There may have been a more sleazy side to Batumi. Georgia had a reputation for child trafficking, sexual exploitation and forced labour. We saw no evidence of these activities and the folk we met had to work hard to earn a meagre living. So we couldn’t help but notice some wealthy-looking men driving around in souped-up luxury cars. They were pretty conspicuous with their designer clothes and ostentatious gold jewellery. We watched a Mercedes noisily revving, a cloud of smoke emanating from its tyres, They appeared to be above the law and had little regard for the traffic police or the safety of other road users.
My granddaughter, Poppy, had also heard of Georgia’s reputation. She sent me a stern warning – to strongly resist any proposition, no matter how much money I was offered. I doubted there was much demand for Grandmas in the people-trafficking world. Daughter, Kate assured Poppy that if anyone kidnapped Grandma they would promptly return her soon after 4pm when she started demanding a G&T and asking what time dinner was!
Our generator problem was still unresolved in spite of seeking advice from experts in the UK and Italy. We had ordered a spare part from a company in Georgia 80 miles distant. The part arrived the next day on the local bus – we were told where and when the bus would arrive in Batumi. We waited at the bus stop and the bus driver just handed us the package. Unfortunately it turned out Tony had ordered the wrong part.
After a great deal of indecision we decided to retrace our steps back to Italy and seek help from the company who had previously repaired our generator.
