Traversing Turkmenistan & Sailing to Azerbaijan

Uzbekistan had one more gift before we left: a news article about how farmers had been made to glue already-picked cotton back onto the plants so that when the president visited, the fields looked presentable!

The Uzbek-Turkmen border involved quite a process yet again – it didn't take as long as crossing into Kyrgyzstan but it was freezing cold and, due to another roving president, the search was extra thorough. We amused ourselves by holding a long jump competition in the corridor and cooing over a German Shepherd puppy whose owner was stuck behind us in the queue. The reaction to Rob and Jen's rats is usually good value too – pets as we know them are not common in Central Asia, let alone pretend rodent pets, so customs officials don't really know what to make of them. Then Peter got pulled into an interrogation room, but fortunately it was only because they knew he was a teacher and wanted some English lessons!

Finally we were through and a waiting Slava welcomed us to Turkmenistan. Our first night was to be spent bushcamping south of Daşoguz. Normally it's not so cold in October but the temperature plunged to -5C, freezing the water in the washing up bowls as well as the condensation on the inside of our tents. It was particularly brutal for the cook group!

Into the desert

Setting up camp

Sand dune surfing anyone?

The fire was a priority for frozen hands

A particularly brutal cook group session

Izzie & Rob in the tent huddle

Eamonn and his beer enjoy the sunset

This is what bush camping is all about!

Driving south across the centre of the country took us through the Karakum (or black sand) Desert.    

Dromedary camels replace the bactrians from further east

Desert morning

Bush camp number 2

Julia

After pitching our camp for the night, we discovered the bleached bones of a camel lying nearby. Naturally, this led to game of camel-hip-bone tennis, until a jeep arrived to shuttle us to the main attraction.


Here, in the middle of nowhere, is one of the most bizarre sights in the world. In 1971, a Soviet mining project caused an underground cavern to collapse. The resulting gas crater was set alight and has been burning ever since. The immense heat creates quite an updraft and, as well as being mesmerised by the view, we all enjoyed “spit roasting” in the waves of heat!

Darvaza gas crater, or the "door to hell"

Eamonn & Kat

Anil

John, Kelly, Eugene, Kent, Anil, Maree & Martha by the edge

Rob the Elder

Kat & Ed pose for a family portrait

Rob the Younger, Jen & the rats

After another - fortunately milder - night in the dunes, it was time to hit the record-breaking capital, Ashgabat. Nicknamed the White Marble City due to the quantity of imported Italian marble, it really is odd to see rising out of the desert. The Guinness World Records website says that if the marble was laid out flat, there would be one square metre of marble for every 4.87 square metres of land. Apart from the marble, there are also a host of other weird and wonderful structures, giving the place a unique character.

An indoor ferris wheel

The Neutrality Monument, built by the ex-president

It is topped by his statue which used to rotate throughout the day to face the sun

Ed & Rob the Younger

Julia at the Ruhnama Monument

The Ruhnama or Book of the Soul, was written by the ex-president as “spiritual guidance for the nation”. Mandatory reading for many people, at one point it was part of the driving test exam! Each evening at 8:00 pm, the cover of the mechanical monument opens and a recording of a passage from the book is played.

Ertugrul Gazi Mosque, built to resemble the Blue Mosque of Istanbul

For scale - the group on their city tour.  The mosque was built to hold up to 5,000 worshippers

To continue west, our route would take us to Azerbaijan, across the Caspian Sea. This part of the trip is always a bit of an unknown, with no real schedule for the boats and a lot of “hurry up and wait”. To get any news of a ferry, Slava made contact with the port of Turkmenbashi, and in the hopes of one being imminent, we covered as much distance as we could.

A whole lot of nothing out the window...

...and a long drive day tends to lead to inventive methods of amusement

With dusk approaching, we searched for a bushcamp but with strong winds blowing sand across the road and visions of flying tents in our heads, the options seemed limited. Then Slava spotted a cemetery/pilgrimage site. Not nearly as creepy as it sounds, it was perfect, with wonderfully generous hosts happy for us to set up camp behind their building (not to mention providing us with more melons than we could possibly eat). Plus, the presence of the dead acted as an infallible security system.

Martha & Kat with the ladies of the house

Our lovely hosts insisted on a group photo

We optimistically carried on into town the next morning, straight to the port. After a wait long enough for a decent session of frisbee and football, we were informed that there was no ferry, with a storm on the other side holding things up.

Rusting hulks

At this point, everyone opted for a night in a hotel, or at least the hotel parking lot. After a very odd meal, we were invited to join in with a Turkmen birthday celebration, safe in the knowledge that a comfy bed awaited once the partying was done. 

Our hotel

The view of the Caspian

Sunset

Rob the Younger, Will, Jo & Martha enjoying the celebratory atmosphere

Kat & Jen make a nest in Penelope

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. I got call from Slava in the middle of the night and we rushed off to the port to arrange passage on the boat that had now arrived. We were told to be down at the docks with the truck, ready to load at 4am. Everyone blearily emerged after their rude awakening, we jumped through all the hoops and... not a passport was stamped until 7... and then we didn't set sail til 1pm. So it goes!

Sunrise from the deck

Penelope had to be parked diagonally with only inches to spare front and back

Peter with Turkmenbashi in the background

Jo

Our vessel was comfortable enough, once we'd negotiated some cabin space off the crew. Supplies had been bought in case there was no food available but our crossing price turned out to include 3 meals a day. Chicken featured heavily, but it was very tasty, so only poor Kat was unsatisfied by the arrangement.

On the move!

Mop on a rope, not sure why, maybe it was really dirty?

That evening, the engines stopped and we stayed there until 6 the next morning. Something to do with the storm, we think, but our Russian wasn't good enough to really establish. By breakfast we were on our way again, creeping towards Baku. It was a great time to read or catch up on sleep lost in the immigration hall. Between laptops and Will's little projector, there were two movie rooms set up, the choice being a documentary about Georgia or a Back the the Future marathon.

Sunset from our stationary position at sea

Kat, John & Kent in their cabin

Rob & Jen

Ed & Eugene

But inevitably cabin fever started to set in. I realised we'd reached this point when Eamonn, lying on his bunk and trying to balance a tall carton of apple juice on his forehead, called out, “Look Kat, I’m a juicy unicorn!”. Oh dear.

In keeping with the theme of midnight shenanigans, the eviction notice came shortly before 12. Everything was shoved back in bags and we all stumbled through a much friendlier immigration system into the cold Azeri night. The dock being far outside of Baku, it was basically morning before we reached our hotel beds (the taxi drivers mistaking Amber Hotel for Empire Hotel did not help!) for a few more hours sleep.


Hitting the streets, it quickly became clear we were in a totally different world now. A mix of cosmopolitan and affluent, historic and heritage: Baku is a happening place.

Maiden's Tower

Martha in the old town

Flying carpets

Kent

Not sure if zoo is what they meant...

Due to rules restricting Penelope to 72 hours in the country, our time in Azerbaijan was limited. From Baku we drove first south, to visit the ancient petroglyphs of Gobustan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and then on to our night stop in Sheki.

The petroglyphs date back to 10,000BC

Holes to collect rain water

The place was overrun with cats

Lucky there are lots of cat lovers on the truck!

Sheki was a prominent market stop on the Silk Road and we were lucky enough to stay in one of the surviving Caravanserais    

Eamonn & Jen at the gates

The Caravanserai courtyard where traders would sell their wares

Hard to beat that for a hotel reception!

Tucking into some Azeri food

Our rooms led off this passageway

Our last morning in Azerbaijan took us on a tour of the Khan's Palace and there was time to explore the grounds, shrouded eerily in the low cloud that descended.

Then it was back on Penelope and off to our penultimate country: Georgia!