Great Caucasus Ride: The Land of Greatness – Georgia [Ep. 2]

Great Caucasus Ride: The Land of Greatness - Georgia [Ep. 2] 1

The second stop of our motorcycle adventure story: Georgia. Right in the heart of the Great Caucasus

Breathtaking views. White mountain peaks that scratch the blue sky in the horizon and hundreds of ancient defense towers as a gate to a magic place. Welcome to Georgia. The destination we dreamed of when planning our route.

The bikes: 2015 BMW R1200GS & 2016 BMW R1200GS Adventure
The riders: Cristian Predoi & Ionut Ivana

I love Georgia. I started to love from the firs sight and the first step. Just after the border. In fact, even before.

It is late, and we’re at the Turkish-Georgian Border. After those rainy days in Moldova, we had to ride three days in a row from dusk till dawn. More than 1,800 km [1,118 miles] with no photos, no camera-rec, no relax. We had a tight schedule, and we had to make our way to Georgia very fast.  It was late in the evening, and we were exhausted after our last day in Turkey. But, finally, here we are at the border. 

The trip was sponsored by KMG International – Romania, Moldova, Georgia, Turkey, and Bulgaria are the countries where KMG International developed activities in the past 14 years. Moldova was the second stop. 

I hand the papers to the border control officer – a nice-looking lady who’s smiling while talking to her mate. They are translated from English to Turkish and Russian. 
“We got a problem,” she says. 
“Uhm… ok. Wait, what?”, I reply. "I am very confused. Everything is ok as I know." 
“You see, you’re not the owner of the vehicle, and there’s nowhere written that you’re allowed to ride it.” 
“But it is. You see… here, in English. And this one is just the Russian translation. The same words.”
“Yes, in English. But not in Russian”. 
After letting me sweat and ask myself what I’m gonna do if they won’t allow me to pass the border, she smiles. “Ok, you can go in, this time.” 
She was just mocking me. 

great caucasus ride 2

Hospitality. Fighting the enemies. Wine. These are the keywords for Georgia. You just have to look at “Mother Georgia” statue to see it: in the left hand, she holds a cup of wine for the guests, while in the right hand she holds a sword. Fortunately, we tasted the wine as guests. And what a good wine! Made from the famous Saperavi, which is the grandfather of all red grapes. That’s what a wine specialist told me in a wine bar in Tbilisi. But that’s enough to the words. Watch the video above to see our story about Georgia. 

The trip was sponsored by KMG International – Romania, Moldova, Georgia, Turkey, and Bulgaria are the countries where KMG International developed activities in the past 14 years. Georgia was the second stop. 

 

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