I have arrived in the land of Ganja, yup, that's the name of the place. Ganja translates to "treasure" in Persian, and I am sure it is regarded as a treasure to many in the western world too ;-). It did get me wondering, is the name Ganja (cannabis) derived from the same language as Ganja (the city). I consulted the wisest source I know, Senior Google, to get the answer. Apparently, Ganja the drug is derived from Sanskrit, where the Hindi language is also based (think Ganges, as in the river, where cannabis was found on its banks, thus ganja). So there you go, the drug was named by the Indians, and not the much credited Rastafarians, and the City was named by the Persians, and not the Rastafarians, who were never credited.
So I made it through the Georgian/Azerbaijani border today. Three minutes on the Georgian side and three and a half hours on the Azerbaijani side. Apparently there was an issue with my visa. The visa did not contain my middle name and my passport did, which caused them quite a bit of consternation, but eventually things were straightened out and I have entered into my fifth former Soviet state of the trip. I bring up this tidbit primarily because the people in the former Soviet states tend to be very stoic, almost cold towards one another. Nothing rude, just a cultural difference from the Western World. Here in Azerbaijan, people are very friendly. I must of had over 50 people wave as I rode by today. When I stopped, everyone would come over and ask about the bike and where I have been. I do not remotely resemble a local, its obvious, and they come over and ask questions, and to be honest I kind of enjoy it after the last four months in Greece, Turkey and Georgia, where people tend to keep very much to themselves.
Stage Distance: 129 mi (208 km)
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 23,906 mi (38,397 km) So I made it through the Georgian/Azerbaijani border today. Three minutes on the Georgian side and three and a half hours on the Azerbaijani side. Apparently there was an issue with my visa. The visa did not contain my middle name and my passport did, which caused them quite a bit of consternation, but eventually things were straightened out and I have entered into my fifth former Soviet state of the trip. I bring up this tidbit primarily because the people in the former Soviet states tend to be very stoic, almost cold towards one another. Nothing rude, just a cultural difference from the Western World. Here in Azerbaijan, people are very friendly. I must of had over 50 people wave as I rode by today. When I stopped, everyone would come over and ask about the bike and where I have been. I do not remotely resemble a local, its obvious, and they come over and ask questions, and to be honest I kind of enjoy it after the last four months in Greece, Turkey and Georgia, where people tend to keep very much to themselves.
Stage Distance: 129 mi (208 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, Azerbaijan
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