Good nights sleep and we were now riding as opposed to sailing. Turkmenbashi to Ashgabat, the capital is @600km which we felt too much - especially considering all the horror stories we had heard about the roads. So we were aiming for Serdar which was about two thirds of the way there. We followed the Caspian for a while and then started heading in-land. It was sunny and warm pleasant as opposed to warm very hot. But it was only 10.00 in the morning.
We had seen camels whilst riding in Qatar and Paul had also seen them when riding through Saudi Arabia - but not like this - they seemed to be wild and could also have done with some grooming products.
The Turkmen seem to have mastered road lane discipline - just don't paint any white lines. Roads are massive and traffic is sparse but the roads to fizzle out at the sides.We lost count of how many police check points there were along the road. "Harley Davidson! 2 cylinders?" the only reasons why they stopped us along the way. No cash involved.
We had stocked up on cereal bars - Muslim countries and Ramadan. However the restaurant we stopped at for lunch was serving beer, the ladies weren't covered and people were eating. So we did. Tomato and cucumber salad.
Whenever we stopped, tea, lunch, water, petrol - it was that same as it had been in China. Motorbike. Harley-Davidson? Read the countries on the windscreen, stroke the animal tails, reach for the mobile and suddenly there was a crowd. It was difficult to have a conversation but smiles and selfies etc.
The afternoon hit 42 degrees C. We had been expecting it, but we hadn't really had the time to get accustomed to it so getting to Serdar was a relief. We are not allowed to ride on our own - we have to follow someone - and our guide/driver made signs that we had 10 minutes and he then took us for a ride in his Toyota into the Moon Mountains, which is the geographical division between Turkmenistan and Iran. And yes there were Police checkpoints along the way. The plain was desert but with a climb of only @150m things had become pretty green.
We now feel on our way. Tomato and cucumber salad and a kebab for supper.
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