From Beyneu, the next place of marked human habitation on my map was Qoniyrat, a town just north of Nukus, the capital of the desolate Republic of Karakalpakstan (which occupies the northwestern section of Uzbekistan). I estimated that absent any unforeseen delays it would take no less than four days to cycle there, and I had my panniers crammed with food and water when I set out the next morning. The other problem was that I had no Uzbek Som, so I was gambling that I would be able to change dollars at the remote border crossing. If not, it would be a gamble to continue because there would be no way for me to purchase the water I would need to replenish along the way. The next bank was in Nukus - over 400 kilometers from the border.

At around 20 kilometers outside of Beyneu the asphalt, and then gravel, completely disappeared and turned into a squishy river of mud that seemed like a venus flytrap for semi trailers bound for the Uzbekistan border. The occasional stuck and sunk rig littered the roadside for the next five kilometers or so, with drivers yelling at me and breaking out the vodka and bread to kill the time until conditions improved. I was spinning, but still able to find some navigable patches in the muddy paste that would allow some slow-going forward progress. (6-07-05)

Description

:

Stuck Trailer - Waiting for the Sun To Bake the Road Dry

From:	frank	(Tue Jun 21 11:55:23 2005)
One wonders if, during the Cold War, the inhabitants of the low-priority target Nukus appreciated the irony of the name of their city. Perhaps it was actually a cry for attention.
From:	Michael Kopp (mk)	(Sun Jun 26 01:38:15 2005)
As Jeremiah Dixon of "Mason & Dixon" would say, "Eee, Eee, Eee, 'Tis a canny one, for fair!"