Off again to new countries (From Hereford Times)

Off again to new countries

8:16am Wednesday 22nd September 2010

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Friday I fly to Tbilisi to begin searching for a horse sport the son of a friend saw while he was out in Abkhazia lifting mines. The trouble is it is totally unsafe to go to Abkhazia because it is a break-away state from Georgia and well-knownfro kidnapping and mines! As a result I will be searching in Georgia and then going on to Armenia, where there horses are still heavily used in the more rural parts of the country.

Both countries have high mountain ranges, so warm clothing will be essential, but part of Georgia borders the Black Sea, so on the plains it will still be quite warm. It is just what to pack. English is now being taught in schools, which will be a help in towns, but as I have found out on other expeditions, I can learn a language, only to find the local dialect is totally different. Rather like learning English and then trying to talk to someone from Newcastle.

I am expecting it to take between six to eight weeks, travel by local transport is always slow and building up contacts takes time. Out of the towns, especially in Armenia there is little electricity and because of the mountains there will be much less mobile phone coverage than on my last trip to Africa. I will write from Tbilisi