Way to Erzurum

We were in Batumi in the morning. We took a bus from the station to the airport. Like real addicts we found some canteen where we spent our last euros on Nescafe.

Getting to the border was as easy as getting to Batumi the week before. That is why in half an hour we were in Turkey again. When we got to Hopa we thought it was a high time to grab some breakfast so we ate our veg kebab in front of the Black Sea, watching wandering lizards.
Travelling with the girl has its advantages but it has drawbacks too. They are so forgetful! And so is Jagoda. That is why we had to stop in Artvin to collect her jacket, which she forgot to take while we were leaving our hosts house. Anyway it was nice to visit Fatmagul, Volkan and crazy Robin once again.

Volkan, Jagoda, Robin, Chris and Fatmagul (from the left)

 The weather was amazing that day so we decided to take a stroll down the ‘hill’ (mountain) and take the last look at stunning views of green Artvin.

As we say: in some places in Turkey you don’t hitch-hike – you are hitch-hiked. And it was like that this time. Some guy beckoned us and offered us a ride – to Erzurum!
On the way we couldn’t believe how amazing the area is! 

Huge bridge, still under the construction

Turkey is all under the construction. In some of them we would not believe unless we haven't seen them. On the way to Erzurum we saw huge dam, new roads being built much higher than the ones which we were using, endless amount of tunnels going through the mountains, massive bridges connecting two tops of the hills...all of that is being constructed in order to create a water system for getting the energy. You can imagine all that empty space under the bridge full of water...Unbelievable.

Amazing mountain lake

Chris and our driver :-)

While getting closer to our destination we could notice the view getting whiter and whiter. Although it was the middle of spring mountains were still covered with layers of shining snow.

Less than 50 km to the Turkish capital of cold in the end of April