2003-07-11
We get up at nine and have the customary Khachapuri breakfast. Naira points out that we should have "viele, viele" butter on our bread. At ten we're at the ferry terminal where we have to wait until 1 PM before the ship is ready for boarding. The first part of the trip, up to Poti, is smooth but we realize that there is no cafe or restaurant on board, making us regret that we didnt bring the Khachapuri leftovers with us. Fortunately we are saved by a Georgian family who has a few spare sandwiches. In Poti even more passangers and luggage are loaded into the small "Kometa". There aren't seats for everyone, so some have to sit on folding chairs in the aisle. The ship starts it's engines again and we go along the Abkhazian coast (on a safe distance from potential rocket launchers in the conflict zone). The sea is getting rougher, and almost all Georgians (not used to boats) throw up. Nydda thinks the Kometa resembles an Albanian ship full of fugitives. Hobbe makes time fly by constantly SMS:ing to Alina in Sochi, who he has chatted with earlier on ICQ. Alina promises to meet up with us in Sochi and help us finding a place to stay. Nine hours after leaving Batumi we finally glide into the port of Sochi. The customs procedure was quite smooth since one guy in the Kometa crew recognised the four Swedes, and pulled us off the ship and into the customs building, before the horde of Georgians were allowed to disembark. This was proably very lucky since we heard that it could take 30 minutes for _one_ georgian family to pass the Russian customs, and there must have been 50 families on board the ship. We walk up a street to a Russian hamburger bar and orders some much needed food. After half an hour, Alina shows up with her brother Maxim and her uncle Sergey. Sergey has an apartment in Adler, 15 km south of Sochi, that we can rent. The apartment suits us perfectly, with four beds and a kitchen. Although we had looked forward to stay in Sochi, Adler isn't that far away, and the price was OK. After a very long day none of us have any problems falling to sleep this night.
We get up at nine and have the customary Khachapuri breakfast. Naira points out that we should have "viele, viele" butter on our bread. At ten we're at the ferry terminal where we have to wait until 1 PM before the ship is ready for boarding. The first part of the trip, up to Poti, is smooth but we realize that there is no cafe or restaurant on board, making us regret that we didnt bring the Khachapuri leftovers with us. Fortunately we are saved by a Georgian family who has a few spare sandwiches. In Poti even more passangers and luggage are loaded into the small "Kometa". There aren't seats for everyone, so some have to sit on folding chairs in the aisle. The ship starts it's engines again and we go along the Abkhazian coast (on a safe distance from potential rocket launchers in the conflict zone). The sea is getting rougher, and almost all Georgians (not used to boats) throw up. Nydda thinks the Kometa resembles an Albanian ship full of fugitives. Hobbe makes time fly by constantly SMS:ing to Alina in Sochi, who he has chatted with earlier on ICQ. Alina promises to meet up with us in Sochi and help us finding a place to stay. Nine hours after leaving Batumi we finally glide into the port of Sochi. The customs procedure was quite smooth since one guy in the Kometa crew recognised the four Swedes, and pulled us off the ship and into the customs building, before the horde of Georgians were allowed to disembark. This was proably very lucky since we heard that it could take 30 minutes for _one_ georgian family to pass the Russian customs, and there must have been 50 families on board the ship. We walk up a street to a Russian hamburger bar and orders some much needed food. After half an hour, Alina shows up with her brother Maxim and her uncle Sergey. Sergey has an apartment in Adler, 15 km south of Sochi, that we can rent. The apartment suits us perfectly, with four beds and a kitchen. Although we had looked forward to stay in Sochi, Adler isn't that far away, and the price was OK. After a very long day none of us have any problems falling to sleep this night.