1st of June, 2022.
There are some wild flowers inside the van. They smell good. The elderly man sitting beside me is nice but nobody speaks English. The driver is going way too fast. And he is actually driving like crazy! They drop me off (as I imagined) right at the entrance of Tbilisi. At least it is a spot where buses stop so it is normal to have people by the road waiting so I can hitchhike in here even though it is a very busy road.
I decide to have my lunch first. I ask to wash my hands by the mechanical workshop and, of course, everybody is looking at me. I sit under a shade and start to eat some bread with boiled eggs and the remaining of my pizza. I also have some of the delicious fig jam from Dodo. When I am almost finishing, a guy from one of the workshops, invite me to come and eat by a table, at his place. I kindly refuse because I am almost finishing. A few minutes after that he comes back and gives me a Coke. I truly appreciate his gesture. Him and a few other people give me Coke. But I wish they would give me water instead. I drink the Coke, of course.
I walk one block further so I can pass one exit, which a lot of the cars are taking. When I am just about to stop and start to hitchhike, a car stops. The guy seems very trustful and friendly but he does not even know where Koda is. Laugh. Even though, he keeps insisting that is fine and I can just come in. There are some people you just know are good people from the first second, and they just want to help. Zviad is one of them.
Zviad is a police officer but for the special forces. He does not speak English but we get along pretty well. Soon enough, he calls his wife, a lovely lady called Nino, and I explain to her that, he doesn’t need to drive me all the way to Koda (what he offers many times), but only to outside Tbilisi, on the road which leads to Koda, and from there I will hitchhike.
Right after the call, Zviad decides to give me a quick tour of Tbilisi. So I don’t know if it was just his idea or also Nino’s. He takes me to the castle and we go all the way up the highest spot: the cross. There is not much to see of the castle itself, just some ruins, but it is nice and the view from the top is also good.
After that Zviad ask me if I am hungry and I tell him I just ate. So he asks me about ice cream. It is super hot so I decide to accept. He is so happy with my answer! He takes me to a shop called Luca Polare and I think it is a kind of fancy ice cream place. They have some really exotic and wonderful flavours. I choose Almond Caramel and Tartufo Crash. Oh, my Loki! I think it is the most delicious ice cream I have ever had! Unfortunately I don’t have my camera with me for a photo.
When we leave the shop, Zviad wants to buy me some souvenir. I tell him I cannot accept because it will be more weight for me to carry. He understands. But them he buys some snacks like kachapuri and some pies. I still have some bread and boiled eggs but I accept so I can have some breakfast tomorrow morning.
I say goodbye to my dear friend Zviad, and start hitchhiking again.
In a few minutes, a van with a lot of kids and some women stop. I explain to them that I cannot pay but they say I can come anyway. They make a quick stop in a supermarket where there are some kind of entertainment going on for kids. I get a piece of cardboard for my next sign, Yerevan.
I decide to camp somewhere around here. There are plenty of wide open fields. But also there is always some house, or old building, or some man with their cows. So I keep walking. I have so much food, even though not so much water, that I would love just to find a safe and hidden place to camp and have some peace. I think I have to be more precise about that to the universe, because it seems that it is always just changing my plans and putting more people on my way. I want to camp by myself and alone!
I mini-cooper stops and a friendly young man is its driver. He is going to the next town, Marneuli, and offers to take me there. I think what a hell, I still have some daylight time, so I can go a bit further and find a camping spot outside Marneuli, right? Right?
Lasha is a nice young man, he is 23 years old, and he works with politics. We are going to fetch his fiance, Tako, also 23 years old, and go to take a look on some of their wedding preparations. Yeah, they are getting married next month.
After the meeting, Lasha suggest we can do a few different things. He wants to take us for some food and after tea and baklava. I am not hungry, neither is Tako so we go straight to tea and baklava. It is a very fancy place, an Azerbaijani restaurant, and I protest for being so fancy, as I did at the other restaurant Lasha wanted to take us for dinner, but Lasha insists so we go. The restaurant is beautiful from inside. Baklava and tea are delicious!
We decide that I can camp in a park, just before the entrance of the town, where there is security all night and Lasha believes it will be safe. When we get in there, probably because it is kid’s day, it is full of people! So we decide to wait for a while. We buy some beer and smoked cheese and wait. Lasha talks with the security guards and they say it is all fine. They keep saying that if I need anything or somebody come and bother me, I should come to them. They also call their boss to ask about it, because apparently there are cameras around too, so just in case their boss sees me and wonder who the hell is that.
It is near 11 o’clock when we decide I should start making my camp. There are still some people and kids around but we are all tired and I don’t want to wait anymore.
Unfortunately I have a terrible night. I can barely sleep because I feel unsafe all the time. Curious isn’t? I feel more safe when I am completely hidden and nobody can see me, than when there are security guards around. I hear people and kids coming to the park even later at night.
In the morning I reluctantly get up with the sun and with the noise of people cleaning the park. They all seem so surprised. When I am putting my tent down, a nice man ask me in English if I need any help. I kindly refuse.
I eat some kachapuri, half of a flat bread sandwich with what seems to be falafel inside, but I am not sure, and a delicious almond pie. And I have no water now. Great!
I decide to cross the whole town to avoid unnecessary cars which are going in another direction. Is not a long way. I ask for some water to a lady who is cleaning her sidewalk.
