Hey Brother Noah

Mount Ararat

Do you think that this European stork gives thanks every morning to old brother Noah for parking his ark on the mountain in the background? 

This photo was taken from Armenia looking across the border into Turkey ( Türkiye as it is now officially called.)

I have not made a final decision about going further east from here but I am leaning more towards the idea of going back west and finish exploring Turkey and then into Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania.

The Road to Omalo

What would this blog be without a photo of my moto and a lot of snow. I attempted to get to the village of Omalo in the Tusheti region of Georgia but like many of my recent high mountain escapades the heavy late snows had other plans. This ride came to an end with me doing a slow headplant into the wet slush. 

 

A better form of transport

The road to get to this point has been featured in a BBC documentary on the most dangerous roads in the world.

With drop offs of thousands of feet making a mistake on many of the sections was just not a pleasant thought, the consequences of which are brought into stark reality by the dozens of memorials along the way.

Twins Winery Napareuli

Back down the valley found me in a much more hospitable environment at the Twins Winery where I spent the night after a great meal and wine tasting. The tasting consisted of three jugs of wine which I "tasted" in their entirety.

Qvevri

Georgian wine has been made for over 7000 years in these large earthenware vessels called qvevris, some of which contain over 5000 litres. Unlike other wines the crushed grapes and  the skins remain in the qvevris for about 9 months. The earthenware gives the wine a very distinctive taste and even the whites are an amber color.

Sighnaghi

A stopped for a couple of nights in this mountaintop village and then I rode down to Armenia. The main roads in Georgia are like driving dodgem cars. Oncoming vehicles, when overtaking, flash their lights and expect ( and usually receive) right of way, a really hair-raising experience. Although driving on the right hand side of the road Georgia allows the import of used vehicles from countries ( mainly Japan ) that have steering wheels on the right hand side. This combination makes these roads a battlezone.

More on Armenia next