Russia

Vladikafkaz -what a great name for as town. Sounds like an exotic drink or a mad dance or something.

Such a lot has happened today. First of all, it was insurance. When we came through the border yesterday, they were insistent that we had all the papers that we needed, and shooed us out of he border post after giving us a document which of course we cant read as its all in Cyrillic script. We thought this might be insurance but it wasn’t so we needed to get some urgently across town so went to what people told us was an insurance office but although people could understand us, they didn't know what to do and thought we had been inn an accident. Eventually a really nice girl arrived who spoke great English. Urns out she was a mate of one of the office people and they;d phoned her for help so she turned up. What a godsend she was. Not only did she find out exactly what we needed but did all the translation for us, and then led us out of town and put us on the right road for Astrakhan. She had apparently gone to the international school in Barcelona, where she;d learnt English and had been a professional tennis player before starting to study again. It was exceptionally kind of her and she really helped us out. Many thanks Enna.

Thirty minutes later, we got stopped for the first time. A police roadblock for a full on document check; a bit of nervous moment as stories about Russian police abound, so it was just as well we had insurance . They were OK though despite looking scary and the other police waving and blowing kisses at us from the gun post across the road also lightened things somewhat. But that set the tone for the whole day and we were stopped four more times, once so the police could just chat about our bikes and our trip, and three more times for document checks. They clearly like their admin in Russia as our passports and vehicle documents have been transcribed about 12 times already and we've only been here a day.

Progress today was a bit slow. I didn't feel great, it was hot again, and road signs are not that plentiful. Trouble is, every time we stopped to check the satnav or map, passers by and vehicles stop to chat and have their pictures taken with us and the bikes. Super friendly people but is is very hard to get anywhere unnoticed. Every car toots and waves and again, people hang out of the window, call and and call out to us. Fantastic genuine people.

It must be a bit odd for them though as we obviously have a high novelty value. the border has only just opened for non Georgia and non CIS citizens, so we are amongst some of the first foreigners to come this way, and moreover on motorbikes. But they must wonder what is going on because at least seven foreigners on bikes ( six Brits and one displaced Aussie) have now passed through this region in the last few days. A bit of the old bus syndrome – none at all then loads at once.

But prize of the day for chatting must go to a Kazakhstan policeman who stopped to 'help us in Chechniya and insisted on taking us into Grozny for an impromptu sight seeing tour. We didn't even realise we were in Chechniya, mostly because we couldn't read the road signs, so it was quite a surprise to discover our actual; location. Same thing happened in Dagestan; we ended up there too because we were unable to read the roadsigns. But people in both places were great and really friendly.

The policeman was clearly used to getting his won way as he didn't give us any choice but to accompany him, but his heart was in the right place and he was a nice man. We also saw several thing that we would never have seen otherwise, or might have seen but not known what they were. But it is clear that from now on, any top we make must be out of sight and when we are cornered, we must be a little more as

 

 

The funniest thing that happened to day, also in Grozny was a car tooting his horn at Nadine who had inadvertently stopped in the right filter lane. When she pulled over to let him pass, he handed her two ice creams then drove off without a word but a huge friendly wave. We had to stop and eat them almost immediately as they were melting, and were besieged by people from a nearby bus queue who wanted to chat and take photos.

We were eventually led out of the city by an off duty policeman who put us on the right road towards the Caspian Sea. We passed through natural gas fields and associated towns ( all illegible and unpronounceable to us) and are currently wild camping in a field up on the hill over looking the flames. Sounds nasty but it is quite surreal and very peaceful – except for the giant grasshoppers, and cicadas that keep jumping on the tents.

Bikes nipped along well today and are better for yesterday's titivating session; tomorrow we hope make Astrakhan.

Russia day 2

Up and on the road early and made good progress, Fared bit better not getting stopped or waylaid too much. Roads were not too busy but they were very bumpy. Hot again with a hot wind blowing. Rode through flyblown towns with nothing much going on except old ladies collecting litter from the grass verges and cows doing their thing. Although these towns have seen better days and nobody really goes there – and I suspect that many of the residents rarely if ever leave – there is most definitely a strong sense of civic duty in each place and they are surprisingly well kept, if a bit derelict and tired. Good on them; we could learn a lot from these people about self respect and responsibility.

Were stopped twice by police within sight of each other and the second one quizzed us about Chechniya, what we had been doing there, and drugs. He didn't seem at all bothered when we told him that we hadn't even realised we were in Chechniya until somebody told us, but it was very nice anyway, and no, we hadn't got any drugs.

In the afternoon, we stopped at a garage to buy water, and there on the forecourt was a woman with a leech on her leg, draining nasty stuff from a horribly swollen leg. It was one of those fascinatingly disgusting sights that you can't help but take note of. She didn't seem at all bothered though, and chatted to me quite happily about where e were going and where we'd come from while the leech gorged itself on her infected body fluids.

Two boys from Dagestan then appeared and wanted their pictures taken with us. We obliged of course and answered all their questions about where we were from, how long it had taken, where we were going and how fast the bikes were.They were most impressed we had visited Dagestan, although like Chechniya, we hadn't meant too.

We were were making good time until the road disappeared and we had to detour 150kms. Most annoying and a bit of a blow because it really put us back. The road was almost deserted too, so we could relax a bit while riding. We slowed down at one stage for the obligatory herd of cows, and as I passed, one which was standing on a mound lifted its tail and weed. Unfortunately, it caught the wind and I copped a full face of cows pee. And m mouth was open at the time.Very amusing to others but it tasted awful.

There was very little vegetation along this road either, so looking for a wild camp spot was difficult, but we eventually found one in the sand out of sight from the road.

People are noticeably different now – much more Asiatic than European. Travelling by land as opposed to air allows you to pick up such subtle changes, yet it is still surprising when you suddenly clock the differences..

Day three – still trying to get to flipping Astrakhan.

This Russia place is huge – overwhelmingly so, and much bigger than you can imagine; what looks a reasonable daily distance on a map means absolutely nothing in terms of getting to places. It also doesn't help that the roads keep disappearing. And we're talking major roads, not just tracks.

It happened again today too. After getting back onto the intended route after our detour of yesterday, the road suddenly came to an end again although cars still drove over the very rough terrain at full pelt – terrain that was difficult even on a bike. But it would have taken us too long, so we back tracked and found the better road that people told us about. However, that too was an unmade gravel and sand track for a good 10kms, then intermittent tarmac and rough track for a few more. I fell off and snapped the exhaust, but not a problem as it still works. Nadine, being a caring health professional, went straight into the ABC of biker incidents - airway, breathing, camera. Cow.

Met a lovely girl in a local shop this morning who wanted to know all about where we were going. She invited us for chai which we declined because we needed to get going, so she bought us a souvenir of her town instead. A dragon money box from Kalmikya. Then an old man joined in – he wanted to know about the bikes and where we were sleeping. He was quite alarmed when we told him we were camping because of the spiders and snakes in the bush. But we'd already worked that out from the various spider and snake holes. Although the element of surprise remains, its changed. They're no longer surprised at where we're going but now its surprise at where we've come from; London must seem the other side of the world top them, and its getting that way a bit for us too.

We spent most of today riding relentless straight roads through really boring flat featureless landscape. Its like those pictures of the prairies that you see – wide open spaces and big skies but little else, and it is quite a soul destroying the ride. But a notable sight was a family all on a Chinese motorcycle – mum, dad and toddler, all enthusiastically waving at us as we approached and dad raising the beer can from which he was drinking while riding as we passed. Classic.

It also doesn't help that Russian signs are woefully inaccurate when it comes to distance. One sign will say 300kms to a place, yet another 20 kms further on will say 350 – to the same place. Maybe its as the crow flies, but we reckon its a left over from the Cold War – domestic sabotage to foil any would be western invaders, and much cheaper than WMD.

Finally made it to Astrakhan though and as usual, arrived in peak hour with everybody staring at us and jamming the traffic. We are now exceptionally filthy and the bikes are tatty, so much so that even a beggar in the traffic refrained for asking us for anything but instead tried to talk to us about where we'd come from. The lights changed before we could answer though, so that was that.

So we decided to try and make the border tonight and were doing quite well until my bike started to play up in traffic, coughing and stalling. Reached the outskirts of town but then conked to a halt, right outside a house. Spent about 90 mins going through the electrical and fuel system logically but couldn't trace the problem. Not the spark, not the carb, not the in-line fuel filter or the kill switch. Wouldn't even fire when kick started, although the ignition fired every time. Even had the man from the house helping us but to no avail. So we left the bikes in his garden overnight and he took us to a nearby hotel.

The woman at the hotel was rather alarmed at our appearance – her hotel is in the back streets of Astrakhan and we were covered in sand, dust and grease from working on the bikes, and she became a bit suspicious when we didn't have enough cash to stay ( its costing about £30.00 for both of us) and she wouldn't take a card. But a local man said something to her and she relaxed a bit . Garden man also drove Nadine to a cashpoint to get some money while I stayed and chatted to the grandmother who threw a whole load of white powder over me. Turns out it was an insect repellent to sort out the swarms of horrible little midge things that are everywhere. And it was far more effective than Deet.And it tasted better.

So tomorrow we have to look for a mechanic to help us. It could be the valves as we've excluded everything else We shall see.

Day Four

So today we did what we've done for the last three weekends – had bikes repaired. Started off at the car mechanic behind the garden man's house. They tried but couldn't help so we ended up at a boxing cum bike repair project, where a whole gang of young lads worked on my bike. Although we said we thought it was a valve problem, they clearly didn't believe us and so went through it themselves - before triumphantly announcing it was a valve problem. They were not only caked but also bent so they bought some more, and also welded the exhaust that I snapped yesterday. Then they cooked us lunch, gave us chai, bought us a bag of fruit and chocolate, took us on a motorcycle tour of Astrakhan – and wouldn't take any money for anything. We tried several times to pay them, but they were having none of it, but then asked for some 'British coins because they are very foreign and we won't ever see them here. We want to know what pfund ( pound) looks like because it is from London and London is cool'. They were chuffed with the pound coins and loose change we found in our bags.

It is quite surprising how kind people are here. Its not put on or played up, but they genuinely seem to want to help solve problems and difficulties. The people in the first garage were delighted that we'd called in on them, and although they couldn't help us, we were there for about an hour, during which time they chatted and plied us with chai and coffee. And when the truck came to take us to the bike garage, they all came out to shake our hands and wish us well.

We are just riding our bikes, and happen to be doing so through their towns, but foreigners on bikes - particularly women – just don't come their way very often, so our appearance amuses and intrigues, and they are fascinated that we would want to wander away from our homes. We've been called “ crazy womans”, “ super womans” and today “yes yes womans” – accompanied by a thumbs up meaning “ good on yer”, which amused us both. The concept of travel just isn't what they do yet its nothing to do with wealth, but more about their own sense of belonging to where they live, a sort of “ I live here, why would I want to go somewhere else?” type thing. But there are many people in the west like that too. Nothing wrong with it, just a different way of thinking.

It was astonishingly hot today too 43 degrees and clouds of really annoying midges. Nothing seems to thwart those little buggers and they fly up your nose, down your throat and land on your skin. They really are such a nuisance, and that was one of the reasons we're staying in a guest house tonight – midge free. Having endured them all day, there was no way we were going to camp with them tonight.

The whole of this bit of Russia is very low lying and brackish water flows quite a way in land from the Caspian Sea and Astrakhan is surrounded by amazing flooded fields and woodland. in the evening light, the reflections in water and misty defraction of light through the trees looks just like a Turner painting.

Our spin around the city was interesting too. Scooters can nip about easily and the traffic was light, so the youths took us to various tourist spots and a tattoo parlour run by a friend, a where we were given a tee shirt each. Goodo; something clean to put on! And Astrakhan of course sits astride the the mighty Volga River, another sight to tick off the list as being seen.

We are now holed up in a guest house about 10kms from the Kazak border. To get here, we had to cross the oddest bridge ever – a mulberry harbour type effort, stretching across a big river. we were stopped going onto it by police but as we were being led by Egor and another mechanic, we were allowed to pass without inquisition.Hoever,  I was told not to take photos. Not sure what that was all about; it was a rusty buckled old bridge spanning an inconsequential rural river. and anyway, the Uzbekistani truck in front of us was having such trouble negotiating it and looked like it was going to topple in, that the camera came out again once the policeman turned his attention to the next vehicle. Uunfortunately for me, the truck stayed on the bridge but he did ground the rear end as he drove off.

Crossing into Kazakhstan...

This is brief update by Gordon on behalf of the Gobi Gals...

Since their last update on Tuesday 5th June, when they crossed into Russia, they have made good progress - well, except for some more repairs to Belle's scoot engine!  Riding into Astrakhan, on the Northern coast of the Caspian Sea, Belle's bike conked out - all possible checks proved hopeless.  Leaving her scoot in the safe keeping of a local chap - leaving it for the night in his front garden - they made it to a nearby local hotel... 

The next day they were taken, with her ailing bike, to a project for local boys - which was half boxing club & half motorbike mechanic's workshop.  The problem was quickly diagnosed as the valves needing adjustment.  They boys at the club not only sorted this they bought Belle & Nads a large bag of groceries & cooked them some lunch (fish to Belle's horror!! But, quickly replaced with chicken which she can eat!).  Several hours of labour, shopping & lunch amounted to the total sum of - no charge at all!! Once again the kindness of strangers came to their rescue...

As time was getting on the GG's spent a second night in a hotel close to Astrakhan.  The latest update from them on Sunday 10th June at 12.30pm Russian time (9.30am UK time) is that they're waiting behind just 4 cars to cross in Kazakhstan.  Once through the border they'll be on the road to the nearby city of Atyrau...

They spent two nights this week wild camping for the first time on this trip.  The weather was kind to them as it was warm but a little windy.  They found Russian fields to make excellent campsites!

We're in Russia!!!!! Yaay.

*** Having a few picture posting problems. Got a signal but pics are taking ages. Sorry!***

Finally made it this afternoon, crossing the border from Georgia at Kazbegi. Had no problems at all and the people there were really nice, even filling in our forms for us. Ok so we might have signed something important away, but at least we're in. The delays of the last week have been really stressful and today's progress was just what we needed.

We left  Mtakheta this morning and headed straight up the Georgian Military Highway, due north (I think). It was a straightforward bit of road, and thankfully, most of the mad drivers of yesterday were terrorising road users elsewhere as we had a pleasant ride up towards Stepantsminda and through the Kazbegi Strict Nature Reserve. (Presumably strict as in dedicated , rather than strict as in discipline). It was quite a climb too, the road going up to about 2600m, reminiscent of the Atlas Mountains or the High Alps,complete with snow.


We met a Dutch couple on the way. They were travelling in a 1952 German Fire Engine that had been given to the Dutch government as war reparation, and they had been all over the world in it. And impressively, they had a 20 year old Transalp strapped to the back which they use as easy access transport. They invited us for coffee but unfortunately, we couldn't  accept as we needed to pile in the miles. But they would have been cool to chat to.

We had been warned about the road nearest to the border and it was every bit as bad as advised. But worse still were the tunnels a bit further on. Completely dark, no lighting at all, and a bad road surface. We just had to peer into the darkness and hope for the best. Fortunately for us, no vehicles came the other way but it was a scary experience. Don't know what we would have done had we had a breakdown or accident.

The border post was a bit of an anti climax, and more like a petrol station than an international frontier.

 The Georgian bit was very quick but the Russian one wasn't bad either, given their penchant for paperwork and weary administration. We did get searched but it was only a cursory effort, and they liked my six words of Russian, and seemed particularly impressed that I knew the Russian for Buckingham Palace ( Bookemgempski Palitzia) As usual, we were the afternoon's entertainment for all nationalities gathered there and our bikes attracted even more attention today for some reason. We had an interesting conversation with an Armenian and an Azerbaijani about travelling and the Eurovision Song Contest, and we then called in to an office by a guard, who then guard typed out the whole of our passports before sending us on our way into Mother Russia.

Immediately over the border is a big army base and various relics of previous frontier tensions - a few tanks, some bunkers, and soldiers patrolling, but again, we had a pleasant ride don off the mountains through some incredible scenery. Reached the nearest town ( Vladikafkaz or something similar) smack bang in peak hour traffic and nearly brought the place to a standstill with people looking at us instead of where they were going. Decided to quite whilst we were ahead though, having realised that we couldn't even read the road signs, found a hotel, and farkled the bikes. Surprisingly, there was no damage after today's rough riding, but we still did the usual checks - chain, oil, spokes, brakes, tyres, headset bearings.

The  reception bloke is great and speaks English and even the concierge seems to like us now after first of all telling us that the hotel was full and we couldn't say here. Its huge and there are about three other people here, so I'm not sure what that was all about. But the man said something her in Russian and she changed almost immediately.

Its tipping it down now, with various rumbles of thunder, so we won't be wandering out tonight. Heading for The Capsian Sea and Kazakstan tomorrow.

Quick Blog for today......

.....while we're sitting in McDonalds, Kutaisi, half way between the border and Tblisi. Gotta grab the wifi while you can, and yes, the menu is exactly the same as anywhere else, except its written in Georgian, which looks like weird mix of Thai, Sandscrit and cyrillic. Apparently its one of the oldest languages in the world, the alphabet being two and a half thousand years old, with Georgian writings being found all over the place where old Bibley stuff happens.

We've done 150 kms this morning and its stonkingly hot but dry. There is a hot breeze blowing too which is really difficult to ride in, particularly as its head on.

Georgia looks very different from anywhere else we're been so far. Quite green and agricultural,but lots of derelict buildings and odd things in the middle of nowhere. Not sure what this statue was but it was huge and near nothing. Could have been an old left over from Soviet days or something new, not sure. I think it was Edvard Shevanadze who came from Georgia so perhaps big Politburo inspired things did reach here afterall.

People waving at us as we ride past again, and we met this man on a garage forecourt who wanted to welcome us to the country ( we think - sounded like that or something) Also bought us a chocolate bar and kissed our hands. That never happens when I stop for petrol at  BP  at the Elephant and Castle.

It must be cow hatching time around  here too as there are calves everywhere, including laying in the road. Nobody slows down either, but haven't seen any carcases as yet.

Had breakfast at the airport this morning as we needed to use the ATM to get money. Parked the bikes directly outside, complete with full spare tanks, and nobody said a word. Had to go through a security check just to get in and get a coffee though.

Will update later subject to signal etc

An update............made it to Mtakheta, just north of Tblisi, and not far from the border with Chechnya. Decided to stop here for the night because the light was dropping and we need to head up the Georgian Military Highway tomorrow towards Russia, and the road is not supposed to be that great in parts. So definitely not one to ride in the dark.

Had a bit of luck though as we couldn't see anywhere to stay as we rode in so we stopped by the kerb to see if satnav could help. It couldn't but a man and his grandson wandered by , asked if they could help, and low and behold, had a guest room which we could use. Excellent. Mini apartment thing and the whole family turned out to help us park the bikes and unload. 

This town is in a gorge with several  forts and monasteries on the hillsides. Apparently its the ancient capital of Georgia and the cradle of Georgian Christianity. A sort of Canterbury. Amazing what you discover from Tourist leaflets found at airports.

Bikes have been better today. Nadine's clutch is Ok after the last Turkish mechanic sorted it and mine is still ok after the cylinder head replacement although it still isn't as pokey as her bike, although mine is better on petrol. Well pokey for a Chinese scoot. But it did excel itself this morning in Batumi and outran a train. The town roads were diabolical, really rough  and dreadful although quite nice cars were still driving up them. A man stopped to see if we needed  directions, which we did, and led us out of the town to the main road, across a railway line - which I reached just as a train came along. No warning, no barriers, just time for a quick prayer and big blip of the throttle and I was across. Luckily the train was going quite slowly and the bike did what it was supposed to. Certainly woke me up though.

 We struggled a bit up a mountain pass today too. A combination of a very strong head on wind and bad fuel. We were lucky not to get stuck as well because two petrol stations were shut and we were running on fumes. Nadine's bike died just as she rolled up to the fuel pump we did find down in the valley.

As were were riding down the same valley road, we came across loads of bread stalls. Lots of women standing by the roadside offering loaves for sale. It must have been the worse place ever in terms of competition, yet there seemed to be nowhere else selling bread for miles. It seems that is what they do here - one town does one thing, one something else. Not sure what that's all about and how annoying if you just need a pint of milk and a loaf. You'd have to travel miles.

There is a big police presence in Georgia and they have the best cars and buildings. Really quite noticeable in every town as they are modern and stand out. We also saw several big police convoys today - black 4x4s with blacked out windows hacking along, about ten of them . It looked like maybe a presidential outing, and we're not far from the capital, so maybe that is what it was.

And we came across what  must be the poshest petrol station in the world. In the middle of nowhere alongside a new motorway. It looks like the MacLaren HQ in Woking and is totally out of place and odd.  Its huge but there was nobody there.

Difficult day today

Had a very difficult day today. Woke with a very painful shoulder and headache that just wouldn't get any better. Very warm and sunny today too, so not the weather to pull apart a clutch but that's what we did for several hours, on the garage fore court next to the hotel Took the whole thing off, drained the oil, but still couldn't make it any better. So we decided to reassemble it, and limp on on towards Georgia. Progress was slow despite us tightening the clutch unit up.

Stopped for lunch down by the waterfront where some men were sitting making fishing nets .

 Got chased by their dog. Twice. Nice little location overlooking a cove. The Black Sea is very calm with hardly a ripple in it although I should think that it does have its fair share of rough weather in the winter. It is almost Riviera like though, and the light has that peachy pink tinge, reminiscent of the south of France or the Adriatic Coast.

Had a stroke of luck in the afternoon when we spotted a motorcycle garage that was open – not bad for a Sunday. Got the bloke to look at the clutch, which he managed to fix, and it now runs Ok It hadn't been installed properly by the mechanic in Sinop and the plates were worn despite it only being on the bike for a day – thanks for that you twat; it cost us another day, plus money of course. The money aspect is annoying but that's what happens, but its the time that we loose that we can never get back. We have now lost 7 days of our Russian visa and given that we only had 30 to get across that massive country and the places that we need to see in between, its not good. But we must be due a bit of a good run by now, so we're hoping.

But whilst we were there trying to explain to him whet had happened, two men appeared from nowhere. They spoke good English and were really helpful, so that was good. One lived next door to the garage and had been a merchant seaman for 40 years and also spoke Norwegian. How weird to hear a Turkish man in rural Turkey speaking English with a Norwegian accent! Ended up having coffee and cake with him and his wife and 23 year old son. Very nice people, and we sat on their balcony overlooking the sea, road and garage, watching the mechanic do his thing.

Got back on the road by 1800hrs and made for the border which was actually closer than we thought. It was the maddest border we've been through yet – on a par with some of the African ones from an earlier trip. A traffic jam of trucks and people yelling, car muddled up amongst them stretched back from the actual border post, but being on small bikes, we just rode round them.

 A herd of cows arrived at the same time as us and wandered through, which was a bit bizarre. They were really pretty alpine cows too – brown with black faces and bells around their necks.

Despite the chaos, we got through very quickly, again a huge source of entertainment for everybody there – police, truckies, passers by, the cowman, car drivers and passengers. Quizzed, stamped, requizzed and waved through with 'welcome to Georgia' from everybody as we progressed. And no visa needed either. 

But it was dusk by now and we had to do the thing that you're really not supposed to do – ride in the dark. There are street lights but they seem to light the sky rather than the road, and after about 3 kms a diversion sent us up a rough track, so there we were, fully loaded, in a new country with new rules that we didn't know, off roading in the dark amongst border traffic with no lights and people wandering along. We found a motel about 12 kms further on. A truckie motel, right by the airport but ok and the bloke told us to ride our bikes into the lobby, which we did. He also cooked us some dinner which was great. But we had no local money, there is no ATM either but Nadine found some US dollars which saved the day. We've also got some Euros but he couldn't remember the exchange rate for them, so dollars it was.

Had a bit of difficulty with some drunken men last night who managed to get into our room. I didn't hear them but Nadine got rid of them. Good old earplugs. Suspect they were probably truckies but harmless enough and they left with a bit of Anglo Saxon persuasion.

Bright sunny morning now and we're on the hunt for an ATM then heading towards Tiblisi. Long ride ahead.

 Not the greatest of views but our home last night!

Cor what a nice day today

 Spent all day riding long the Black Sea coast, west to east towards Georgia. My bike was Ok with no oil leaking but Nadine's clutch is now slipping badly - much worse than ever before and that's not great, particularly as we paid a bloke to replace the whole clutch unit yesterday in Sinop. If it wasn't so far away, we'd turn around and go and have a word with him. Not impressed at all. Its such a simple job which we could have done ourselves, but as we were stuck in the repair shop we got him to do it. Big mistake as he clearly doesn't know what he's doing. So well have to srt that out before we can ride today.


Anyway, on the positive side, we met some more lovely blokes at a petrol station today. Cant remember where it was but they made us Chai and we chatted -sort of - in a bus which now serves as their office.

 
Had a nice lunch stop in a town somewhere on the coast - again can't remember where but people kept coming up and chatting to us, welcoming us to Turkey and looking at us. Also lots of people tooting their horns and waving at us, and several weddings.

Hit 5000kms today. Still got a long way to go though, and hope to get to Georgia tomorrow.

Staying at a place called Arsin, about 20 kms east of Trabzon, and having stopped here, we now know why it was so named. A bit like Mitcham on the Black Sea, where everybody is married to their sister or their dog or both. But the hotel is Ok, although bizarrely they only speak French. So it was my turn to do the talking tonight. Funny  as I'd  tuned my ears into German although I cant speak much of it.

We're back on the road at long last, albeit later than we'd hoped. The parts arrived on time but the mechanic did not, and we didn't get going until 4pm rather than the noon we'd been promised. A bit frustrating, especially as our Russian visas started today and as we only have 30 days to go everywhere we had planned, it has made that more difficult. And that is why we really needed to cross that border today and not still have two days ride across Turkey and two more across Georgia before we even get there. That seemed quite difficult for the people here to grasp; they meant well and were very kind, but a straight forward engine replacement – which is what I'd asked for – would have been much quicker and much cheaper.

So we spent the morning doing odd jobs whilst waiting for the mechanic. Watched the fishermen ( or fish hunters as the Turks call it – not sure if thats what it is in their own language or its a quirk of translation but it sounds really cool and that's what I shall term it from now on)

 Then were escorted out of town by our new biker mates, probably to make sure we left for good this time.

Managed to reach Samsun just before dark which wasn't bad given the delayed departure. 

We'd only been here 15 mins when we were picked up by an elderly couple who turned out to be the hotel owners who escorted to a kebab restaurant. Great food and when we left, the owner escorted us back to our hotel, having been ordered to do so by the elderly couple.

Very tired tonight. Lets hope the mended engine holds up and there isn't a puddle of oil in the hotel garage in the morning.

Sight seeing in Sinop

So we did the tourist thing today with some excellent local guides. Met  Atila,and Kadir,Gultekin, Merem and Engin - the Sinop Hun Motos Bikers -for chai  then  made a birthday video for Gordon (my husband) and ate the cake Kadir had bought for him.

Then rode to a Fjord on the Black Sea. Spectacular location and apparently a hiding place for Ottoman ships in WW1 when they got chased by the Russians. They  nipped in there and when the Russians went looking for them, together with Germans, they ambushed them and sorted the Russians out.

Also watched dolphins feeding near to the coast. Apparently there are lots in the Black Sea but this lot were a bit shy today and only just broke the surface of the water rather than jumped out, which was hard to capture on camera. ( Look at the black thing and imagine a fishy looking mammal and you'll get the picture)

 More Chai then at a tea house on the Black Sea coast, and a good old chat. Gultekin ( a policeman) wanted to know about the police in London, then suddenly produced his gun for inspection. Don't know anything about firearms, but this one was quite nice, as far as guns go.

Also went to Sinop Police Station and had tea with the chief of police. A bit bizarre but nice man and he gave us cologne and chocolate so he was well Ok by us.

Rounded an excellent day off with dinner in Sinop by the sea. Lovely little fishing town with waterside cafes and people playing backgammon.

Also had word that the new part for my broken scooter is on way from Istanbul and should be here in the morning. We should be on our way by noon.