5 May - Yemek Menusu (Turkey) to Batumi (Georgia)

Breakfast was ready at 7.30am (but I will not write what it was as it would take too long).

Volvo 495 (Titan) 1951 

Our hotelWe were on the road by 8.20am to the Altinpere Valdidi Milli Parki to visit the Sumela Monastery.If I see nothing else comparable on this trip then this will have been enough as it is truly magnificent. Just to see the monastery in the cliff face was fantastic then dulled somewhat when I realise how I was to get up there to go inside the monastery. (There was a road access but it was quite long and steep in parts, probably worse to walk up that the zig-zag path up the face off the bluff. There was a minibus available to take but that would be cheating. Seeing the monastery come closer when climbing up was more invigorating.

The monastery is 300 metres high, founded in 375 to 395AD, restored by the Russians in 1916 to 1918. From 1860 it was used by monks and part was a guesthouse. (CHECK FACTS)The frescoes date from the 18th Century.

Looking up

The entrance

Looking from the guard house

They wanted a photo with me

Inside the monastery

Frescoe

Frescoe

Frescoe

Dining Room

 The transfer through the border posts from Turkey to Georgia was completed in just over 30 minutes with no problems and many smiles on the Georgian side. We were met by out local guide, Sophie, at the Georgian side of the border and she will remain with us through Georgia, Armenia and our return through Georgia to the  border with Azerbaijan.
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I must not forget the sheep on the road!

Heading towards Batumi, still on the Black Sea coast, we arrived at the Vanilla Hotel in Batumi at 5pm. At 8pm we went out to a traditional Georgian meal in a disguised restaurant (boat). The meal was interesting; the wine was cheap (a lot was drunk); the singers were good; the local dancing by local people in the restaurant with us was even better, very graceful and energetic; We were shown us how to adapt Australian dancing to Georgian music and, to top it all Anita, who was being bothered by one of the waiters ‘who loved her’ told him that I was her ‘papa’ to which he took one look and bolted (I did not think that I was as scary as all that).

Running to dinner (starving)

Dinner at last