Sunday – Batumi, Georgia

Today, we arrived in Batumi, Georgia.

My geography isn’t good at the best of times, and if you’d asked me to stick a pin in Georgia on a map, I wouldn’t have known where to start. I’m still not a hundred percent certain where we’ve been today, other than to say that Georgia is tucked somewhere in between Turkey and Russia.

Having no escorting duties meant the day was ours to do with as we wished. So; it began with a cable car ride…

Batumi’s cable car is only a year old. Being so new; I’m not sure they still quite know what to do with it. Buying tickets and getting on it at the bottom is a little clunky; they could do with taking a look at how the cable car at Funchal does things.

The ten minute ride to the top was pleasant, with extensive views across the city. At the top is a new building, which we believe is eventually going to be a hotel. Again; views were impressive in all directions, which we enjoyed and photographed. Once we’d done that, though, there wasn’t a great deal to do other than to take the return journey back down the hill to the city.

Once back at ground level, we realised it was lunchtime, so we headed for the ship for a bite to eat before taking a walk around the rest of Batumi. It was pleasant sitting on the back deck snacking on cheese and biscuits; we’d finally been blessed with sunny, warm weather.

After lunch, we took a walk into Batumi.

We were pleasantly surprised by what we found. Batumi is city that’s had a lot of money spent on it. Miracle park, along the waterfront, is a lovely place to walk and relax of a Suday afternoon. Overlooked by several tall buildings, most of which are still under construction, the park has fun sculptures dotted here and there, an outdoor gym, and extensive gardens with lots of fountains.

The city is a combination of old alongside new; grand buildings with ornate balustrades, and an Astronomical Clock, All very tidy and friendly… we liked Batumi.

It was hot, though; so, after meandering for a couple of hours we were starting to flag, and decided the best way to finish the afternoon off would be to have a drink in the harbourside bar before heading back into the Minerva.