The early start was necessary to catch up the two days that we were behind. 5am seemed too early for some of the team (Matt Lokes) but enough people were feeling okay enough to take on the dawn driving shift. The suspicion that Adventure’s oil leak had not been fixed had been confirmed so a quick top up was required. Setting off at 6am, a full 3-4 hours earlier than usual, the team managed the 200km to Sinop before they would normally wake up. A quick pit stop for breakfast meant that the team could carry on towards Georgia on the (actually finished) highway.
The rest of the day consisted of quite uneventful driving, trudging along the coast of the Black Sea. Towards the end of the day everyone was keen to pull up for a refreshing plunge in the sea so we decided to set up camp just before the Georgian border. After some directions from a helpful local we found a pebble beach with some rudimentary showers which were a welcome relief.
As with nearly every evening so far, it was finished off with a hearty Italian meal of pasta and sauce.
