Day 20 started out with high hopes after our wonderful time with Timur and friends… and went downhill quickly. As we were gearing up Akmed again pops out of nowhere with freshly-made loaves of bread (still warm!). We scoffed them down with a banana and hit the road, we were hoping to make up some of the lost time yesterday and given it was Friday night, aiming to find a city where we might find a bar.
Ten minutes later Amand is sitting inside a Russian police car. Threats of keeping his drivers licence, alcohol tests because of pivo breath (at 9am??!), and massive fines are bandied about. We stay cool and Steve and Sam schmooze the other two cops while the grumpy “bad” cop keeps telling Amand he’s going to take his licence. The schmoozing works and the “good” cops talks the “bad” cop down off his angry perch. A compromise (and special Russian experience) results, Amand is offered the opportunity to bribe a Russian cop. An opportunity like this cannot be turned down, this is a story for the grandkids!! So the next step, negotiating the bribe amount, Amand works hard and gets them down by 80% reduction from the original request. Job done, and we are on our way, licence in hand but wallet slightly lighter!
We try to shake off the negative experience and roll forwards to Mt Elbrus, the highest mountain in Russian at 5,642m high. This is a stunning mountain, jutting out from the surrounding landscape. Steve and Amand take the gondola and then rickety single chair lift up to 4,000m while Sam tries his hardest to ride his bike as high up the mountain as they can.
The target is Vladikavkaz, a Russian city near the Caucasian mountains, surely we could find a bar or two on a Friday night. Well, you’d be wrong, everything in Vladikavkaz shuts at 11pm. Say what!?! By the time we’d got sorted in the hotel and had some food everything was closing down. In short, our lack of research failed us this time. Maybe tomorrow could be better for a night out…
The aim was Tbilisi with Georgia on our minds (especially Steve who couldn’t stop singing it). We left the dud town of Vladikavkaz and headed south into the stunning Caucasian mountains, hoping to make Tbilisi by early afternoon. The border might be the coolest border we’ve ever seen, the valley is surrounded by shear cliff faces (you can see why Russian want to hold this as their border as there’s no way in). We had our fingers crossed for a smooth border crossing, and our wishes were granted, smooth and quick as we were allowed to skip a line of about 100 cars as we were on bikes. Super cool!
So we were on target for Tbilisi, but then on narrow winding mountain road we hit a traffic jam, awww c’mon!! There is a Red Bull running race causing a full road block. Looking for a way to not sit in the baking sun, we see a gravel road on the other side of the river, some crazy adventures and mishaps later we emerge back on the main road in the middle of the line of traffic that had been released from the road block. Bugger! The only saving grace is the absolutely amazing mountain pass on the Georgian Military Highway that we have to traverse, it is stunning! What is not quite so stunning is the Georgia style of driving, hold on to your seats ladies and gentlemen, there is some craziness brewing!! Steve encountered a truck overtaking a truck on a blind corner going uphill, and had inches on each side to spare…
Eventually we made it to Tbilisi and found the hotel we’d booked after getting lost three times. It was 7pm, actually it was 8pm as we’d lost an hour as well. So much for the early afternoon arrival. It didn’t matter, we were pumped for a night out and Tbilisi was the place to offer it. The vibe in Tbilisi is super cool, and the information we got was that some bars don’t really open until 11pm or midnight, and that going home early “is not a thing” in Tbilisi. We went to an Irish bar, usually not something we’d be keen on but the reviews were good. Great choice! There was a live band and the guitarist was A.MA.ZING! A cross between Prince, Mark Knoffler, Slash and Angus Young. Steve was so entranced we thought he was going to explode with joy. The night involved backgammon, running into people we’d met on the road, dancing and generally being amazed by the party life of Tbilisi. We’d found what we were looking for; we finally made it back to the hotel… at 6am.
Day 22: HALF WAY DAY! : We were on such a buzz that somehow despite going to bed at 6am we were up for breakfast and ready to hit the road and aimed for the Azerbaijan border.
If the Azerbaijan border guards are anything go to by, the people here will be super friendly. Even the first sign after the crossing said “welcome good luck”!
We needed it. The road was horrible and the lack of sleep caught up with us, so we stopped at the first hotel we could find, in Balakan, just 12km over the border. Only to discover a nail in Amand’s back tyre. Bugger! We forgot about it and went for a swim in the hotel pool.
We’re super excited to reach Baku and the Caspian Sea tomorrow!!