Today’s lesson: Skinny lines on maps of Kazakhstan do not indicate good roads.
Ending Point: N50°53 E51°46
Distance Traveled: 429.5 miles
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We were up and out of our perfect camping spot fairly early since we had a bit of back-tracking to do. On the positive side, the navigating was much easier the second time around. Once back in Atyrau, we needed the usual grocery, gas, and bank stops, which somehow took our teams over an hour. So, at noon, we were finally ready to leave the same spot we had left the day before at noon. The delay was a little disheartening since we were trying to make it to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, at a good pace in order to catch up with one of Chase’s friends before the friend traveled home to Uzbekistan. (Yes, we really should have looked at a map more carefully and arranged Uzbek visas…) As we headed due north out of Atyrau, the driving was as pleasant as the many people who stopped us en route to Makat had described. The scenery was fairly uniform, but the road conditions were good—something we needed considering the rain pouring down for the first couple hours. We made good time to Oralsk, a city not far from the Russian border that we would have passed through if we had taken a left turn in Russia near Tambov rather than traveling south to Volgograd and Astrakhan. In Oralsk, we attempted to register our visas at the police station and then at the immigration building with no success. We decided to settle the visa registration the next day in Actobe and drove around town until we found a good place for dinner. The small bar and café we found served delicious meat and vegetarian spaghetti-like lagman. The sun was setting as we left town and continued east. That night we experienced the first of what would be many police stops in Kazakhstan. Two officers pulled over the Panda with the blinky orange batons while the Kangoo waited ahead. They greeted us in a friendly manner then asked where we were from and where we were going. When Chase answered Alaska, they laughed that it was cold there and how hot he must be in Kazakhstan. In unison, they shouted “Good-bye!” and we were back on the road. Not long after, we pulled off and found another great camping spot where we were able to stargaze for hours. Today’s lesson: Skinny lines on maps of Kazakhstan do not indicate good roads. Starting Point: N47°33 E53°00
Ending Point: N50°53 E51°46 Distance Traveled: 429.5 miles
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The view of the Volga River from our hostel balcony.
We know, it's crazy to spend three days in the same place. We haven't done that any other time on the Mongol Rally! However, today we were lucky we didn't have to drive. Unfortunately, Chase woke up extremely ill, and throughout the entire day he didn't go any farther than the hostel bed to the hostel bathroom. Charla's day wasn't too much more exciting, as she never went farther than the market down the block throughout the day to see what they had that could make Chase feel better. Charla and the manager of our hostel (another vegetarian!) about to dig into some pasta. We stayed with Team Rougher Dan Khan, who we've been hanging out with in Volgograd since we got here. Tonight we got an unexpected surprise as the drivers in another rally also stayed in our hostel room; three Lithuanians in the Pamir Rally are driving from Vilnius, Lithuania, to Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Obviously, we are very familiar with our Rally and have spent weeks analyzing "Rally logistics", but it was interesting to hear the perspective of drivers on a completely different adventure and how the planning is going on their trip. Rougher Dan Khan is an Italian team, and tonight they showed off how great it is to be Italian by cooking a giant pasta dinner in the hostel kitchen. With meat and meat-free versions, the pasta sauce was also filled with a great assortment of vegetables. Dinner was a communal gathering with the Italians, Charla, and the Russian manager of the hostel, and it was a great time. Charla wishes we were traveling with Rougher Dan Khan more so that we could have more nights like this one throughout the trip! Even though Chase had yet to eat throughout the day, they also brought ice cream for after dinner, and Chase felt well enough by then to get in on the fun and enjoy some ice cream. Starting Point: N48°42 E44°31
Ending Point: N48°42 E44°31 Distance Traveled: 0.0 miles At the bright and early hour of 6AM local time, we got our first glimpses of Iceland as our flight descended into Keflavik. An hour later our bus was dropping us off on Laugavegur, a nice area of Reykavik, where we found our hostel. After getting set up for the night at Reykjavik Backpackers, we started wandering around town. The first thing we found was the biggest landmark in the city, Hallgrímskirkja Church. The church is the tallest building in the city with a gigantic interior space, as well as a giant organ with over 5,000 pipes! We also wandered down to the harbor where we found the new Harpa performing arts center. Saving the best for last of our morning wander, we explored the Iceland Phallological Museum. Yes, you read that right: we found possibly the world's only penis museum! All our wandering made us hungry, and at that point eating Iceland's signature hot dog wasn't a great idea! One of the only affordable dining options in Rejkavik is the ever-present noodle house, and we found a great option at Noodle Station near our hostel. Maybe it was the noodle soup, the grey skies, or we thought it might be the jetlag, but after lunch we passed out and slept the afternoon away.
Luckily, we awoke in time for Alaskan adventures! We met up with our friend Laura and her friend Caleb, both from Anchorage, in the bar below our hostel for our first taste of Icelandic beer! Unfortunately, Viking beer really doesn't live up to its name. Always the frugal travelers, we soon moved to Micro Bar in time for happy hour and found a tasty beverage: Gæðingur! Now that is a beer worthy of the Vikings! Laura and Caleb had been in Iceland for a couple weeks, so after a dinner of noodles, their local knowledge brought us to Ölsmiðjan Café-Bar for one last Polar Beer to end the night. Between the recent half-marathon, a late night in Alaska, and the time zones, we slept like babies on our first night in Iceland! |