Border crossing- Georgia/Azerbaijan

We picked up our luggage (this is why you didn't need that third piece of rolling luggage Catherine), left our Georgian driver and headed off over the border into Azerbaijan. Six at time we had our passports scrutinized and then stamped by Georgian customs officials. We then marched through the border territory to meet our Azeri guide, Azia. She took our passports and we stood in the sun waiting for the Azeri customs officials to inspect us and our passport pictures. Then we were asked if we had any Armenian brandy or whiskey. We assured him no. Any maps of Armenia? No. The official then picked out JOL and started to look through Jim's carry-on. They looked carefully at his murder mystery and asked repeatedly, "No maps?". They finally let him go. They let a few women pass and then opened up the luggage of a second man, paying special attention to his Steig Larsson novel. No maps. A few more of our group were allowed to pass and they stopped a third guy. Unfortunately he had a Lonely Planet guide to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. It had a map of Armenia showing Nagorno-Karabaugh as part of Armenia. They confiscated the book. Ordinarily, this would just be considered a travel expense and a nuisance. But Richard, whose book it was, had carefully kept his trip notes in his guide and they are gone. A travel tragedy close to losing a camera.
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