Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan (see photolink or Dutch version for pictures)

From Masshad we had to go back to Teheran by train for some heavy visa days. Whether we can continue our trip or not, totally depends on obtaining our China visa. We had to do everything we could in Teheran to get it. When we we're already cheering in the taxi with the China visa, we discovered that the entry date was wrong. We turned around and right before closure I convinced the consul to change the date.

Back in Masshad we had some incredible experiences with the Turkmen consul, but finally we we're back on the bikes with both visas. We knew a Swiss couple had left Masshad just a day before us and we really wanted to catch up with them so we could team-up against the strong wind in Turkmenistan. After a long ride we found their tent against the wall of a 900 year old caravanserai. It's a beautifull building and with little imagination you can picture life in the old days. From the Iranian bordertown the four of us head for Turkmenistan. We are expecting a tough adventure; 500 km in a maximum of 5 days (because of visa), temperatures like you would expect in the desert, strong headwind and very little facilities. With good teamwork and working in shifts at the front we hope to have a change in achieving our goal.

At the beginning the desert is not so bad because of the huge irrigation channels, dug out by the Russians. All our other expectations are reality so we are making slow progress en make long days. But with four we are having a good time and we really work well together for 10 to 13 hours a day. We get up as early as possible, hoping we will have maybe 1 or 2 hours without the horrible headwind. The rest of the day we are only able to cycle with some 12 km/hr.

To camp in the desert is great. We put the tent in a little piece of shadow, take a shower with half a liter of water and we sleep like babies. But we do not close our eyes before we've taken a look at the beautiful sky, with the milkyway like a big cloud above us.

We make a precise scedule for our supplies, especially concerning the water of which we need about 10 liters a day. We now realise what a big plus it is to just drink from the tap in Holland. Despite all our precautions I get sick on the last day. I'm not able to eat and I loose liquids very quickly. Unfortunately there's no other option than to keep on cycling to the border. When we reach the Uzbek border half an hour before closing time I'm completely finished. Janneke is taking care of all formalities while I'm unable to stand on my feet.

After the border crossing we can sleep in the little house of a few young sheppards. I can not thank them enough. We are now in Bukhara, the heart of the silk roads. The first 2 days we used for rehabilitaion. We took a really luxurious hotel, which we've enjoyed very much. The town itself has a lot to offer. It's great to see nice hang out places with cold beer! Tomorrow we're heading of to Samarkand and taste a little bit more of Uzbekistan.