A solid start to Monday morning on the Tbilisi trails.

A morning on the Georgian railways.

Sunrise on my final morning on the Black Sea coast. I’ve hit very lucky with the weather on this visit, apart from one day it’s been 20+ degrees and dry each day. I’ve grown to really like Batumi, it has sharpened up a lot & the surrounding nature is sensational.

Pele shawarma in Batumi. I did think maybe it’s a Georgian word, rather than about the football player, but then spotted the cardboard cut out of the Brazilian and a (very questionable) Pele shirt on the wall.

The Georgian Erovnuli Liga (top flight) is shaping up to be an exciting end of the season. The league finishes in December, with 4 teams only points apart in the title race. I’m going to take in as many games as possible. Plus FC Iberia 1999 are in the Europa Conference League.

Relaxing seafront scenes in Batumi over the past few days.

A lot of people come to Adjara for the casinos and nightlife in Batumi, but for me, the main event lies outside the city.

Christ alive lads, Dinamo Batumi end was rocking v Dinamo Tbilisi today. Best curva I’ve been in for a long time.

Coming soon.

A remarkable day’s explore in Adjara (the Georgian region bordering Turkey). I watched sunrise at the beach, drove through a rainforest covered national park, then climbed up into alpine style mountains (turned back 1 hour from a ski resort) & returned for sunset at the beach.

The mountains behind Batumi at first light today & where I headed into shortly later.

Friday morning scenes in Batumi.

I went for a long stomp into the mountains behind Batumi today, up to a cross on a mountain top. Really got a sense for how tropical the surroundings are up there - bamboo growing freely, extremely humid & dense rainforest. Great view from the top too.

Batumi is an incredibly green city. The size of some of the trees is staggering. It has a sub-tropical climate, which is really different to Tbilisi only 4 hours away (230 miles) & gets 4x the amount of rain per year. You find lots of enormous palm trees & tropical plants.

Batumi has a lovely feel to it today. It’s much better out of season, than during mid-summer, when it’s heaving & pretty hot/humid. In April/May & September/October it’s still decent weather, but has a chilled out pace.

If you get away from the main promenade and nearby chain hotels, there is still a lot of character in Batumi. I enjoyed a walk around the streets near the bus station & bazaar today, where street stalls sell all manner of goods, including gargantuan piles of tobacco.

Fishermen hoping for a catch on Batumi seafront this morning.

Sunrise in Batumi today.

Batumi in the October sunshine.

I enjoy visiting Batumi, it has sharpened up a lot over 5 years (it was a bit weathered). Vast regeneration + a fast growing population. Lots of great places to eat/drink & all public areas improved. Culturally interesting too, with a big Muslim population + mountains & beach.