Gori, Gerogia

Had mixed emotions today, to visit Gori or not.  My consternation stemmed from the fact that Gori is the birthplace of Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, a.k.a. Uncle Joe, a.k.a. Joseph Stalin, the man who shares the dubious honor (with Chairman Mao) to have been responsible for the deaths of more people than Adolph Hitler.

I did end up going, and it appears to be a town that forgot Stalin.  Walking around town I found more statues of people that were not Stalin, than statues of Stalin, which there were none.  The only exception was the Stalin Museum, where his childhood home (birthplace too) and a single, modest, not visible from the road or park, statue remains (I later found out that Stalin statues are illegal in Georgia, as the President has a pro-western goal).  The museum was built by the Soviets, and has a skeleton crew today, but it is up and limping.   

On the way back from Gori, I was pulled over by one of the many many police cars that line Georgia's streets.  I pull off the highway and into a gas station for the pull over, and before I could get off the bike and remove my helmet, the lead cop is out of the car and checking my licence plate.  He looks up and asks me in Russian, if I speak Russian or Georgian, kinda puzzled, I asked if he spoke English, and once I did, a big sheepish smile came across his face.  He then asked where I was from, and I replied USA.  Everything came into focus for him at that point.  He then explained that he thought someone was using a stolen plate on a stolen motorcycle, so I pulled out my licence and showed him I was from Florida.  Then half laughing, he asked if I rode the bike all the way to Georgia.  We chatted for for another 10 minutes so, and off he went.  I fueled up and jumped back on the highway, I ended up passing him again.  He waved happily as did I.  He was a really nice guy, I liked him. 

Greta in the Plains of Georgia

Stalin's House

Second Most Prolific Killer In World History

Stage Distance: 130 mi (210 km) 

Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 23,677 mi (38,189 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia

Tbilisi, Georgia

Out of Asia and back into Europe.  I rolled into town after a six-hour journey from Batumi.  The ride was interesting.  The government seems to be spending money on upgrading not only the Capital, but the country wide infrastructure.  As such, the ride was extremely varied, beat up roadways and small dilapidated villages in some parts, to brand new super highways and new high rise condo/apartment buildings in other locations.  During the run from Batumi, I encountered more police than I have ever seen during a 230 mile trip.  In all seriousness, there must have been more than 30 police cars dispersed throughout the route, all just patrolling and watching,  As far as architecture goes, there are still a few remnants of the Soviet Union poking through, but Georgia's disdain for Putin will assure that they will not remain for long.  

Khashuri, Georgia

Shrosha, Georgia

Trip Map - Leg 2

Stage Distance: 230 mi (371 km) 

Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 23,547 mi (37,979 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia

Bitumi, Georgia

I crossed the border into Georgia.  The fourth former Soviet state of the trip.  The border crossing was a bit of surprise.  Turkey informed me that Greta had overstayed her welcome, apparently she was only allowed to stay in Turkey for 5 days, even though they made me buy and then verified and stamped my 40-day insurance policy on the way into the country.  I was forced to go in and talk with the director to explain my misdeeds, and he assessed a fine of 210TL (about $50).  I thought it was going to be a while lot more, for a while I thought they were going to impound Greta, so it could of been much worse.  That being said, my primary thought was "corrupt bastards."

I am now in Bitumi, definitely a city on the rise.  There is a whole new section of town with high rise hotels and apartment buildings dotted along the Black Sea.  It is like a little Las Vegas, casinos, dancing fountains and night clubs included, but less campy.  The business pouring in the money are primarily western (Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Carrefor, etc.).  Western citizens are allowed to stay in Georgia for 365 days without a visa, the longest visa free stay I have come across in my travels (most are 60-90 days).  The ATMs offer the local currency aswell as US Dollars.  The Georgians have no remaining diplomatic ties with Russia after Putin, through no provocation, attacked Georgia in 2008.  To this day, Russia is still occupying about 25 percent of the country.  Georgia's open arms to the West seems to be a well thought out middle finger to Putin.  They would love to be a member of the EU and NATO, and dispose of him for good. 

The prices here are kind of insane.  I am staying in a brand new, 9th floor, sea view, fully furnished apartment, for $24 a night. A place like this would go for $150-$250 a night in the US.  There are apartment for sale signs on the numerous empty and under construction buildings, prices starting in the the $30,000 range.  I have eaten six meals here, with prices ranging from 1 to 3 US dollars.  My fully loaded pizza was $2.50, including a liter bottle of Diet Coke.   

Building Boom in Bitumi

New City, Old Pier  

The Royal Dutch Shelf Company
(the lessor known and imaginary arm of the Royal Dutch Shell Company)

I have only made it 14 km into the country.  It seems like this will be a interesting place to explore.  Heading out to to the capital city of Tbilisi in the morning. 


Stage Distance: 128 mi (206 km) 
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 23,317 mi (37,608 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia

Trabzon, Turkey

This will be my last night in Turkey.  I am spending it in the small seaside city of Trazbon.  Nice little city, equipped with huge pedestrian areas, squares, and restaurants galore.  Prices are cheap here.  I am staying in a Holiday Inn quiality hotel, with breakfast, one block from the main square, for just $22.  Dinner at a local restaurant was just $2.75.  I walked around the square for a while, got cold and headed hack to my hotel.

With the exception of today, the trip from Istanbul to Trazbon has been brutal.  It has been 700 miles of cold rain, sleet and snow.  I was the coldest, wettest and most concerned that I have ever been on a mototcycle.  The temperature was hovering aorund the freezing point and I was getting a bit concerned about the roads freezing over.  Thankfully, they did not.  I will say this, I did manage to stay dry the entire time (thank you Tourmaster for your riding apparel).  Today's ride was sunny and cool, and a nice change from every other riding day I have had in Turkey.

The only negative of the day was the document check I was pulled into by the police.  Well, me and 20 other cars.  It was kinda of odd.  He asked for my liscence and registartion, and then my passport.  Looked at them for about 5 minutes, then disappeared into his trailer.  Twenty minutes had gone by, all the other cars had left, and I was still sitting there...getting nervous.  I went over to his trailer to see what was going on, I looked through the window, and he was using google translate on his phone to figure out what my documents said.  I walked away, chuckled to myself, and within 5 minutes he came out, gave me the thumbs up, shook my hand and walked away.  Nice guy.  Everyone here has been nice, nothing but kudos for the Turks.

Black Sea

Tomorrow I head into Georgia, a former Soviet state.

Stage Distance: 663 mi (1,069 km) 
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 23,189 mi (37,402 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey