BACK TO GEORGIA
So Stunning Landscape
5th August - 8th August | 2023
The next day, it was good weather again, and a nice temperature for riding. We decided to go back to Georgia as we have visited all the marked points in the North of Armenia; unfortunately, there are still some left in the South, but for another day …and maybe by then the border to Azerbaijan might be open for travellers.
This time we have chosen the small border crossing at Gogovan, Armenia to Guguti, Georgia. To our entertainment whilst waiting we witnessed an agitated lorry driver arguing around with the border staff as he had to wait for too long. We were surprised at how aggressively and loudly he argued with the officials - I would never dream of that! Well, he didn't get faster though … This border crossing with all the paperwork, x-raying some luggage, changing currencies and extending the vehicle insurance took us only 1 (!) hour. Good to know for the future!
For the night we had spotted on iOverlander a wild camping spot along the Tsalka Reservoir. The mentioned spot did not suit us, but while driving around the lake we finally found a nice and peaceful place - again with no trees around though!
The next morning we drove towards Paravani Lake. As we couldn't get any muesli yesterday in the supermarket we left without breakfast. At Gandza we saw a sign “Family Corner”, so we stopped. They serve cafes (Cappuccino!), and even better they serve breakfast. As such a lovely place, family and homemade food, we booked ourselves in for the night - at 11am! Whilst we had to wait for the room to be ready we drove back to the next bigger village to get some more cash (in Armenia and Georgia you will find a lot of cash payment!) and some cold drinks. Back at “Family Corner” (google map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/zHE5Bn3feyQA9KYo7 ), our room was ready for us, which was good for me as I was very tired as I didn't sleep a lot last night. Also, could we do our laundry - how lucky is that! Late afternoon we went downstairs into their restaurant, which was jam-packed with clients to get some food. Unfortunately, the girl didn't explain the dishes too well so we basically only got snacks ;-) especially poor hungry James! We thought a "cotelet" (like in German Kotlett) would be something like a chunk of grilled meat - it was only a meatball! A thunderstorm with heavy rain started in the evening, so it was good to be inside a cosy guesthouse!
After a very good night of sleep, shower and another delicious homemade breakfast we carried on towards the cave houses of Vardzia. As it was too hot already in the morning, we only took pictures from the distance and carried on towards Akhaltsikhe for lunch (the same place as on our first day in Georgia) and some food shopping. On the way to Zekari Pass, we passed the lovely village called Abastumani, which still had lots of buildings. Unfortunately by the time we realised that with road construction and pushy traffic, we were already out of it. So that will be a place to revisit in future. The Zekari pass was all the way up offroad, tricky in parts for me, but doable. Only dropped the bike once after I tried to manoeuvre myself out of a stony rut. We were amazed to find still little hamlets with a handful of people living there.
Shortly after the peak, we found an open area with a stunning 360° panoramic view. Here it was just, pick your camping spot :-)
Once we agreed to one we disagreed completely about the tent position due to the slopes…it was close to the point that each of us found their own place for the night! Even though it was a silent night (us), the sunset atmosphere was magic!! We were at a 2050m altitude and just above the clouds, magical! Occasionally we were worrying about bears, but there were these hamlets around, so we felt safe. Also due to the traffic on that pass, even at night time, we should be safe.
The next morning, driving down the pass was really easy, like a motorway, compared to the way up! As again no stock for breakfast, at the end of the pass we arrived in the Spa town Saime, where we found a good bakery. As James had discovered that his front bearings needed changing, we headed to Baghdati in the hope of finding a workshop where he could use the tools to do the change; we carrying a replacement set with us! Right at the entrance of the village, we found an old garage where he could do the job. 1 hour later we were again on the road.
From the village forks off the TET that suited us to get to our next destination. We checked manually that no dotted line was involved on the GPS and then we were on our way. It started nicely with asphalt, then turned into offroad - so far, so good - then into a single lane, but getting worse and more challenging, especially for Steffi. James had to take the BMW through some difficult parts. And then it came to a stop! A huge rock and a fallen tree, already on a slippy single lane. We went scouting for an alternative, but that would involve 4x river crossing and still not getting anywhere. So we will have to turn the 30km back. But first, we have to turn around the bike of James on the single track - at 36°C AND 80% humidity!! Wetting the clothes earlier in the river didn’t make any difference!! Even doing nothing makes you sweat buckets!
Back in Baghdati, we tried to find food again. Such a busy place but no restaurant (visible) to us! Somehow a taxi driver took us to a shack; James first thought it was the driver home ;-) We managed to get food, but obviously, they thought the dish of the day (sort of goulash = meat stew type) would do it for us, but Steffi was not really keen on meat. So all took longer than anticipated by the owner as they tiptoed around us to close the restaurant.
As we were pretty tired from the humidity we searched for a wild camping spot not too far. It was next to Shaori Reservoir and unfortunately again no shade around. As soon as the sun started to go down the mosquitos started their attacks!! So we went straight into the tent, but it was so hot…Pick your choice: eaten alive or get a heat stroke ;-)
The next day we headed towards Svaneti. It was not a very special landscape, but it was another hot and humid day, which my head didn't like at all!! We found a nice camp spot next to a river close to Tsageri, where I crashed on my bed as soon as the tent was up.
Are you also looking forward to seeing the famous Svaneti area? Then look out for the next blog ... but unfortunately currently I cannot say when it will be published. The reason is that I travel in severe heat daily (constantly above 32ºC) and by the time all set up for the night I am far too tired to even think about getting the laptop out ... However, I am trying on my rest days to get some work done. So please be patient, there will be blogs, but not anymore on a weekly base, but hopefully every two weeks - Inshallah!
Sidenote: Remember how far south we went in Armenia? Now there is again "war" and I guess we have been turned around as things were already cooking up...
Places | Cities:
Gandza, Akhaltsikhe, Baghadati, Tsageri.
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 16415 km
Information Border Crossings (in July 2023):
Gogovan, Armenia into Guguti, Georgia very easy.
Armenian side passport, bike documents INCL the paper of the customs.
Georgian side passport, bike documents and insurance.
Maintenance | Breakdown:
Yamaha SuperTenere 750 - change of front bearings.
Health issues:
Migraine due to high humidity combined with heat (Steffi).
Special thanks to:
Georgia to have such fantastic mountain ranges and still a lot of offroad.