South Caucasus – picking up the XBR

The task for today was rather simple – get the XBR! At the breakfast, I had a phone call with Heydar to discuss the plan for today. He suggested to come to the airport so I could drop-off the rental car already and he would pick me up and do the pick-up together. First I declined, but on second thoughts, the idea got more attractive. I had pondered if I should give up the plan to drive to the Azerbadjani Caucasian mountains, I think I better give up this plan in favour of another relaxed day to check out the centre of Baku. I will have enough opportunities in Georgia to enter the High Caucasus. And then the rental is superfluous anyway, so returning it today makes no difference.

So I jumped in the car and drove to the airport, filling up cheap petrol (0.6 Eur/L) along the way. I entered the airport and informed the clerk at the AVIS desk. We checked the car and it was done. Shortly after Heydar showed up and picked me up to drive to the cargo area. When we arrived there, the crate with the XBR was just put on a truck.

At this place, a multitude of cars from all kind of proveniences, brands and states can be found, from shiny (almost) new Beemers to wrecks of old Mercs and all kind of Asian brand in between. After some time, Heydar came back from the office and hired a worker to uncrate the bike. We had to wait 50 min as the officials had their lunch break so it made sense to do the uncrating now. I must say it was very well crated, with the panniers and the windshield still in place! Step by step, the bike appeared and everything seemed in place. Except a front indicator that was hanging freely. Hm, a missing screw? Solved with some duct tape. Actually, I am carrying all three most important tools: duct tape, wire and cable ties.

I started the bike and the usual rattling of the cold, worn timing chain told me that everything was in order. However, we still had to wait until the end of the lunch break. We entered a small container where other handlers were waiting already. We had some tea and a chat until Heydar could see the final officer. After a while, he sent me a text message to come to the office where a uniformed officer was supposed to give me the final stamp to leave the compound. However, something was wrong. It seemed that the unexperienced officer at the airport had introduced some data wrongly in the data system. Normally, we would have to go back to the airport to fix this. Have I already mentioned that Heydar is well connected? As the officer is also from his native province of Nakhchivan, he tried to fix it on the phone. This was apparently not very easy and accompanied by some eye-rolling over the colleague at the other end of the line. It took more than half an hour of patient waiting until everything was fixed. Apart from some chatting, the officer put on some dramatic soap opera in the background for entertainment.

Finally, I could leave the compound and pay my dues. Heydar has also had arranged an insurance police for me. His service was exemplary and very polite. The overall costs for the whole transport, customs clearing and handling are quite eyebrow-raising, but it is what it is. Heydar’s help was very much appreciated.

When I rode the first meters, I noticed that something was not right. It turned out that the handle bars were not at the same position, probably this happened during crating. I pushed them into the right position, this should do. On the way to the hotel, I concluded that the bike indeed is in need of a proper makeover as initially planned, this is the last trip for this motor block and the whole front needs to be aligned and nursed, but this is some work for the wintertime. When rolling down the mountain to the city centre, I passed the famous Flame Towers.

I had thought to ride a bit along the Bulvar, the coastal boulevard where also the F1 race track is prepared, but in the end I surrendered to the heat. It was 36 degrees with a high humidity today so finally I just wanted to return to the air-conditioned, cool hotel room.

After a break, some scribe and a shower, I walked to the centre for the food uptake of the day. I visited a restaurant that got only excellent reviews. In the end I was the only guest. The waiter told me that the place re-opened only a week ago, so that‘s maybe why. The location was nice and the food excellent. I ordered some lamb chops with pomegranade and cherry sauce and upon recommendation of the waiter a halva Karabach style. I also tried the local beer Xirdalan, quite ok. I had a longer chat with the friendly waiter, after all I was the only customer.

After that, I was walking throgh the buzzing centre, scooping up the vibes of the city that resembles more a place in Spain that at the crossroads of two continents and cultures. A nice walk and a visit for another little beer in a bar where the locals despair while watching the Champions League qualifying match of the Baku club Sabah. In the end, the club made a tremendous comeback and won the match so the locals should be happy.