60 Hours Trapped on a Cargo Ship: From Ukraine to Georgia (and Into the Unknown)

I thought I was just catching a ferry.

A quick ride across the Black Sea. A little downtime. A chance to do some laundry, edit photos, sip Ukrainian wine in my cabin, and land in Georgia refreshed and ready for the next leg of the journey.

But the moment I rolled into Chornomorsk, Ukraine, and turned down that pothole-patched road to the port, I realized: this wasn’t going to be a ferry.

This was a floating truck stop.

The MS Greifswald, a hulking German cargo vessel, wasn’t built for passengers. It was built for freight. Down below: trains. Up top: trucks. Everywhere else? Georgian truckers toasting shots of vodka, and a lone American motorcyclist trying to make sense of the chaos.

For the next 60 hours, I was off-grid. No WiFi. No cell signal. Just a surprisingly comfortable cabin, a fridge full of Colonist wine from Ukraine, and enough Georgian hospitality to keep me grinning the entire way.

What began in the cobblestone charm of Odesa turned into one of the most bizarre, beautiful, and unexpected chapters of my journey. I made friends. I drank too much. I navigated bureaucratic mazes, train tracks, language barriers, and maritime mysteries. And somehow, I stumbled into Georgia at sunset, exhausted but exhilarated.

This wasn’t the plan. But sometimes, that’s exactly the point.

Watch the Full Episode: https://youtu.be/hbpc5b3_VHo Title: 60 Hours Trapped on a Cargo Ship With My Motorcycle: Trucks, Trains & Too Much Vodka!

Filmed September 2019 From Odesa & Chornomorsk, Ukraine ➔ to Batumi, Georgia