A journey to Mukhaestate

10th July 2010

Today Aaron and I arrived in Mukhaestate, Georgia, after a very long journey from Kefalonia, Greece. The warm welcome we received from Olegi, Mzia and all the famliy made the trip worth while. On the 1st July Aaron and I caught a bus from Ratzakli, Kefalonia to the port Poros where we took a ferry to mainland Greece and another bus to Athens. We spent two nights in Athens, so that Aaron could collect his passport with his Indian visa thankfully granted. Although Athens is renowned for it's history and culture and for being the seat of democracy, Aaron and I were not so enamoured with the city. It was covered in graffiti, dirty and we saw thieves being arrested and prostitutes on street corners in the middle of the day. Having said that the new acropolis museum was very well designed, the archaeological museum really interesting and we found a charming restaurant for dinner. We stayed in the Ionis hotel which was more luxurious than we had become accustom to and served a hearty breakfast.

From Athens Aaron found us a ferry to Chios, a Greek Island very close to Turkey. Of course on the day we travelled, the day after Aaron brought the ferry ticket, the Athens metro to the port was closed, so we had to get a slower bus option. After Aaron had reassured me how close it was, we ended up running down the port carrying our backpacks in order to hop onto the ferry with seconds to spare! I was glad we were travelling light and left our blankets, fleeces and other items we no longer needed in Kefalonia. We arrived in Chios at midnight to find the harbour buzzing with noisy night-life. We spent two nights in Chios, where we saw another archaeological museum, the ruins of a castle wall and wandered through the old streets inside the walls. It was strange to see the juxtaposition of flashy, modern bars lining the harbour populated by mostly Greek tourists and only a few steps further back were narrow winding roads with crumbling houses of locals.

Last Monday we boarded a much smaller ferry from Chios to Cesme, Turkey. From there we got a bus to Izmir, then another that arrived in Selcuk mid afternoon. After my siesta I ventured out of the Boomerang hostel, about 5pm to find it was still incredibly hot so I only took a short walk. By 7pm it was no longer scorching so I tore my husband away from his computer game of dwarf fortress in order to stroll the city before our hostel BBQ. The following day we visited the ruins of the ancient city Ephesus. It was surreal to see remains so well preserved with no new buildings surrounding them. We walked through a church that Mary is said to have once visited, sat on the seats of a huge amphitheatre and saw the beautiful architecture of the front of a library. We strolled up a street that used to be lined with shops and houses and is now lined with ruins of a bath house, fountains, statues and mosaics. By midday the place was flooded with people (as it probably used to be) and was sweltering hot, so we started making our way back to the hostel, dodging from one piece of shade to the next.

After two nights in Selcuk we searched for a bus in order to make the next step of our journey. Michael 'my friend' (as everyone in Turkey seems to be) found us a bus all the way from the nearby town of Kucudasi to Hopa, which is a city in Turkey near to the border with Georgia. After a short bus to Kucudasi we boarded our very hot coach at 1pm. The outside temperature reached a blistering 38C (100F), inside was not as intense but the AC was not very effective so it was uncomfortably hot. It took us about 27 hours to reach the border since the bus was constantly stopping to pick people up and drop them off. I was tired and frustrated, my feet and ankles had swollen up, but we finally made it to Georgia!

At the border there was a small gaggle of people waiting to go through, without separation for locals as I don't think they get many tourists. Although the short line was not very orderly when we did get to the front we didn't have any trouble obtaining visas. From the border we got a short taxi ride to Batumi, in which I was amazed that the taxi didn't fall apart or run into another vehicle or cow in that limited amount of time! Apparently cows roam free during the day and don't have any concern about standing in the middle of the road while vehicles hurtle past. We stayed in Batumi for two nights to give us enough time to recover. We experienced lovely Georgian dumplings and fast food. We went to a pebbled beach where we could feel the cool sea breeze and hear the crackling sound of the stones grinding on each other as waves swept in. We declined to swim in the black sea today as a line of litter had collected by the shore and it was not as appetising as the Ionian sea which we had the pleasure of in Kefalonia. In the evening we rode on a big wheel which gave a great view of the sparkling city lights.

After trying several phone numbers Aaron managed to make contact with Mzia and Olegi, through their friend down the street. They were thrilled to hear we had arrived. Today we got a marshrutka (a falling apart mini bus) to Kobuleti. It appears there are no car inspections in Georgia, there are no seatbelts (and if there are people don't use them), windscreens are cracked all the way across and pieces held together with gaffa tape. There were traffic lights in Batumi and occasional signs for directions, but otherwise I haven't seen any road guidance or restrictions. We got another marshutka to Olegi's house in Maukaestate where we were greeted and then toasted 'gaumarjous' at a supra (dinner).