After a few fun days in Tbilisi, the big city got the better of us and it was time to get going again. Instead of just following the main highway through the flatter parts of Georgia, we chose the mountainous Southern route through the Lesser Caucasus. We met Christian a Germany cyclists and spend an evening camping together. After two first days of mostly climbing, we reached Paravani Lake, the largest lake in Georgia. Located at 2000m of elevation, it was a beautiful area and the temperature was perfect for cycling. In the village of Poka we stayed with a lovely Georgian family. This contact we got from Vroni's grandma who helps a Georgian guy in Germany with some medical problems and we ended up staying with his aunt in Poka - what a small world. We were fed amazingly well and had fun time there.

Our next destination from there was the famous cave monastery Vardzia. It consists of hundreds of caves, hewn from the bare rock. They started construction in the 10th century and today it is quite an interesting place to visit. We camped on the bottom of the mountains at the river and had a great time there. The next day was a rather short one and after just 65km we decided to stay in the small town of Akhaltsikhe. On a short notice, our friend Sam decided to join us there and we ended up having a fun evening with him. After a few drinks we decided to visit Rabati Castle in the evening and enjoyed a nice walk through the town. We relaxed and slept in the next day and continued cycling the day after. Another, maybe the list high one, pass with 1000m up was waiting for us. We started early and slowly made our way up on the gravel road through forests and villages. We met two other couples that started cycling from Germany and had a good talk. Another amazing camp spot at the river and we already reached Batumi after following the great river valley down to the Black Sea. We found an amazing guest house, Avto's Guesthouse, and were warmly welcomed. After enjoying a nice shower, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon together with Avtos and tasing some of their self-made wine, chacha and juice. Next day we met up with Sam and some guys at his hostel again and had a good afternoon, before exploring the town in the evening and let the day pass while enjoying a shisha at sunset on the beach.

We're looking forward to some more hiking in the mountains the next days.

All the best from Georgia,

Droni, Ronnie and Joni