In total I spent just 9 short days in Kazakhstan which seems an incredible injustice to such a huge, landlocked country that is one of the most sparsely populated in the world. But it merits a blog post all of its own because the minute corner I crossed during this time was the desert. My … More The desert for the first time!

After the happy weeks spent in Georgia I was a bit unsure about what to expect in Azerbaijan. My preconceptions (heavily weighed by a lack of knowledge and research) had me imagining an oil money state, characterised by a conservative Muslim population and anticipating little interaction with the people. Basically a country I had to … More The Azerbaijan surprise and crossing the Caspian Sea

  Given my previous debacles with visas (turkish residence permit and the well hidden kazakhstan embassy) I was a little sceptical about the ease I had been promised for an Azerbaijan visa in Batumi. But I needn’t have been. After a shockingly quick 2hrs, all 3 of us, plus another cycling couple we met outside … More The Georgian mountains – in good company

  As promised the road turned into cycling utopia after Sinop – well-made road with wide hard shoulder, 2 lanes for the relatively light traffic, a near constant view of the sea on my left and green mountains on my right. I passed by rice fields, then into endless rolling hills of hazelnut trees and … More Back at the border