September 21, 2023
Bagratashen
Another day, another country. Armenia is the 23rd country in which we have cycle toured although we didn't expect that we would get here when this trip started. We (read that as me in particular) are still hoping that Azerbaijan reopens its borders as scheduled on the second of October. In the meantime the plan is to cycle to Yerevan, the capitol of Armenia, by which stage we should have a better idea as to what our options are.
We were hoping for less traffic than yesterday but the first ten kilometers out of Marneuli were even worse. For the first time on this trip I allowed my frustration to get the better of me and I ended up giving the finger to a few drivers.
Luckily help was at hand in the form of a large herd of farm animals taking over the road for a few kilometers. I assumed they were being moved to different pastures with the changing of the seasons. By the time the road had cleared we had escaped the worst of the traffic although it was still heavier than we would have liked.
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The traffic eased after this and we were able to take in the countryside around us. Georgia is surprisingly flat here and it was obvious where the Armenian border was.
As we approached Sadakhlo, the last town on the Georgian side, a couple of cycle tourists caught up to us. Assad and Marie from Germany have been on the road for about a year having looped through most of Europe and wintering in the Balkans. Unsurprisingly, they had similar views of Georgia to us and were looking forward to Armenia and Iran thereafter although they were worried that Assad, who is a German citizen but was born in Pakistan, might have difficulties at the Armenian border because of that country's antagonism with his birth country.
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Our border crossing was quick and painless. Once again the Georgian passport control official extremely friendly, completely at odds with most of his countrymen with whom we have interacted. We spent more time chatting about the Rugby World Cup than he spent on our passports. Once through on the Armenian side we waited a bit for Marie and Assad but they hadn't come through the Georgian side yet. I hope they didn't have any issues.
We have booked into a simple hotel frequented by the truck drivers about a kilometer from the border. The local ATM wasn't being kind to me but I was able to exchange some Georgian Lari for Armenian Dram at a forex booth in a supermarket. Hopefully I will find an ATM tomorrow that will accept my cards.
Today's ride: 31 km (19 miles)
Total: 1,484 km (922 miles)
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