Dear friends,
the last days were very exciting. We had time to chill and relax from cycling. We enjoyed our break, were hiking in the mountains of Caucasus and relaxed on the beach of the black sea to recharge our batteries.
The time is running and one part of the velike team is going back home. The next destinations on our route are Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey and Balkans. And after that cycle back to Germany. That’s the plan. But on Friday, last week the plan was interrupted.
On the road to the Georgian border I saw a little dog sleeping on the roadside. I gave him water and all the food I had in my bags. It was in the middle of nowhere and it broke my heart to see the exhausted puppy, but I couldn`t took him on my bike. I continued my ride to Gali, the last city before border crossing. I stayed there for one night and the next morning I cycled further to the border. After four hours in the office of the border police it was clear that’s not possible and forbidden for tourists to cross the border of Abkhazia to Georgia. The result of the interrogation was a big step backward. The next possibility to cross the border to Georgia is over 800km away and the route goes back trough Abkhazia to Russia.
I had no other option and cycled back, the same way, the same situation. Additionally, time was getting tight and I had to hurry to cross the Russian border within my visa duration. It is allowed to stay only 10 days in Abkhazia and it was running out next day. But the plan was changed again.
After few kilometers I came to the same place were I fed the dog yesterday. The little puppy was on the other side. I heard him whimper. I stopped and gave him all my water and food again. He was very hungry and ate all the stuff I had: oats, cookies and bread. While he was eating I jumped on my bike and started to cycling. I couldn't take him with me and the Russian border was 200km away.
Few seconds later I heard him whimper again. I looked back. The puppy was running on the street behind me, with his last energy. I stopped, he stopped also. I started again and he followed me. After 300 meters I stopped and put the dog on my bike. He was very thin. I didn`t feel the additional weight on my porter. We cycled together over 50km still the sun went down. I stopped by Viktor, a nice guy and friend who I met one day before. I told him what I had experienced at the border and about the story with the little dog. Only what he answered was „no problem, you can stay at my house and I help you“. The first night, the dog and me spent time together in the garage of viktor. It was an amazing feeling and I was very happy about my decision to pick him up. I always wanted to have a dog, a dog from the street and I knew, the time will come and my dog will find me.
And now, the velike team has a new third member. His name is Didi. Simple name with deep background. Actually I have only one or two days WiFI in the week. But when I have the possibility I will post pictures and updates about Didi. The next step is to find a veterinary the check the dog and get documents for him, to bring the dog to Russia. After that I have to find another veterinary to get a passport in order to entrance to the European Union. But we arre looking forward to go all the necessary steps. It was our way, the way of velike and the way of Didi, our destiny.
And If you will help us with advice, contacts or a small donation you can send us a private message to velikeorg@gmail.com
Best,
Didi, Tatjana and Seba
