Marneuli

September 20, 2023

After polishing off the last of the bacon and eggs we headed eastwards out of the old city. On the way we stopped at one of the attractions we didn't get to yesterday, the Abanotubani or the ancient bath district. Tbilisi was known for its sulfuric baths which apparently are one of the reasons why the capital was moved from Mtskheta to here.

The exterior of the Orbeliani Baths, built in 1893, is decorated in an Islamic Andalusian style. It is one of five operating bath houses in Tblisi.

The Royal Bath House. By all accounts the interior is quite luxurious.

After that it was ten kilometers of rather busy traffic until we reached the highway heading to Azerbaijan. Here we had a safe raised sidewalk on which to cycle but that came to an end as soon as we started the climb up to Kumisi. From this point onwards the traffic was relentless and we could hardly hear ourselves think.

At the top of the climb of about two hundred and sixty meters a cycle tourist caught up with us.

Phillipe has cycled from his home in Grenoble in France and is heading to Yerevan in Armenia. He only speaks French so our conversation was rather limited.

At the bottom of the downhill after Kumisi we spied two more cycle tourists having their lunch in a bus shelter. It was Shaun and Emily from the UK. We had a long natter with them. It was great to have an "real" English conversation with someone else other than ourselves. They had started in Florence, Italy, and were on the last day of their tour with Emily flying back to the UK from Tblisi and Shaun hoping to carry on to Azerbaijan if the border reopens. The border is scheduled to reopen in twelve day's time and there has been no news yet of the closure being extended further so there is a glimmer of hope for him and us. Weirdly, I forgot to get a photo of them.

We had our lunch of leftover bread and butter in a park in Koba at the top of the second climb.

The traffic eased off a bit after Koba and the downhill run into Marneuli was more pleasant than the first three quarters of the ride. So pleasant that we missed a turn and had to backtrack a kilometer or two.

We are spending tonight in the last hotel before the border which lies thirty kilometers away. Supper was in the hotel restaurant where I had a laugh filled interaction with the Azeri waiters. One wasn't charmed about us heading to Armenia and, if I understood him correctly, said that Azeris shoot Armenians. Nevertheless it all took place with lots of smiles and laughter so hopefully it wasn't too serious.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at each others throats again recently due to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region with a few dead on both sides. However latest news is that they kissed and made up this morning and have come to an agreement on better managing the situation. Let's hope it lasts.

Today's ride: 43 km (27 miles)
Total: 1,453 km (902 miles)

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