It’s a tour. The last time I did a tour I was twenty one. I had more energy.

It was hot. Day 3 started with a half day trip to  Qobustan National Park one of the world’s largest open-air archaeological museums, where a local guide shared the stories of ancient petroglyphs dating back some 40,000 years. It was hot!

The afternoon and it is still hot. A group of us explored the Heydar Aliyev Center designed by Zaha Hadid. Amazing!!!

I was very impressed with myself when I downloaded and used the taxi App Bolt. Saved us a bomb.

While all that sounds fine we walked miles and it was 38 degrees.. Did I mention it was hot?

While some of the others found the energy to venture out for a meal, Sue and I ate in and then decided to walk along the promenade and take some photos of the Flame Towers that light up after sunset.

Day 4 … Breakfast at the hotel and on the bus by 9. It’s hot. Firstly the  Yeddi Gumbaz Mausoleum then the Juma Mosque in Shamakhi, where we struggled to compete with Chinese Influences.

 Next a delicious lunch in Shemakhi at Abqora restaurant.

Sheki considered one of Azerbaijan’s most beautiful city was our next stop. Again we confronted hordes of Chinese tourists vieing for access to the Palace of Sheki Kahns. Akshin was a forced to be reckoned with and our group held its own and we got to enter on time. A visit to the workshop where shebeke is made by hand was truly a highlight.

The day continued. We visited a caravanserai, renovated and now a hotel and crossed the road to the best wine tasting experience I have ever had. Musaf an expert sommelier told wonderful stories about the wine and we were entranced. This experience was followed by an incredible meal and of course as we were all well lubricated we all had a great time. Finally we climbed aboard the bus and were transported to a lovely hotel/resort. It was 9:30 and it had been a very long day. I was slightly tired!

Day 5 and there was general consensus that we needed to hurry up and arrive at the boarder before the other tourists. Pavel prepared us for the worst. It could take between one and three hours. There would be a section of stairs with a ramp to the side where we would walk about 700m. It was hot! We were very fortunate and the boarder guards were in a good mood and we crossed from Azerbaijan to Georgia without incident. Just an aside…while tourists can exit Azerbaijan via a land boarder the only entry is via a flight. Oh and one more interesting fact …Azerbaijan has 8000 rivers!!

Gorgia and first stop Sighnaghi for a three hour walking tour with David, our guide. It was hot and I was stressed as I had ‘lost’ my phone. Turns out it was on the bus in my backpack.

The highlight for the day was a meal prepared by locals accompanied by home made wine and a wonderful performance by a trio of Georgian polyphonic singers.