Our big trip
A few thoughts and photos from our travels
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Day 17 – Kutaisi, home of the builders (still!)
12th September: Kutaisi, Georgia Kutaisi market contained all kinds of feasts for the eyes. Finally, the fruit and veg we’ve been looking for in Georgia! Despite the abundance of great produce, we’d found it much harder to come by than in Azerbaijan until now. We picked up plums, home dried prunes and almonds as a…
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Day 16 – Buses, buses, buses
11th September: Telavi, Georgia to Kutaisi, Georgia I shouldn’t complain but today is not the morning I feel like a 3-hour marshrutka ride to Tbilisi and then another bus onwards to Kutaisi! I’ve barely slept, hayfever is troublesome, I got a nasty reaction to mosquitos, and have also picked up some sort of head cold…
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Day 15 – Wines from the qvevri
10th September: Telavi, Georgia A slightly frustrating start to the day trying to figure out why every time I fixed one thing with the blog, 3 others would break! Maybe it’s working now, although with slightly iffy and very unplanned formatting. It’s probably just me being ill and confused. Breakfast of tea, walnuts, plums, and…
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Day 14 – WiFi dogs
9th September: Sighnaghi, Georgia to Telavi, Georgia Up early for the only daily marshrutka to Telavi, which was 20 Lari as opposed to 80 for a taxi. The ride was generally full, with one man praying at every chapel we passed and blessing me whenever I sneezed. The allergic reaction seems to have resolved as…
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Day 13 – Over the border
8th September: Sheki, Azerbaijan to Sighnaghi, Georgia Having packed last night, we had one final breakfast in the garden before leaving. Ilqar even picked us some fresh apples! We were at the Karvansaray at 9:55 and Salman was already waiting for us. He gave us some more freshly picked apples and pears from his garden…
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Day 12 – Sweet treats
7th September: Sheki, Azerbaijan Today was a chilled day. Again, we had breakfast in the garden at half 8 with tea and breathed in to the sounds of Sheki. It was the first time I’d needed an extra layer so far on this trip, as morning air was refreshingly crisp. The morning was spent writing,…
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Day 11 – Silk road Sheki
6th September: Sheki, Azerbaijan We asked for breakfast in the homestay, and they were able to cook up a vegan feast for us. We awoke to the smell of bread baking and as well as a whole fresh loaf, we were treated to an apple version of powidla (kind of a caramelised fruit jam), cucumber,…
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Day 10 – On the road at last
5th September: Baku, Azerbaijan to Sheki, Azerbaijan We left the hostel to wind howling through the city streets. At least that’ll clear the smog for a day! Getting to the bus station was an adventure. After catching the metro for the first time – cheap (about 22p to go anywhere), but doesn’t really go anywhere…
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Day 9 – Lost and found in Qobustan!
4th September: Baku, Azerbaijan We got Kaja’s bag back!!! This evening, we went to airport and, as promised and after a lengthy set of security checks, the airport staff handed us back the bag. The relief hasn’t quite sunk in yet. Earlier in the day, we’d begun by heading out of town along the F1…
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Day 8 – The ‘Expo’ City
3rd September: Baku, Azerbaijan Neither of us slept much and what we had was fitful. There was also seemingly a car crash followed by screaming right outside at around 3am, which sounded horrific and certainly didn’t aid our state of mind. We were slow getting going again, spending time in the chay garden on the…