(^46) Pazar, Turkey – Batumi, Georgia – 72 kilometres
D-day arrived, and in great anticipation Ernest and I packed up and biked to the
immigration office. At least the weather was in our favour as the day became sunny
and clear. But, first, two obstacles awaited: getting out of Turkey with our expired visas
and then praying we could purchase a Georgian visa at the border. Again, images of
being stuck in no man’s land worried me.
We slinked into the Turkish border, and in true Turkish style, were offered a seat and a
cup of tea while our dilemma was discussed. The helpful border officials pointed out we
had overstayed our visa by 23 days and were given two options. We could either pay
300 lire and be allowed into Turkey after three months or pay 81 lire and be banned for
five years. Considering our finances, we opted for the latter. The whole process was
considerably easier than expected, and I will always love the Turkish for that.
Relieved, we set off to the Georgian immigration, where we discovered one could
indeed purchase a visa on arrival. Phew, the visa gods were indeed good to us! I
almost kissed the ground!
We couldn’t believe our luck and were all smiles biking the 15 kilometres into Batumi,
our first town in Georgia, via a highly scenic stretch of the Black Sea. I drew a few
Georgian lari in Batumi and celebrated by taking a room.
leana
(Leana)
#1