After leaving customs at the port of Turkmenbashi, we need a place to clean up and spend the night. Heading into town and asking along the way, we are told there are several hotels downtown, and several new ones some place. We also need to exchange money. The airport exchanges money 24/7 we are told. We head in that direction. There are several tall buildings on the distant horizon. Condos, apartments, or hotels?? We decide to head toward them even though it is a distance to drive. Turning into them at a distance, we see a sign that says in English "Tourist Zone". Pulling in front of the first one, we go in. The hotel is only a few years old and a "double is only $70 with breakfast, but they are full. Next door is a nicer place that we have to ask three people at the desk if they have a room. They don't seem to make a decision. Finally, if we are gone by 11 A.M. the next day, they have a room. Wow, for $50 more than the crew's quarters on the ferry we have this with everything including a large outdoor pool which we never use. Great surprise, and a hot shower with a room with air conditioning that works - the internet doesn't.
The next morning we head for Ashgabat the capitol,Southeast of us along the Caspean Sea. It is about 360 miles away. To make a long story shorter, the road goes "south" condition-wise. The temperature is a "killer" from the time we leave the hotel. We estimate that it reached around 115 degrees Fahrenheit or more in the afternoon. We read in a former post by another team that driving early in the morning, in the evening, or at night are not good times because the camels are on the move and all over the roads.
Starting out mid-morning we seem to be making little progress hour after hour because of the holes and "wash board road surfaces. There are many deep tire paths in the road. When they become too deep and have high ridges that begin to rub on the bottoms of vehicles, they are just leveled with a road grader. Now loose asphalt particulates are all over the roadway in places as we drive.
Oncoming vehicles are flashing their headlights at us. Must be a hidden policeman ahead. Sure enough, one is hidden behind a hill of earth along the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. We really start to watch our speed all the time. We pass many check points along the road all day. We are waved through except for one or two. We show them our car papers, and we our allow to continue. Gee this is easier with the police than everyone else says.
The window on one side of the ambulance has to be almost closed as the side winds coming in are so hot that they burn my face. We are drinking water that is a lot hotter than our body temperature with nothing coming out of us at the other end all day. The upper plastic on the water bottles that now don't have water contact inside the bottles are very uncomfortable to the touch.
Dead tired, we make it to Ashgabat near dusk. The city lights are all on. It is like the celebration of the long journey we just had. We find a place to stay for the night. The air conditioning works, but the WiFi is at crawl speed minus 1. I manage to call my wife for a moment on Skype to tell her we made it across on the ferry the day before. Emails won't download, and uploading times are not worth the effort.
Robert had received well in advance of our trip an invitation for us to stay at the home of the head of the U.S. Peace Corp volunteers in Turkmenistan. Looking forward to the next day's events, we go to bed early with me drinking another four glasses of water before "hitting the sheets".
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| More road hazards along the way. |
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