“Raindrops keep falling on my head”

An early departure from Batumi and we were heading up into the mountains with the aim of reaching Mestia. At first the scenery was pretty nice, but it then became amazing as we started to climb up. The road to Mestia was only built in 1956 and was certainly an experience, particularly for those amongst us who are not good with heights! Sheer drops and narrow passes. We were lucky to have a particularly nice day for the drive (again, sunny truck days!) and there were many photos taken. Edel & Maura on the galleon: Unfortunately the road’s rough surface was finally too much for Penelope, and there was a loud bang as one of the springs succumbed to the pressure and snapped. We limped a bit further up the road, but we had to stop about 25km short of Mestia. We ended up camping in a farmer’s field, complete with cows and the occasional pig. Our arrival was probably the most exciting thing to happen in the area for a while, and we were soon hosting most of the town’s population – school children playing ball, the farmer and his family bringing out horses for us to ride, and putting on a dog fight for us and the police and army arrived and ended up staying the night to ensure our safety. Even the mayor turned up and told us how much they want to encourage tourism in the area. It was an absolute circus, and all in the most magnificent setting with snow capped mountains towering over us. Pete and Tim fixed Penelope, and we had a lovely dinner under the watchful eyes of the locals! Campsite: Pete & Tim at work: I can now officially dispel the myth that a pink sky at night means sailors or shepherds delight. We had enjoyed a lovely pink sky among the mountains, however the heavens opened during the night and we awoke to torrential rain! It had rained so much during the night that the ground underneath Penelope had become waterlogged, and she was stuck! It took an hour or so, many sandboards, a lot of pushing, some digging and some hot milk provided by the locals to get her out! It was a great feeling watching her head off down the hill and onto the tarmac! And any grumpiness caused by being wet and cold was dispelled by the playing of “Raindrops keep falling on my head” – our new truck anthem!