Iran visa!
Some more days than expected spent in Trabzon but finally got the Iranian visa, so we have already changed country and we are now in Georgia.
Getting the visa for Iran wasn't finally as straightforward as it seemed. Of course there had to be some compications and these were that after showing up at the consulate in Trabzon on Friday (as they had told us) it turned up that the visas were not ready. They hadn't got an answer from the embassy in Tehran and we must wait until Monday. The 10 or 12 people of us who applied for visas were not really happy. A weekend in between with nothing to do. The consulate kept our passports, so we could not even go to Georgia for the weekend and come back. Some decided to go to Erzurum, some somewhere else, but being on a low budget and not really interested in the surroundings of Trabzon, decided to stay in town.
Weekend in Trabzon (some special event going on)
There is not much to do in Trabzon during the Winter besides strolling around, visiting the bazar and stuff, even if it is a really nice city with really nice people. In addition, it didn't stop raining the whole weekend, so the only option available was to kill time in the hotel, going to eat something, a few beers and wait for Monday to come.
Finally it came and back to the consulate with the hope of having the visa ready once and for all. So there we were, at 9:00 again. Door opened, everybody waiting aaaaaand.... visas will be ready at 11! Ok, this time it looked for real, but you never know. Back to the hotel, eat a little bit and at 11 again to the consulate aaaaand.... YES!!! our Iranian visas were finally ready!! Can you believe it?
Finally it came and back to the consulate with the hope of having the visa ready once and for all. So there we were, at 9:00 again. Door opened, everybody waiting aaaaaand.... visas will be ready at 11! Ok, this time it looked for real, but you never know. Back to the hotel, eat a little bit and at 11 again to the consulate aaaaand.... YES!!! our Iranian visas were finally ready!! Can you believe it?
Iranian consulate in Trabzon
We all got a 30-day single entry visa to Iran, so we could finally leave Trabzon and head for Batumi, in Georgia. And so we did. We took a Dolmus to the bus station and there a bus to Batumi, which was expected to arrive there after 3 hours. Being Turkey you don't believe anything, and of course after 3 hours we were not even at the border.
Anyway, we made it to the border after 4 hours, and there we had to get off the bus (only 4 people on the bus at that moment) and cross the border on foot. There, you just show your passport to leave Turkey and then the same to enter Georgia (since 2005 EU citizens don't need visa anymore). After all the formalities the challenge was looking for our bus to continue the journey to Batumi (17 km), which was quite difficult under the rain, at night and full of vehicles. When we finally identified our bus, guess what: it went away! Yes, it left without us! Unbelievable. Really nice entering into Georgia. Luckily there was a urban bus that for 0.50 € took us to Batumi. Next challenge: find the apartment. Of course we met a Turkish guy trying to help and he took us to a bar in the Turkish neighbourhood in Batumi. The waitress managed to call the guy and he came and took us to the right place.
In Batumi it was raining cats and dogs (the day before the city was totaly flooded), so only eating a bit and to sleep because the following day we were supposed to take a bus at 8 in the morning to Mestia, a town in Svaneti, the most beautiful area in Georgia, in the middle of the High Caucasus.
Anyway, we made it to the border after 4 hours, and there we had to get off the bus (only 4 people on the bus at that moment) and cross the border on foot. There, you just show your passport to leave Turkey and then the same to enter Georgia (since 2005 EU citizens don't need visa anymore). After all the formalities the challenge was looking for our bus to continue the journey to Batumi (17 km), which was quite difficult under the rain, at night and full of vehicles. When we finally identified our bus, guess what: it went away! Yes, it left without us! Unbelievable. Really nice entering into Georgia. Luckily there was a urban bus that for 0.50 € took us to Batumi. Next challenge: find the apartment. Of course we met a Turkish guy trying to help and he took us to a bar in the Turkish neighbourhood in Batumi. The waitress managed to call the guy and he came and took us to the right place.
In Batumi it was raining cats and dogs (the day before the city was totaly flooded), so only eating a bit and to sleep because the following day we were supposed to take a bus at 8 in the morning to Mestia, a town in Svaneti, the most beautiful area in Georgia, in the middle of the High Caucasus.
Rainy, flooded and modern Batumi
So there we were. At 8 in the morning un der the cats and the dogs to find out that the bus was not at 8 but at 11. So 3 hours waiting at the bus station. At that time besides the rain it was really cold, so we opted for trying the Georgian coffee in a café. The area we had the apartment in Batumi was really modern and futurist, plenty of tall buildings with lights and so on, but the café at the bus station was like going back to USSR times. A picture of Stalin looking at you, people dressed in really old fashioned clothes and the place that looked the same as 50 years ago. It felt like going back in time to the Comunist era. I quite like it, though.
Finally at 11 the bus departed and after 3 hours we were in Zugdidi, where we had to change bus to get to Mestia after 3 more hours, but this will be in the next post.
So stay tuned because soon there will be the Svaneti post with news and pictures about a really beautiful area, actually one of the best montanious landscapes I've ever seen!
See you soon!
Finally at 11 the bus departed and after 3 hours we were in Zugdidi, where we had to change bus to get to Mestia after 3 more hours, but this will be in the next post.
So stay tuned because soon there will be the Svaneti post with news and pictures about a really beautiful area, actually one of the best montanious landscapes I've ever seen!
See you soon!
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