September 4, 2023
Kobuleti
We got away some time after nine this morning and first headed to the Batumi Cathedral of the Mother of God which we missed yesterday. It was originally built as a Catholic church between 1898 and 1903. During the Soviet era it was used as a high-voltage laboratory! In 1989 the church was transferred to the Georgian Orthodox Church. The Roman Catholics in Batumi now use the Church of the Holy Spirit, a modern structure consecrated in 2000
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After that it was some chaotic Georgian traffic until we got near the entrance to the Botanical Gardens. Here we had a short but stiff climb up to the entrance following the route suggested by Komoot. Unfortunately Komoot got it wrong and there was no way through so it was back down the hill and then a climb up to a tunnel. In an attempt to avoid the tunnel we aborted another climb up a side road and headed back to the tunnel which turned out to be not too bad after all.
After a nice downhill we started a stiff climb up to the Petra Fortress. This wasn't worth looking at so we carried on.
A few kilometers later we called it a day. It was just after one o'clock but we were slightly shell shocked by the Georgian drivers. We had heard that they have an appetite for risk but the narrow and winding road over the hill had left us feeling a bit shaken.
So we checked onto a local guest house. Simple but clean and the owners son spoke reasonably good English which meant we didn't have to resort to Google Translate. Luka, the son, is an ex-rugby player and told me I look like Percy Montgomery, the fullback for the Springboks when they won the 2007 Rugby World Cup. I pointed out that I was far less muscular, something with which he readily agreed.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup kicks off in four days time. One advantage of being in Georgia during September is that we are in another rugby mad country. Georgia are not in the same pool as the Springboks and, as they are unlikely to make the knockout rounds, the chances of them being our opponents at any point in the competition is low.
Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 976 km (606 miles)
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