Unexpected holidays in Adjara
I threw a coin into the sea in Sukhumi, being a third grader, hoping to visit Batumi (I really wanted to go to the dolphinarium), but there was none in Sukhumi. After the “Suvorov” crossing of the Caucasus Range and a trip along the mountain roads on a wrecked bus, my parents wanted to spend a week without stress and trips: just by the sea in a good (at that time) hotel, so a trip to Batumi was not discussed in principle. It was a calm 80s and life seemed beautiful and full of hope. And I hoped to visit Batumi. So many years have passed and I didn’t even think that it would work out (I visited the dolphinarium in Hurghada and was completely satisfied with it), but... it worked. And now - an unexpected trip to Batumi! Dreams come true....well, almost! : )
"Cunning" dealers from travel agencies are well versed in such "surprises", so they themselves travel "on occasion" - where there are good discounts. These are not only "infotours", but also all sorts of discounts when a new travel agency, a new direction, a new carrier appears. Prices are really low compared to regular tours. Ordinary people are unaware of them. Exclusively for the sake of it. It cost 4800.00 UAH from the nose. The Fortune system - i. e. you don’t know where you are going. They promised 3 in Batumi. Without food. They figured - 20 lari a day for food should be enough. Rates for July 2016:1 buck = 2.34 lari. 1 GEL = 10.70 UAH Having studied the advice (including on Turpravda), we decided - we will exchange bucks and there we will switch to lari as necessary (and just in case we will also grab a card). It was a convenient solution, since exchangers are all around (both in roadside shops, and villages, and in Batumi). I’ll make a reservation right away - people paid in stores with cards (with Privat cards and they even saw a branch in Batumi - but I didn’t find it on the site) and I don’t know at what rate the exchange took place. The local bank said that it is not profitable to exchange hryvnia for lari, dollars are better. In general: the calculation turned out to be correct - enough (without frills and in extreme heat, the appetite is moderate).
So, flight from Zhulian directly to Batumi This time the company consisted of 4 adults, so they chipped in a taxi (600 UAH) - it turned out 150 UAH each. Considering that a minibus to the capital costs 80-85 UAH, and there is still some way to get around the city, it seems to be not expensive for convenience: delivery without transfers and with comfort suited everyone. Back the same way. The departure was late, the arrival was early, so we needed comfort.
I liked
Zhulians - without Ponte, as in Borispol. I can say the same about Batumi airport. Small and quite comfortable, with dutiks. Passengers were not satisfied with such a shmona as in Boryspil or Sharm. Water in half-litres was carried calmly, no one took anything away. Some in Batumi, upon departure, were actually inspected, but very selectively (well, they like half-naked "blondies", what can you do) : ). In general, there was a feeling that we were not flying abroad, but on a domestic flight. The new carrier "Bravo Airwais" looked better than Mau looks now. Yes, and fed not "stone" bagels, but decent sandwiches (on delicious toast bread with decent ham). There were no juices, but there was a choice of water and lemonades. They gave out chocolate and cupcakes for tea and coffee (back). In general, we were satisfied with the flights - our carrier did not let us down! Especially against the background of the fact that people with the carrier YanAir (YANAIR) got stuck in Batumi for a day. From the information in tyrnet, the same thing happened in Bulgaria and this carrier will be checked in connection with the technical condition. So be careful - check with the tour operator also the carrier
So, they arrived. It should be noted that my role in our company was reduced to the phrase - "and I told you... ". I remember that the ancient gods gave the Trojan Cassandra the gift of foresight + a small bonus: at the same time, no one believed her. : ) … It turned out similarly. Only those who had already been in the Caucasus before did not want to go - that is, I and the only man in our company (they took him for a respectable appearance and dimensions in order to drive away local machos, well, since he was the spouse of one of us and a relative of the other ). He was caught agreeing to go in a "warmed up" state, but I simply had no choice (the economic crisis bbrbrbrbr his leg, but I want to go to the sea).
Immediately make a reservation - Adjara is not Georgia! Rather, only a small "special" part. It is absolutely wrong to judge Georgia by this area, just as it would be foolish to compare the western and eastern regions of Ukraine (well, the northern and southern regions too). In principle, as in any country, regions and regions are very different: they are always very different areas in terms of mentality and way of life. Autonomous Republic of Aja? ria is a historical, geographical and political-administrative region in the extreme south-west of Georgia, near the Turkish border. It was formed on July 16.1921 as the Adjara ASSR - the only autonomy in the nominally atheistic USSR based not on a national, but on a religious principle! The main population of Adjara is Adjarians, an ethnographic group of the Georgian people (but not classical Georgians), among whom Islam spread widely in the Middle Ages (“thanks” to the 300-year domination of the Ottoman state). Talking with a lady from Tbilisi, I got the impression that many here are returning to Christianity again, but in reality they now have a confusion of different religious postulates (for example, they never changed the tradition of putting a cross on homemade bread, being under Islam). You can hardly hear the Georgian language here: the local dialect, Turkish and Russian prevail. Although, young people already know Russian poorly (but they seem to be scribbling in English), if you need to learn something, contact older people, they taught it at school.
In general, I knew what I would see, although I "bought" my friend's calls - take something more elegant. Almost everything fell into the suitcase. This is not Odessa....Only things for the beach were used (beach: shorts, a dress and a tunic so as not to get burned) and one option for one “front exit”. The best fit here is jeans with T-shirts and sneakers.
. . . We were not taken to Batumi. . . Since we had been “tasting” the best whiskey in the world for several hours, this did not alert us... but when we were taken to some... uh... village (village) and the driver began to get confused between nice and unfinished houses, move off the asphalt onto the dirt road, and dodge, ask everyone for directions... I got sick... everyone started whining and swearing... and for the first time I reminded everyone: “and I said.... " Thanks to viskarik, they didn't send me. They brought us to a 4-storey "hotel" - a small house, a cottage... there was not enough space for everyone. This did not sadden us, because everyone thought that they would settle in a normal hotel, and not in a “guest house”. Everyone was waiting for the promised three stars. The owner of the "hotel" said that those that did not fit with him (he takes only those who have breakfast) will live with his sister - nearby, across the wasteland (on which trucks are parked). It turned out to be even easier for my sister (the family hotel "Pearl of the Black Sea", as for me - too pretentious name for a house without a roof). I started laughing. Those who didn't drink started screaming that they paid for 4 stars at all - where are they? The owner (in the end he got our nickname - Oh), said - but are there really stars? : ). I was not surprised that there are no stars in Adjara (what should they do there? ) and I convinced everyone to move in already, because it won’t be better anyway, but rather go to the sea. And then it’s quieter than Uzh with his shop (where we later bought up and changed dollars). Already confirmed - it's calmer here. There is a pasture nearby, and a wasteland, and the sea is visible, and the mountains are nearby. Feeling: mixed "Azure" and Yaremche + added a little Iran.... the color goes off scale....
. Linen was provided but towels and toilet paper had to be requested. There was no hair dryer and a “bath set”, it’s good that we took mini packages of shampoo and gel with us from Egyptian and Turkish hotels. The toilet broke once (they fixed it), there was no battery in the TV remote control (they added it), the remote control for the air conditioner was for 3-4 rooms (except for us, no one needed it). So we settled down without frills, but with amenities. The owners, nice people (with children and grandparents) lived right there (in the basement of this hotel, where there was a dining room and a kitchen), and took care of us almost “like a family” (breakfast like 20 GEL from the nose). The road (rough-rocky) to the beach passed through a pasture with cows, to the store to Uzh - through a wasteland-parking lot, to the bus to the city - through a flood sewer over stones. Everything is nice and rural. At the beginning it was raining, but on the 2nd day we asked our great-grandfather to make the weather good - and lo and behold! The sun came out immediately and never left us.
So, as you understood, we were not settled in Batumi. They settled us in Gonio. Batumi is the capital of Adjara and the main sea gate of Georgia. We ended up in the coastal zone (this is Kobuleti, Makhinjauri, Gonio, Sarpi and others) Gonio village (we called it “gonivo” or "galimoe") is located 5 kilometers north of the Turkish border and 15 km. and south of Batumi on the Black Sea (which is cleaner here than in Batumi). Initially, it was the Apsara fortress (Roman outpost), which has survived to this day and is subject to inspection (ticket 3 GEL), although small. But, presumably, there is the grave of the Apostle Matthew, the same one from 12.
The first days we heavily drank local wine and visited Batumi by bus (I will make a separate photo report of this interesting city), where we tried local cuisine and examined architectural delights. The weather at the beginning was rainy, and although we were upset to see Batumi, it was not hot for us. The water in the sea was the warmest and most transparent, but the pebble beach is just tin. Toli, out of greed, or thoughtlessness (oh wine, wine), we did not immediately buy silicone transparent slippers (10 GEL) and suffered greatly from entering the sea. I recommend everyone to buy them right away, as they are better than Egyptian coral slippers (which are torn and swell from water). Then they will be useful in other countries. A sunbed costs 3 GEL. I decided not to be stingy, as there is still dirt and syringes on the beach. In addition, local mothers allow "pissing boys" to do their job right here, without going into the bushes. Of course, there are no locker rooms and latrines on the beach (they ran to the toilet either to Uzh, or to a chic hotel near the beach). There is a paid shower room (50 local kopecks). In addition, the local population that comes to rest has a “charming” habit of throwing stones, and in general they somehow also do not respect personal space very much (they walk almost on the head).
They are all the same in appearance - sheds with thatched roofs (or rather, it is dried up reeds) - a complete association with the house of one of the piglets that the wolf blew away. As a result, we chose Charlie's, where the portions are larger. But they also have a nice habit - to bring lavash to each dish without asking and include the amount in the bill (by the way, the only cafe where lavash is served, in other places, for some reason, loaves, which we don’t even eat at home). We got our bearings and began to ask for half a portion of lavash (1 lari). We tried to try more local dishes, so we always ordered one new common dish (for 4) to try a piece. I don’t even want to remember the names, because it’s impossible: chashushuli, ajapsandali, etc. I liked almost everything - a very interesting Adjarian khachapuri in the form of a boat: with melted cheese, butter and an egg. Shashlik is different in different cafes. I fell in love with a thick soup-puree with chicken, which was enough for lunch with pita bread - 6 + 1 + tax = 8 GEL. Pork kebab with lavash - 10 GEL. Be aware they add tax to the amounts so the bill will be higher than the prices on the menu. I draw your attention to the fact that they are bad with greens. I thought I would have scurvy. No one thought to make a substrate of greens for the barbecue - they just put it in a dish, added a couple of raw onion rings and that's it. No lettuce leaves, parsley, cilantro, even as a decoration. Vegetable salad, as a separate dish, costs like meat.
In general, a bit sad, as some were waiting for the "Caucasian hospitality". He is not here. In the evenings, they gathered for dinner in the courtyard of the hotel and laid a table with wine in clubbing. And then the local guests (Georgians, Armenians) and the hosts began to creep in... Excellent, everyone was naming and drinking. Helped say so. For the third time, they were already told (under "pairs", of course) that they were rednecks and not at all hospitable....and only then Armenian cognac and Georgian snacks were brought. It’s good that Uzh’s shop was not far away - he had fruits, homemade wine and yogurt (matsoni), water, tea and more. There were also shops nearby on the highway where water is cheaper (1-1.5 GEL large) and the range is larger. We bought water, as it flowed from the tap with sand. In general, the best option is to buy in supermarkets in Batumi: everything (except greens - a bunch of 3 lari) is cheaper there. In addition, there are a lot of local culinary products by weight - they collected salads, cheese, eggplant dishes, pita bread, took a 5-liter eggplant with wine (they also “tasted” different wines for free) and went to their Gonio with full hands: minibuses run until late at night (1 GEL), unlike buses (80 kopecks round trip). But, to understand where they go is a problem! We spent a lot of time late at night waiting for minibuses on various dark and deserted streets in the hope of leaving (according to the advice of the locals, which we apparently did not understand....about wine, wine....therefore, we suspected the natives of various deceit). Some problems arise in communicating with the locals - we do not understand them, they us (even without wine). And to ask for directions in the Caucasus, it’s just like a joke: “Dear, how to get there? - O! I'll tell you right now! Hold the watermelon! " Very sociable and inquisitive, in the end - it took half an hour to find out something.... Cool, but takes a lot of time....
With transport, too, an interesting question, we have yet figured out, we went to the "hare" several times. Route: Batumi - Gonio - Border, equipped with "cool" air-conditioned buses (not everywhere like this), in which basically everyone pays with cards (everywhere there are special devices). In addition, the driver sells tickets. Very strange : ). A double ticket (80 kopecks) - you must not only buy it, but also punch it in a special composter (there are fewer of them than card readers, so we didn’t find them right away). You can use the ticket in different ways: by one passenger - there and back: punch it once there and a second time back. Or on one ticket to go together - you break through 2 times at once. Until we understood.... eeee. . . We asked several times. . . just didn't understand right away (oh.... wine, wine). Why I describe in such detail, but because the bus goes to the border. Got it? With passports, you can cross it and return with purchases! There are dutiki and rag shops. Whiskey costs like 7 bucks cheaper than at the airport! We missed (wine, wine) when we went there to see the waterfall by bus (we didn’t take our passports), and the owner told this moment already on the last day at a hearty dinner. Here we understood why the bus was filled to capacity with people with sacks. Eh....purchases fell off....So the job remained unfinished! I hope for you!
In general, don't count on Turkish or Egyptian service here. Everything is much simpler and more trivial, while you get the sea and mountains! You get new impressions! But, at the beginning of July, they still have, as it were, not the season - a feeling: stuffy, hot, humid May. Or just hot May. May beetles are flying, flowers are blooming that have long faded in Ukraine. Nothing has ripened yet (imported fruits). The sun fries strongly - Adzharia, however! Apparently the best time for them is September (according to them). In general, I don’t know about my friends, I was not disappointed, because initially I didn’t expect anything. They said that I didn’t even go here again....I didn’t even go to Tbilisi with them (we rented a car that we were looking for almost all the time of the rest), so as not to listen to their whining and not to say like an old grimza: “I told you... ". They didn’t like everything on the trip, but they liked Tbilisi - the old city above the Kura, and at the same time very stylish. They said it's small, but you can spend 3 days staying there and visiting local attractions (temples, caves, waterfalls, valleys and wineries).
The sea. I'm not a traveler, I'm a tourist.... Just the sea is dear to me. Sentimental stupid tears well up in me when I hear the verses: “I lick my wounds like a beast. And like coffee I dissolve grief. I smell of happiness, sun and hookah. Come! I miss! (signature) "SEA"!!! ".
I love both black, and red, and Mediterranean: they are all different tastes and sensations, and all pleasant. Everyone has their own fetish or mania: mountains, games, rafting, shopping, cars, and I have the sea. And a two-day retreat on the beach at the end of the trip paid off—a rich, chocolatey tan that I haven't had in years (people look around). A calm, relaxed vacation by the sea, that's what I need as a tourist (not counting the invasion of my reality by persistent Tbilisi machos, who even ordered me a song in a cafe at lunch “two candles”, what a disgusting thing....they had no chance, poor things. . . ). In general, the sea remained in the memory of the rest, the most beautiful sea against the backdrop of the mountains, which I constantly miss....Well, it is simply vital to see him once a year, and it does not matter: Black, Red or Mediterranean! So. . . I threw a coin into the sea again. . . I wonder how it will work? In 20 years in Tbilisi? : ).
