We turned up at the docks at 10am, expecting a long day waiting and boarding the freight ship. We were told the big boss of the docks would arrive at 11am, so it was a chance to nip back into town to change Georgian and Azerbaijan currency.
There was a long wait for the ferry - to be fair we ate and waited, and ate and waited, drank and waited;
Luckily there was a shop to supply us;
At 3pm we were given the go-ahead to load onto the ferry - the railway oil tankers had already been loaded, so it was just a case of rolling onto the ship, and tying down the bikes with whatever straps we had available;
The ferry was pretty grim - basicallt a freight ship from the 50s - but with the bare minimum of up keep since then !
A right old bun fight ensured whilst trying to get cabins, but eventually we were sorted, in our own cabins - sink (no running water), 2 mattresses (complete with years of stains) and a small porthole (very hot). Still, better than I had thought - at least we had some private space.
Also managed to get a quick wander around the bridge;
We had been told to get enough food and water to last 2 days - as there was no clear idea how long the Caspian crossing would take. Luckily there is beer on board, so life is good.
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