Day 30 - The Calm Before the Storm
The nights are getting cold now. We've been on a 1800m plateau for some days and awoke to ice cubes in our water bottles this morning. Happily by the time we'd finished breakfast (and tea) in the tent, the sun had hit and the temperature very quicky became more pleasant.
The start of the day was following a beautiful road through a gorge, cut sadly short by the construction of a new dam which had flooded the valley. We wondered why our GPX route wound along the river!
On the main road there was a police checkpoint. Except it was no ordinary checkpoint with five military officers, a machine gun nest and a fallback position! Intense. Later in the day we'd roll into a poor town and see a police station come fortress with enormous concrete fortifications and gate. Doesn't particularly inspire confidence, but we assume it's to do with the nearby border to Armenia being closed since 1930 (although as of five days ago they've committed to opening it!).
The day was mercifully calm and free from weirdness, although as we continued along the high plateau the weather started to turn and the storm clouds gathered. Emma's fair weather cycling radar on maximum alert, we decided to continue into the dark to minimise time in the rain and snow tomorrow, Emma glued to the rain radar like a hawk. This proved less effective than we hoped as we battled 7km of destroyed cobblestone road in the dark, a tractor desperately trying to offer us a lift, so after an hour were left barely past where we started and very rattled.
We did do some miles, getting very close to the border with Georgia, bought 1kg of chocolate (we've been doing about 300-400g a day between us) to use the last of our cash and then found a secluded wild camp in a nice forest, to very carefully pitch the tent and brace for the storm! After lots of open camps near roads we've had to start early from, it lines up well to have a hidden place which will allow a slower start if it's hammering it down!
Saw a convoy of lorries from Turkmenistan today, we are a LONG way from home!
Food spend today: 33.04 euros