I hitchhiked to Tusheti in northern Georgia with a random Czech traveler. The road was 74 kilometers long and it might just qualify for the road with the most potholes? Was the road one big pothole? Anyway, a four-wheel-drive vehicle was a requirement for even a short attempt at this road!

I had started quite early in the daytime. This Czech guy showed up spontaneously at the same hitchhiking spot and we decided to join forces. During the long wait, he played my guitar awesomely. This made the wait quite good. You can see in the picture that the first stretch of the road is still asphalted and very promising. It just goes downhill – yet uphill – from this point onwards.

Then some local people found us and invited us to eat with them and drink wine and chacha. We ended up having a little picnic at our waiting spot. Glasses were shattered when the dancing started. Even though one car stopped and almost ran over our toes, the guy wasn’t actually driving this road to Tusheti.

We had given up on finding a ride two hours before sundown. But hitchhiking always works, eventually. So we had to say our goodbyes to these friendly people when a car pulled over. They brought us up the dangerously steep, skinny, and track full of potholes to Tusheti. The most twist-and-turn part of the route is at the Abano Pass some 2826 meters above sea level. Don’t look down the cliffs!

Somewhere at the start, there’s even a waterfall that just drops onto the muddy track. Apparently, all cars stop there with their windows closed to receive a mini gravity car wash. It was so nice. But it was also a little spooky when we drove there in the darkness.

 

A belated update because no internet, but a very happy one nonetheless. It’s just one of those hitchhiking days that really turns a corner when you least expect it.