

Back at the guest house we got to meet the other two guests, Aleksandra and Wieslaw from Poland, and were served a delicious dinner followed by several rounds of the differently flavoured Chacha's which Jan and Danuta made themselves. Sooo good.

Sept 10 Signaghi !!! So beautiful.

After a wonderful buffet breakfast which even included chocolate cake we set off to Signaghi. Back in Batumi we had met an Irish couple that had stayed a few nights in Signaghi and just loved it. They had given us the contact info of a Polish guy who lives there and could possibly find us a camping spot. It turned out that the guy was away in Poland but his parents, Jan and Danuta, operated a little guest house out of his house during the summer. We were told that it would be no problem to camp on their property and we could stay for cheaper in return for some help around the house. Great! Some work would be a nice change from cycling.

It was a bit of a climb up to Signaghi but well worth it because the view of the Caucasus Mountain range was breath taking. We were not sure where exactly this guest house was so we just rolled into town to start looking. Lo and behold, the first person we talked to was Jan. He told us his son had informed them that we would be coming. We received the warmest welcome. Jan and Danuta heaped food on the table for us and later when we asked for work to earn our stay she would have nothing of it and just directed me to the hammock. Rest! 
In the evening we went for a walk around town and up to the old city walls. Once again, the view was stunning.

Sept 9- Kakheti region

It was a busy ride out of town. During a short break we noticed condensation in the plastic bag containing the freshly shelled walnuts. Since we had no cloth bag to dry the nuts in we had to opt for a pair of clean socks. Strapped on the back of the bike our two striped walnut pouches should soon be ready for eating.

We eventually reached the Kakheti region which is known for its wine production. Unlike the Okanagan valley back home, it is one of the poorer parts of the country but really beautiful. Very few houses and lots of vineyards and fields. On the road we were passed by an old little Russian car with a giant tractor wheel on the roof. The car and the wheel appeared to be almost the same size. Incredible. Unfortunately I was in no way able to get my camera out in time and snap a shot.
As the evening approached we pulled into a vineyard planning to camp in it but it just was not suitable. So we kept riding until we got to the next town hoping to camp at the gas station. We pulled over by a little restaurant and when the lady realized we were English speakers she took us over to the first table where two very European looking men were having a few bears. We were introduced to Mick and John from England. How unexpected. The two invited us for a beer. We learned that they are golf course construction specialists hired by the owner of the new four star Ambasadori Hotel to build Georgia's first golf course. They said its no problem if we wanted to camp in their machine shed. There would also be a guard on duty all night. Fantastic. They escorted us to their work site but on the way there they announced that we would not sleep in the shed but get a hotel room instead. The guard would look after Bike and Bicyclette in the shed while we get to enjoy a lovely dinner, a shower, a night in a clean room and a buffet breakfast the following morning. It rained heavily that night so we were so grateful to not be in the tent in a muddy vineyard. We had prayed for a safe, dry place to sleep. And here we are in this hotel with a gym, mini golf, and a pool for us to use while being fed delicious food. What a treat! God is so great!

THANKS SO MUCH MICK AND JOHN FOR THIS WONDERFUL RETREAT. IT WAS FUN CHATTING WITH YOU GUYS. GOOD LUCK WITH THE GOLF COURSE.

Sept 7-8 Tbilisi part 2

It was time to make another cheese cake. This time to celebrate the opening of the Fox Hostel and all the old and new friends we met here in Tbilisi.

I spent some more time shelling the many walnuts we were given by that kind family the night before we reached Tbilisi. They will make a great power snack for any barren stretches ahead.

In the evening James and I walked over to the largest orthodox church in Tbilisi for a photoshoot. Beautiful building and so huge.