2011 – Balkans and Caucasus

Two appointments today which I assumed were close to Sofia. To my dismay, I discover that they are 150 km to the northeast. It’s raining cats and dogs, and the numerous potholes on the highway are full of water. I eventually arrive at Saedinenie where I meet up with Gotmar, who

I have a lot to write about but my priority is to get the broken windscreen repaired. After a rapid breakfast, I bring all the visit reports and notes from yesterday up to date, and then, thanks to efficient backup from our Heidelberg office, I make contact with the local Iveco

Today I take my leave of Sofia and point the Editourmobil in the direction of Turkey. Victor, the Iveco manager, had put his premises at my disposal for a further night, which was handy as it is situated directly on the motorway for Istanbul. There is yet another change in the

It is about 8 am when I get back on the road. During the night there was heavy rain and a fierce storm, so much so that the rain hammering on the roof kept me awake. Before me is Istanbul, a grey and monotonous sight due to the continuous rain and

A quiet night in Altintas. No rain and no street noise. The only disturbance is the muezzin calling the faithful to morning prayer at 5.00am. I wake up briefly then go back to sleep until 6. The distances between calls are now noticeably longer and I have to leave in the

Another early start, heralded this time not by my alarm clock but by the urgent call of the muezzin. Today I am going to try to get to Yerevan, but whether I will get there or not remains to be seen. Who knows what the roads will be like? We will

Following the pattern of the past few days I am up with the lark. It is still dark. The petrol pump attendant is also awake and regarding with interest the goings-on around the vehicle. (I’ve just stepped outside to get a bit of fresh air). Across the road, there is another

A few words about Yerevan. I was surprised to learn that it is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, dating back nearly three thousand years. It lies in the valley of Mount Ararat, where biblical tradition holds that Noah built his ark. The city, and Armenia itself, have seen

After I had completed my reports yesterday, I decided to go to the same car park I had previously chosen. It’s calm here and relaxing – at least that’s what I thought. Scarcely had my head touched the pillow than there was a furious knocking at the door. What on earth

Regular readers of the blog will be unsurprised to learn that today was yet another early start. Our goal today is Baku, the halfway point of our expedition, and the place where I hand over the reins to my colleagues. Naturally we are running on a very tight schedule … The

Last night we parked in front of the imposing buildings which house the Ministry for Human Rights, a recommendation from one of the “Kitchenette”, who were kind enough to show us the way. Actually we were a bit nervous about parking here. We joked that we would either be towed away