ROUTE 2012: Tbilisi

quote

"The construction orgasm is evident here. Modern buildings, steel superstructures, air bridges and large parks are springing up everywhere, forming the new face of Tbilisi! You see so many tourists who come from everywhere and visit the city, while Georgians, anxious and hard-working, building their future."

Dimosthenis Loukisas

Διάβασε το άρθρο στα ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ

In the morning of the fifth day, having already spent their first night in Georgia, Dimosthenis, Tom and Kostas departed from Batumi to Tbilisi, the longer substation of their journey: "We started our day with rain and the first conclusion is that Georgia is full of green! The dense vegetation and tall trees on the uphill road to Kobuleti, coupled with the continuous rain, remind us a tropical environment. Very surprising is the fact that many cows are on the roadside, sometimes in the middle of the road, crossing it or just sitting there! But we got used to this as it is common in Georgia. A Georgian friend told us that animals go near the road because it is warm and there flies do not approaching them. After almost 7 hours driving our Ford Focus in the most dangerous part of Route 2012, until now, with much traffic and Georgian drivers driving too aggressively on roads with one lane on each direction, with no safety rails. Everyone is overtaking in the opposite lane, even truck drivers. You can suddenly find yourself in a very difficult situation. A tractor which overtook us in one of our stands, after a while we saw it being upside down at a cliff, and a little bit later we saw a truck that had been diverted from the road. We crossed the whole south country horizontally till reach the capital and did not see either a desolate place, with nature being so beautiful. Road signing is good throughout the route so it’s not so easy to get lost. At noon, after the rain had stopped, we had lunch in a beautiful tavern in the forest, next to the river that runs through the city of Zastaphoni. The menu consisted of grilled pork and veal chops “ala Georgia”, so delicious that we took a second plate. From there to Tbilisi the landscape changes a bit, with the scars of the recent war still being felt. Ruins of another civilization located next to the road just to remind the old days, while the Russian structures are now a rusty decor. "They are poor, living in an older time," we think when we see a group of Georgians swimming in the river. They don’t not speak English but are willing to understand and help us if they can. Local people set up makeshift shops in the street and sell everything they can to make or grow, trying to increase their income. 100 km before Tbilisi, road is becoming a modern highway and we just begin to understand a big change. We arrive in Tbilisi at around 6 pm and when entering the city with the major central roads, we realize that the Georgians drivers in the town are worse than in the province. They do not use the lanes, they are wedging in every free part of the road and generally you see anarchy on their way they are driving. Priority has the one that manages to penetrate first. Later, having left our stuff at the hotel, we are going to the center for a walk and to take some photographs. The construction orgasm is evident here. Modern buildings, steel superstructures, air bridges and large parks are springing up everywhere, forming the new face of Tbilisi! You see so many tourists who come from everywhere and visit the city, while Georgians, anxious and hard-working, building their future. Walking in Europa Square, we meet travelers from Poland, Holland and America and eventually reached a group together speaking for hours. At two in the morning our company broke up, wishing we meet again in a future trip."