Around Aral sea, June 13 ,2012

Sunrise 5.15 am ,and I went to sleep 1 1m = very short night : the tent heats up immediately when the sun pops up..and I must get out before 6!!

Just to see that I camped in a nice MIddle of Nowhere.

I ll head to nukus 400 km away , crossing the desert on a terrible gravel road - next refuel there. I have 35 L of fuel and I can do 550km maxi - I just knock on wood that the next petrol station will not have shortage .

The engine makes strange noises as the only petrol available is a very bad octane 80 - and the bike is supposed to work with unleaded 95.

In Russia I bought 4 l of decent motor oil - and now I need to do an oil change- I ve 7500 km on the clock

I prefer to do that in the next city under shade vs in the middle of the desert , just in case something goes wrong during the work , Like a bolt dropped in the sand ,..I finally reach the "petrol station "where 2 boys sell me bad petrol. And I catch up a weird (and cheap) meal

No more tables in restaurants on the side of the roads but carpets on the ground to lay down- we are definitely in Asia.

I hear that there is a kind- of ghosts town by the Aral sea - where the waters moved 180 km away, north , as some clever people moved the course of the rivers supplying waters to the sea to grow cotton.. As a result the sea lost most of its own surface and the poor city I visits , that was formerly a prosperous fishing village , is now a completely desolated aerea, with ships wrecks in the middle of the desert - this vision is absolutely stunning.

I eventually ride down in the sandy sea bed (!!) by the ships to make some pics , and that was not very clever , as I ll struggle to take the bike out. For the 2 last days temperatures are over 40C , it is absolutely terrible- I empty the 4 L of my water bag backpack in nothing.

I reach Nukus , the first small city I meet in Uzbekistan. At the end I land in a nice simple hotel where I park the bike in the shaded patio- perfect place to do some bike maintenance tomorrow

Good food, Aircon in the room, and a real night.

Very nice people in the only hotel in the aerea.. Very expensive;20 USD..

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