14. EAST TO GEORGIA - MAN DID IT RAIN!!

We left Ankara in the afternoon on July 21st and headed back North to the Black Sea heading East toward the Georgia border. The weather was sunny. Our destination was Samsun that night. We had no problems in route, and arrived on schedule. Heading East from town, we pasted a Ford dealer. Perhaps a new taillight lens assembly in the morning - probably wishful thinking. We found a place to stay and stopped for the night.

The next day, we headed back to the Ford dealer. We had to drive down a ramp under the building into a service department that was reserved just for transit vans and other larger vehicles. No assembly in stock but they could have one delivered in 1/2 hour. We were offered tea and even food if wanted would be brought to us. Man what service, and the bill installation and all was like $30US.

A little late on our start East for the day, our destination was Trabzon on the Black Sea. We started having rain, than heavier rain, than it really came down. We pulled off the road down a street in a town named Giresun. The street was flooding. Water was coming UP out of the street drains. We turned around and headed back to the highway. Traffic was now totally stopped on the main road. Moving forward in small increments, we could see we were not leaving this town tonight. Now on a secondary frontage street along the main highway, we inched to a stop at a temporary parking spot. Robert went in search of a hotel name that had been given us earlier. He had to walk over a pedestrian bridge to the beach side of the main highway to see if a room was available. He said he had to walk in water up to his knees on the other side to reach the hotel. There was a room for the night. The next morning we left and headed for the Georgia border.

With driving miles to make up because of our early stop the day before, we needed to make it to the boarder as it closes at 5:00 P.M. We arrived near 4 P.M. Vehicle congestion was bad. A hawker came up to us, and for a small fee had us moved to the head of the line to have our passports stamped for our exit from Turkey. Georgia enter went quickly, but getting passed all the trucks in front of us took some time. We entered no mans land on the other side. It sort of looked like a scene from "Border Town" in the Mel Gibson movie. Robert went to look for an insurance agent while I stayed with the ambulance in a so-so parking spot. I was motioned away by a police officer in a car within a few minutes. Now parked in a lesser location, I waited for Robert's return. Robert arrived, and had been given an address of an agent ( in Batumi nearby? - more later). As we entered the town of Batumi, on the Georgia border, cows were all over the roads, walking, lying down on the road or just standing looking at everyone. We stopped for directions, but had no luck with our address. We stopped and asked concerning a place to stay. We were told the "Neptun" (correct spelling) Hotel. We went back several kilometers. They were full up. They said try the Cameo Hotel which also had WiFi. We were able to have a room there for the night. The receptionist tried to telephone the insurance agent's number - no luck to late in the day. Had a local fish for dinner that night to eat, a Georgia white wine to drink and went to bed. A long day.

Match The Captions With The Photos:
-Tail Lens Party.
-Beach Town North.
-Fish Service.
-Overload!!
-Border Crossing.
-Flag Day Again.