Crossing the Caspian Sea - Part 1

Our alcohol induced stupor wore off near noon and we headed out to prepare for a suspected evening departure. The lads purchased our tickets earlier and we were scheduled a day earlier than planned. We'd be leaving the comfort of our lumpy hotel beds for two-up-two-down berths on out bucket of bolts cargo ship.

Some last minute sightseeing was paired with shopping lists and repacking our bags for the ferry. Everything we have been told-Drago crew and passengers alike-was promised to change at any moment.

Poor Aussie Joe's visa issue had not been resolved by the time we left so he had to stay behind to sort it out. He'll fly from Baku and meet up with us in Ashgabat in a few days. The tattooed Kiwi departed the group today as his tour ended in Baku.

With food to cover the next day or possibly two, we took taxis to the port, loaded up the back locker with our bags not needed on the boat, prepared a food prep box for what we would use on the cruise and waited...and waited...and waited. Sorry, snapped one photo and got spanked. Will try again later.

It was now 6pm. The ship was docked, there were drivers lined up with their trucks, and the immigration office was staffed. And we waited, being totally ignored with our big orange truck parked ten feet from their window.

Around 8:30pm the immigration agent came out and processed Dave, Frenchy, and Sura. Then one by one we waited to get processed. The agent must have gotten an "A" in the "mean" class at agent school as he was quite stern, took his time, and both made and answered numerous personal phone calls. It was amusing to watch his demeanor change as he would finish a friendly call and once again turn on his official composure. The processing taking a good hour, we now knew nothing more about our boarding time than before. The Turkish drivers asked if we had food and were prepared to sleep in the parking lot. And then it started to rain, lots of rain. Past 10 pm and we started to claim our corners in Sura.

At 11:00 pm there came a knocking on the bus telling us to go find the boat. Dave drove out over the breakwater and lined us up for loading. As John said, "we're now 150 meters closer to Turkmenistan. And then we waited...and it was still raining.

One by one the big tractor/trailer rigs drove on. And we waited...and waited, being relocated with every staging. We were now 160 meters closer to Turkmenistan.

Update 11:40 pm - cracked open the ghivino (Georgian) jug! It might be a long night. John and Frenchy imitated Gene Kelly in front of the ship.

Post loge: 12:41 am. We're loading. It's been a blast watching the whole loading process, the cool elevator that lifted trucks to the second deck, etc. good news...last one on may mean first one off! Next stop, our "luxury" accommodations. What an adventure!

Post-post loge: 1:26 am Winding up grimy stairwells coated with crude oil, we ended up on some upper deck meeting a lady who was surprised to see us. "You have cabins?"

Stay tuned for Part 2...

Baku by night - Part 2

Alias: the "pub crawl." The group gathered for a short update on the ferry situation, then headed out to sample the local brews. Most of the clubs are on basement sand we hit a "few".

We started at O'Malleys and then dropped in at "Back on the USSR" where I found an Alaska flag on the ceiling. The dude under the flag is the owner. A Russian expat living on Baku. We were treated to smoked Russian smoked string cheese. Really good!

We continued to the Punjab bar where we had an AWESOME ribeye steak and a couple glasses of Chilean red wine. Photo provided as proof.

Had to go back to the USSR Bar where Alex took on the owner. And the winner was...the Russian!

Next match.. The U.K. Versus the host bar. And the winner was...the Russian...who also owns the bar!

Lights out...another amazing night and in and in the words of our leader Dave, "it was a BEAUTIFUL day!

Baku by day

A real cup of coffee started our day. We wandered the city taking in the sights. Beautiful parks and elegant buildings. We did lunch at a local hotspot.

The waterfront was a long promenade of parks and monuments. We decided the Flame Tower was worth a closer look...then we climbed the 425 steps to the top...whoof!

Back to the hotel for a toilet break and time to do laundry and we were off again for the old city sights. But first we needed to scout out the local Irish pub! Oh, then there was the pool game at the English pub. I won...NOT! Ah-em...then we somehow stumbled (literally) into O'Malley's Pub. And thus ended the pub evaluation tour of Baku. We were now ready to report our findings to the rest of the group..."ALL of them will work out fine for our gathering this evening!"

Baku at night

We arrived around 6 pm and had to hire a taxi to escort our truck to the hotel. We are staying within the walls of the old city. After washing off the layers of mud we went out for dinner and then wandered around. This is a city of lights and quite beautiful. The gardens and parks are perfectly manicured and everything is immaculate. Enjoy some of these night photos. Google "flame towers Baku". This is a triple ultramodern skyscraper that had won international acclaim. It was designed by an American and the LED light show is awesome. Sorry, can't seem to be able to load video on this blog. Bummer.

Mud Volcanoes, sorta...

We left the petroglyphs and drove further into the park. Along the way we stopped for bread at a local market. Of course there was a perfectly fine and paved road to the next site-but the lads chose the dirt and mud one instead; the guide at the park said it was a shortcut. Then came the mud and the washed out road. Oh, and it started to rain. Ah, "overlanding!" Gotta love it!

"Stuck" preceded an hour of mud grates, digging out (success), and then backing up most of the 10 km we had just covered. We could see were we had intended to go...so close and yet so far!

A quick stop for lunch and a check of the weather nixed our tour of the mud volcanoes for today. It was off to Baku and the hotel to scrap off the mud and take a bath. We decided to look into a day trip from Baku to see the volcanoes during the next two free days.

And now on to the park...

A grand breakfast of omelets and potato pancakes started our day. We left the pasture as we found it, cow pies and all.

Ah-h-h, smooth roads and a four lane highway...finally! Two hours of driving got us to the national park. Still overcast, it was a bit warmer and we were ready to see some really cool stuff.

Gobustan is famous for the massive amount of discovered prehistoric petroglyphs. Many date back to 70,000 BC. We toured the site with a private guide for an hour, entering caves, and marveling at the unique and exquisite carvings.

To Gobustan National Park

Up early and on the road before breakfast, we had a rough ten hours of driving over REALLY bumpy and frost-heaved roads. We stopped to shop for the next two days and then made a quick breakfast alongside the "road."

We continued to descend in altitude as we headed for the coast of the Caspian Sea. The terrain changed dramatically from high boreal forest to rolling grassland punctuated with farms; the Caucasus mountains all the while to the north.

Cloudy with scattered showers started our day and continued well into the afternoon. We stopped for lunch in a small village, taking a chance with a local cafe. The soup was delicious, as was the BBQ lamb. We purchased meat for dinner from the local butcher. He had two more lambs in the trailer waiting their turn.

Back on the road we continued east following the ridge line of the mountains. We got lost twice, stopped to ask for directions, and still couldn't find the right road. The ride today was a killer-possibly the worst yet with endless potholes and uneven payment. All of us were exhausted from being tossed around. Taking off our seatbelts actually helped...if that makes any sense. Being strapped in and thrown around hurt as the belt cut into our waists and shoulders.

After ten hours we had traveled about 150 miles with another 60+ to go. It was late so we opted to pull over and wild camp instead of pressing on to our original destination. It was cute watching the lads try to ask if we could camp in a farmer's field using sign language and a brochure showing tents. No luck. We moved on and checked out a vacant restaurant along side the highway-not far enough from the road to be safe. Next up was a pasture some distance from the highway. There was no one home in the farmhouse so the lads headed out across the pasture were some shepards were tending their flocks.

They said we were fine and later the "land baron" showed up with his approval. We shared some vodka with him and his two daughters each got one of the moose lapel pins. We had a nice evening and a great meal. The camp for tonight was in a pasture surrounded by sleeping cows, sheep, goats, and buffalo. Perfect after a long day on the road. The land owner joined us for another vodka and gave us some cheese. It was great fun.