Monday, June 3 - Day 14
Waking up in the morning, I walked to the bus station - bidding farewell not only to Borjomi, but also to Florian. I was there well ahead of departure, to capture seat 1C on the bus. Again, someone occupied 1B, but it was still better than being cramped in the back in "economy".
It was again 260 kilometers ahead and we covered this in over 5 hours. Not a lot of notable events happened, except I spotted the camping car of the couple from Vorarlberg (the ones who rode us down from Juta) overtaking us - small world, well, small country. There is actually a shorter road to Batumi over the mountains, which I had crossed in 2016 coming from Batumi, but apparently, that road was still covered with snow. Now we had to back-track, i.e. ride toward the east, then north, only then did we catch the road towards the coast. Works were ongoing on a new highway, a very much welcome event, given that the largest traffic jam was caused by cows.
We reached Batumi, the town which is mix of three worlds - there is a modern, Dubai-style seafront, then a Russian-style resort place, then also a chaotic large-sized Georgian city. It was the port that I arrived to in Georgia on my trip in 2016, after a four-day crossing from Odessa in Ukraine. Back then, I only spent an hour or so early in the morning , as was keen on starting my bike ride in Georgia - after a sea crossing that was double as long as originally advertised. Now I had planned not less than three nights in town.
Riding into Batumi, I had a good view of the modern seafront, which expanded quite a bit in the previous eight years. Remember, after my to the airport in Kutaisi, they were trying to sell me (and everyone else) apartments here.
Most (but not all...) tourists stay in the Dubai-style high-rises, one finds inexpensive accommodation right next to the sea, with bars, restaurants, theme parks - quite touristy. I chose that option as well and booked an apartment.
It was quite hot when I disembarked and rode a local bus to the area of my hotel. There were four towers in my complex - and each one had a different path to the entrance, with lots of construction going on., so it was a bit of a challenge of finding the correct way. The next challenge was finding the right reception, there was one for hotel rooms, another one for groups - but where is the check-in for apartment? There was a colorful mix of tourists - some very conservative ones from Arabic countries, hiding all they had, then Western European or American ones and probably Ukrainian ladies, showing all they had and even more. Everyone running around, with suitcases, some headed from the beach, others coming from there.
Finally, I found out that there was a small check-in office for apartments on the first floor, a young lady of Turkish origin, with nails about 5 centimeters long was typing on a keyboard and she checked me in, without as much as looking up from the screen. She turned friendlier when I asked if it was hard to type with such fingernails, she smiled and said that she had gotten used to it - and assigned a room on the 39th floor, the highest available on the 50-story building.
The room, which cost €20 per night, was a very nice, it had its own kitchen and even a washing machine, which I immediately used to get clean clothes. The view of the sea from high up was stunning.
Katarzyna had also just arrived to Batumi, we agreed to meet up at the Neptune Fountain, just in front of the theater. I took a Bolt there, for less than €2.
We then walked to the beach and went in for a swim.
We then went for a walk in the old downtown and found a very nice place to have dinner. There was a glass window to the kitchen and after dinner, I bowed in front of the cooks as a sign of my appreciation, they in turn smiled in appreciation of this gesture.
The same inexpensive Bolt rode me back to my hotel.
Yet again, this was a day, of which I spent the most part of commuting...still, I was glad to have made it safe and sound to Batumi.