Uzbekistan - Desert vol.2

The arrival of the new protagonist « the broken roads » was brutally quick. It has appeared almost with the border crossing from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan. Another factor to deal with. We were still surrounded by huge wide and sandy spaces with literally nothing on the horizon. Only some silhouettes of camels from time to time and poorly equipped shops roughly every 100km filled with Coca Cola and snickers. Nothing seemed to change except the road, and indeed it was a significant change. It was one huge pothole lasting some 40ish km and even after over 200km, there were still some fragments of awful road.

Regarding the population, it felt a bit different. Uzbeks’ people seem to us more curious and more friendly compared to Kazakh people. They had a funny habit of honking all the time, with no reason, screaming « Odkuda » which literally means « Where are you from », sometimes even stoping and taking selfies with us. We were wondering a lot what they do with all theses photos taken with us.

We knew that after leaving Beyneu, the last « big city » on the Kazakhstan site, we had 500 long km of pedaling to reach the first big city on Ouzbékistan’s site: Nukus. We were aware as well that it will be a greater challenge than the Kazakhs’ part. Being immersed in the desert profound, with pretty crappy roads. Almost all the famous cay houses along the road were closed, so every time we passed by hoping to stock up on food, we left only with deception. It has taken us 7 days on the saddle to reach Nukus. 7 long days that we haven’t been prepared for.

One memorable night, my mattress was still deflating, as we couldn’t identify all the micro-punctures, found previously. I caught up some kind of bacteria and ended up vomiting all night in the middle of the desert. Still the same sleepless night, we had un unexpected guest at 5 am. Out of the sudden, we heard some noises, convinced that it was a camel rummaging through our stuff, we were afraid of looking outside of the tent. « What the hell is this… » - I though, couldn’t resist taking my head out discretely and recklessely. I saw an animal. IT WAS A FOX. A little cute bastard, which was running joyfully around our tent making a mess with our stuff. We were stupid enough to leave our food outside of the tent on our foldable chairs. Yeah, even after 4months of traveling, we still do the same beginner-type mistakes… He managed to steal 6 eggs hidden in our eggs-box that we were supposed to eat the next day. He was the one having them for lunch, instead of us. The next day, the strong headwind mixed with horrible road, heat and my stomachache was indeed a brutal mix and quite a challenge. It was more a mental battle. Struggling and fighting after 60km I finally gave up telling Tommy that I just wanted to put up the tent right here, right now. As always, we found a nice camp spot easily in the middle of nowhere.

We made a beautiful encounter as well with a British couple: Meg and Dick, travelling on a tandem bike with whom we spend two days pedaling and wild camping in the desert. It was a blast to have a funny company, try their peculiar bicycle and listen to their stories from the road. Last day in the desert, before reaching Bukhara, we made a campfire, bought some cold beers and were just chatting and laughing in the middle of nowhere. We celebrated with them our 3 milestones on the road: 5 months on the road. 7 years together as a couple and 9000km cycled. Many reasons to celebrate.

After last 500km of the desert, visiting the Silk Road was a « merveille ». Feeling like these nomads back in the days, some centuries ago travelling from town to town with their camels and stopping in the Caravenseri. We were like them, but with our bicycles. Stopping several days in the most popular cities: Khiva, Bukhara and Uzbekistan. Visiting theses stunning, extra-ordinary buildings. We were flabbergasted.

We haven’t been in tourist places since s long time. Last one was probably Cappadocia in Turkey maybe. It felt weird to meet French tourists visiting the ancien cities of the Silk roads, they were very curious about our journey.

Crossing the desert will remain in our minds and hearts for ever. It was tough, but definitely beautiful to experience.