Thursday began like our other days in Georgia... with an early morning. Only this time, the early morning was not due to jet lag, but rather to a group of us hopping in a van for the 5 hour drive to Poti Port, located on the Black Sea.
Though long, our drive was not totally boring. Just a short drive from Tbilisi, we came to a point where Russian troops were only 500 meters away from us. Looking out the window from our van, our tour guide, Alexandre, told us that due to the proximity of the Russians and the fact that many Georgians still claimed the apples and mushrooms on the Russian side of the border, many Georgia police officers had to be located along the line in order to keep the peace and deescalate potential skirmishes. I had not made the trip to the border the day before, so being so close to Russian troops put the security situation in an entirely new light for me.
A few miles ahead on the other side of the road, we drove past a castle that Georgians affectionately call F*** Off Castle. You might wonder why it is called this. Apparently, as the story goes, way back in the day the Ottomans kept attacking the castle. At one point they had it surrounded and thought that starving out the Georgians inside would be a good idea. Well, four months went by and nothing happened... that is, until the Georgians threw out a fresh fish they had caught, signaling that they had built an underground tunnel to the river. After seeing this, apparently the Ottomans got the message to let the Georgians be.
As we continued on, at about the halfway point in our trip we stopped to get breakfast. The place we stopped was like a campground B&B. We sat down, ordered our food, and it seemed like the food never stopped coming. However, far from being a western breakfast with eggs and bacon, we were served platters of fish, salad, mushrooms, and chicken... all before 10 am! Though different from our normal routine, we enjoyed the opportunity to take in another meal of authentic Georgian food.
After breakfast, we got back on the road, dodged a fox with our van, and before long had reached our first destination of Poti port. I would say that Poti port was definitely not the biggest port I had ever seen...definitely not like Baltimore, Charleston, or many of the big US ports...but it was impressive nonetheless.
Here, we met with representatives from two terminal companies, APM Terminals and Pace Group. Together, they handle the majority of ships coming in through the port, whether they are container ships, or ships carrying grains, minerals, or even liquids like gasoline. In both meetings, we learned more about the growth prospects for Poti, the prospects for Georgia becoming a transit corridor for the greater region, and how politics often interferes with business in Georgia. We also heard more about the potential for a nearby competitor, the Anaklia port project.
After our meetings, we handed in our hard hats and yellow vests to head over to a Georgian Coast Guard installation. There we were briefed on the Coast Guard’s mission and vision, as well as their tasks and coordination with partners in the area, including NATO.
By the time we got out of our Coast Guard meeting, it was around 4 or 5 o’clock. Knowing we had a 5 hour drive ahead of us, we skipped a more formal Georgian dinner in place of cookies, ice cream, and crackers from a local convenience store. With a great day behind us on our long trip to Poti, we headed back for the comfort of our temporary home in Tbilisi, grateful for the experiences we had and the hospitality from the people we had met that day.
-- Rob C., Cohort 4