Around the Caspian Sea on 2 wheels. Part 1.

The first day of our trip was not without unexpected surprises. We started at 10 a.m. from Vladikavkaz and decided to make a short detour to the border through the Karmadon gorge, along dirt serpentines with beautiful views.

When approaching Upper Lars, I discovered that I had forgotten my documents at the hotel. Everything as usual. )

I had to go back, thinking to myself that it was a good thing I hadn't left them in Podolsk.

A long line of trucks stretches up the Georgian Military Road. We pass trucks, cars, and at the end we stand in line for a while. A formal check of luggage, a stamp in the passport and we drive along a neutral strip several kilometers long, on both sides of the road dozens of burned and nibbled cars. It's a strange sight.

At the Georgian border crossing, we are immediately asked to move aside and go to office number 1 for an interview with an authorized officer, apparently a state security officer. Standard questions about work, place of residence, etc.

- Do you have stickers on your bike? - Suddenly he asks a rather strange question.

- Yes, I do.

— You need to remove them. That's it. Otherwise they won't let you through.

This is the first time in my life that I have come across such a requirement. But there's nothing you can do, under the supervision of another employee, you have to rip off all the stickers brought from Europe, Africa, and America from the trunk.…

And at passport control, they even told me that they would not let me into the country and would ban me from entering for 5 years because of some lost piece of paper.

A very interesting start to the journey, though

There are some places in Georgia that a real motorcycle traveler must visit. The high-mountain villages of Shatili, Ushguli, Omalo are unique in themselves, but it is not so easy to reach them.

And if asphalt was practically laid to Ushguli in Svaneti, then you will have to drive along incredibly beautiful and rather difficult mountain serpentines to Shatili and Omalo.

Steep rocky ascents with 180—degree turns, streams flowing through deep ruts, large puddles and even tunnels in avalanches at an altitude of about three thousand meters - all this you will have to overcome on the way to this mountain village.

People used to live here all the time, despite the fact that the road was closed from October to June and the only way to get to the mainland was by helicopter. Do you remember the famous movie "Mimino"? It was here that his character, played by Vakhtang Kikabidze, flew.

Nowadays, the helicopter does not fly and Omalo is alive only in the summer months, when a few tourists arrive in off-road vehicles and the old stone houses converted into guesthouses come to life.

Why do people come here?

For the incredibly beautiful nature, silence, the purest mountain air and water from mountain streams.

But civilization is slowly but surely pulling its tentacles in the form of asphalt, communications, and the Internet into these hard-to-reach places.

So hurry up before the double-decker buses of Chinese tourists get here too.

Omalo and Dartlo are high-mountain villages at the very top of the Caucasus mountain range. Rock houses and black watchtowers built hundreds of years ago guard the eternal peace of these fabulously beautiful places.

Today we spent half a day driving on dirt roads near these villages.

Herds of horses with newly born foals, cows standing in the middle of the road that have to be driven around on the grass, herds of sheep in lush green meadows are ideal places where you can forget about the hustle and bustle of the city and the mundanity of our mortal life.

Georgia-Armenia.

At 10 a.m. we left Sighnaghi, a small town in Kakheti. The town is very small, but extremely colorful.It is located on the top of a mountain, surrounded by a fortress wall along which you can stroll and enjoy magnificent views of the Alazani Valley, the center of Georgian winemaking.

Crowds of tourists, who were brought by buses from Tbilisi, walk along the cobblestone streets during the day.

Tourists are everywhere — in restaurants and cafes, souvenir shops and on the central square by the fountain, on the wall, under the wall, but in the evening they leave and Sighnaghi is empty.

At 10 o'clock, restaurants and stores are already closed and the city goes to sleep.

The border with Armenia was passed quite quickly, but suddenly Lyudmila and Nikolai were handed a pack of protocols for traffic violations in ... 2022. For quite a decent amount!

Three years ago, we also traveled to Armenia and it turns out that we were filmed by hidden cameras! So keep in mind that there are not very pleasant surprises waiting for you on the gorgeous roads of this beautiful country.

I entered Armenia with a second passport, so I avoided this execution.

By 7 p.m., we reached Dilijan, also a small and very beautiful town, but already in Armenia.

Being in Armenia, stop in Dilijan for a day.

A small, compact, cozy town with colorful streets, stone houses, wooden balconies and fountains with drinking water, which is known to be the cleanest and tastiest in the world after San Francisco. )

There's also great inexpensive food, decent wine, and lots of old antique cars from the past.

And our journey continues, we are going to Yerevan!

I never plan my trips like a tour with a scheduled itinerary, time frames, hotel reservations for several days in advance, etc.

Because in a real adventure, something is bound to go wrong. If you puncture the wheel, then the war in the neighboring country will begin along the way.

Is it possible to foresee everything?

And now an unpredictable force majeure has happened, and clouds in the form of flying ballistic missiles have gathered over our sea route exactly where we were going to go. There is no detour. Or rather, there is, of course, but you will have to go back and make a detour of 3,000 km. The option is so-so.

We need to make a decision, but for now we are enjoying the divine nature of southern Armenia.

An unusual story happened to us today. In the morning, an ancient, abandoned monastery was found on the map, which is located in a deep gorge. We saw it when we climbed the steep serpentine to the top of the canyon.

It was not so easy to get to it. First, a steep descent down a rocky, three or four kilometers long, winding path with 180-degree turns. Then there's a primitive bridge across the river, a steep climb, and here we are at the monastery gates.

High, dilapidated walls of gray stone. We go inside. No one. Silence. Around the perimeter of the large courtyard are small rooms with entrances a meter and a half high. Apparently former monks' cells. There's nothing inside, just a small window and niches in the walls. Many are in a dilapidated state.

Let's keep going. Stone slabs with inscriptions - an ancient cemetery, behind it is the Temple. Suddenly we smell wax and some incense, we go inside and see a priest at the altar. He stands with his back to us and conducts the service. Alone in complete silence. In an empty temple.

We stand and wait for the priest to finish reading the prayers.

After about ten minutes, he stops talking, closes the Gospel and comes over to us. Let's say hello. Monk Jacob, he introduced himself, asked where we were from.

A calm, kind look and a barely noticeable smile through a gray beard and mustache. The conversation dragged on for an hour and a half. The monk told us about the monastery, about himself, how he got here, and many other interesting and unusual things.

It turned out that he had been living alone in this monastery for ten years. In a small cell, in which, in addition to the flooring of planks and an iron stove, there are few basic necessary utensils and shelves with books.

He really lives here all alone, prays and restores the monastery.

Unbelievable!

He speaks Russian very well, as he lived in Russia in the 90s and went as a pilgrim to our monasteries.

An amazing man.

Out of this world.