The long travel spell has arrived. I've decided to update this entry as I can. I have 15 minutes of free wi-fi at the Kiev Airport, so here goes...
Sergey arrived on time. He insisted on driving me to the train station to catch the bus rather than my taking the metro. He said it was mostly on his way to where he was going. On the way, he talked more about the problems with Russia. In his opinion, based on things Putin has said before, what is happening in Ukraine is partially a test. He said Putin last year mentioned several times that he would like Russia to expand to include all of the former USSR and what was once part of the Russian Empire--meaning Finland and Poland. He said that the people in eastern Ukraine are positive toward Russia because Russia is the only buying partner for all their heavy industries--steel, rocket engines, etc. They would not be able to compete with the already established industries in Europe and America. Furthermore, he said they seem to recall the old USSR days as peaceful ones without worries. Now they worry about the cost of everything, about inflation, about job security, etc. It's an interesting argument for what is happening.
The bus left the train station and took exactly 50 minutes as shown on the schedule to get to the airport. However, there is a problem at the airport. There are two terminals, and they made the bad decision to name them B and D! When we arrived, I asked, "Terminal B?" And the man next to me said, "Yes." Everyone got off, so I figured he was right. When I got inside, there were no signs indicating flights for DnieproAvia. I went to the information counter. I was in Terminal D. She gave me directions to get to Terminal B, the domestic terminal, via a shuttle bus.
The counters were not open yet at Terminal B, so it was no problem being delayed by getting off at the wrong terminal. When I did check in, the lady said that I will only get ONE boarding pass to Dniepropetrovsk. There I will have to pick up my luggage, go to the check-in counters again, and go through customs and immigration. The flight departs in an hour. I will post more from there if they have free wi-fi.
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It took less than an hour to fly to Dniepropetrovsk. It's a very small airport--about the same size or smaller than the one in Corpus Christi. It has no jetways. A bus meets the plane. I have a little over two hours before check-in begins for my flight to Batumi. During the time, I will eat my lunch, read the news on the computer (since the internet connection doesn't seem to have any limits), play a game on the computer, and read. My next flight departs at 13:50.
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Batumi is a
surprise. I didn't expect it to have the mountains behind it. It's
very green, also. Wish I had the three days I originally planned to
stay here so I could enjoy it, but actually, the forecast is for rain
for the next three days. Guess it is just as well that I am going to
Tbilisi tomorrow (where it will also be raining).
Lili was not at the
airport when I arrived. I had to wait. The taxi drivers were very
nice, but they kept wanting me to go ahead and ride with them.
Finally, about 25 minutes after we arrived, her son showed up with a
photo of me on his phone.
Well, the
“apartment” I rented here, Pansion Lili, is my first real disappointment on the
trip. It's in a hostel and is actually a 4-bunk-bed apartment that has
been rented only to me. It does have a nice balcony, it's own bathroom, and it's own kitchen, so it is an apartment. And I will
have the place to myself rather than having to share it. But the
cost of $56 is way over-priced for the situation, I think. That being said,
the owner and her son are insisting that I have dinner with them in a
few minutes. I can smell it right now. I like the two of them. He
is especially charming with his English that is limited, but
adequate. He immediately recognized San Antonio as the home of the
Spurs.
Somehow, I need to
eat with them, then get out and find a place to change money. Then I
need to meet Eduard from Tbilisi out front at 20:00. He's probably
going to be ready to eat, too! And they surprised me on the plane
with a large sandwich after I had eaten my homemade sandwiches at
12:30.
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Lasha and his mother and two of their friends were in their apartment next door and invited me inside at 6:00. It's just as I remember from Georgia before. People here are so generous and friendly. And the food is so FRESH and tasty. They had a big basket of bread. There was a salad made with eggplant, tomatoes, parsley, etc., that was delicious. There were fresh tomatoes and onions. There was a plate of sliced goat cheese. And she cooked fresh fried potatoes. It was all vegetarian and all delicious. They told me it is a tradition to invite each of their guests for dinner on the first night.
We ate and talked. It was fun. During a brief break, Lasha took me around the corner to change some money so I will have Georgian Lari for paying for my mini-bus tomorrow and for other expenses. Then we returned and ate more. At 19:00, just as the other man returned with a bottle of cha cha, Georgian liquor made from grapes and the drink that is so strong and caused me to get sick on my previous trip to Georgia, Eduard showed up. He's the man I stayed with in Tbilisi on my last trip. He was supposed to come at 20:00, but he and his sister had been walking all over the city and were tired, so they showed up early. That gave me an excuse to leave the party downstairs before I had to drink too much.
We walked to a cafe nearby and had tea and a dessert--a chocolate lava cake with ice cream. We sat and talked and talked. He is such a nice and friendly man. And it amazed me how much he remembered about my previous visit to Georgia. He told me about how I insisted on taking a mini-bus only to a certain place and then climbing the mountain to a monastery rather than going to a town and paying $12 for a taxi ride. He told me about my going to the airport in the evening to await my 3:00 a.m. flight and that I told him how I have a chain and lock so that I can sleep while feeling safe about my luggage being chained to the seating. He told me about the visit with the sheep farmer who killed a lamb for dinner (when I got sick). I was amazed that he remembered all of that. We eventually left the cafe to call it a night. They were tired from walking, and I was tired from being up so early this morning.
It's 21:00, and I will now go to bed. The alarm will be set for 6:30 tomorrow, and I will be up and starting another travel day!
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