Here we are in Baku, Azerbaijan. This city is breathtaking. In Azerbaijan everything changes – roads, buildings, cities… absolutely everything! We asked again ourselves how is this possible. We had the impression that we would not be able to explain this until we left this place.

We headed directly to the port full of emotions and impatiently. We were on the road to our first major milestone on the road – the crossing of the Caspian Sea. We had some ideas and some contacts that with the helps of some money they promised to help us. We thought to first try and then see what happens. We knew that we do not have too much time to spend in Baku. We agreed that if we get the chance to cross we would do it without hesitation even though that would mean not to see Baku at all.

We found the seaport after some hesitations because did not get to communicate properly with some kind locals who were sending us back and forward. The language started to be an issue.

The seaport was beautiful even though it was under construction and we got full of dust there. The clothing was not the problem as they were already dirty. We had a small issue with the eyes because of that mess. After we crossed the “sand storm” it started to be fun. We had to pay a port tax but there was nobody at the office. After we waited for a long time a woman came and told us that we have no chance to pay, as today they do not open anymore. We discovered that they have a favorite word here “tomorrow”. We tried to bribe her with 10$ and two packages of cigars when she started laughing with someone she was on the phone. We discovered after a while that she was the cleaning lady. So we found out that next day between 9 and 10 a.m. we have to be there for the tax.

We managed to find an Azer custom officer who was speaking German and so we managed to get Yurty out of Azerbaijan. We were very glad to meet some other three Mongol Rally crews in line at the ferry. We were thinking that perhaps together with them the time would fly faster. We arranged to come next day with the tax paid and so to close the formalities for the boarding. So we decided to eat something else than junk food and we stopped at a restaurant near the port where we booked a hotel as well (Du Port). It looks like it was a very smart choice because we ate and caught up some sleep after two days of running continuously.

That night we went out to meet a Romanian friend of Razvan. He was living there and he agreed to be our guide for that night. Baku is impressive especially if you have someone to show it to you and tell you the some history highlights. We really want to thank him for his time that evening.

This is how this day ended with a lot of traditional food and music, nice chatting, and perhaps too much vodka.