From Turkey to Georgia

Last day on the Black Sea Coast. We had to spend quite a bit of time at the border checkpoint because after 31 days in Turkey the border guards didn`t let people out who bought a one-month visa upon entry (it turned to be valid for only 30 days) without a hefty fine for one extra day. The non-visa people (including me) didn`t have a problem.
The first impressions of Georgia are certainly mixed. On the one hand we entered a country that shares so much European heritage (besides the churches I mention especially the pigs on the street that are processed into so much more tasty sausage than any Turkish sausage...) but on the other hand is so much poorer. While in Turkey Internet Cafes were simply everywhere, in Georgia they are hard to find. A lot of this backwardness has of course to do with the Soviet past of this country, but neither do present Russian-Georgian relationships do much to improve the situation and Georgians are desperately looking to Europe for help. In Georgia we see UN vehicles reminding us of the unsolved questions in Souh Ossetia and Abchasia and people often mention the name Shakashvili, though rarely in a positive context.
Finally a chance to apply my little knowledge of Russian which proves extremely useful in the face of the Georgian script that tells us in its own way how far away from home we already are.
Nightstay in the railway station of Kobuleti - last Black Sea town on our route. We don`t make a fuzz of where we sleep - see entry on Diogenes.

Border crossing from Turkey to Georgia in Sarpi

Final view of the Black Sea