Thursday 11th August
The sunrise couldn’t come fast enough
at the Aral Sea as we all waited in anticipation for the views over the now
completely sandy landscape. Halfway through gobbling our morning porridge we
noticed a small colony of ants had infested the oats. Despite offering a source
of protein, the antipasto did not impress and it was sent back to the kitchen. A short drive away was the famous boat
graveyard where a handful of ships sit beached on the sand after the sea dried
up. Their rusty hulls and mangled rudders were an eerie reminder of what was
once a thriving harbour and fishing industry. Once our names had been etched
into the side of one of the ships we set off for the Ayaz Kala fortress.
No sooner had Team Thunderbirds
replaced their front two wheels with super duper rally tyres did they
experience the first flatty on the trip. We’ll hand it to them though, they
showed pit stop precision in whipping them off again and reverting back to the medium
compounds. By dusk we arrived at the fortress in
the middle of nowhere. There was one dusty access road and not a single source
of light for miles. Fortunately, we had managed to coincide our remote location
with the meteor shower expected over the Southern Hemisphere that night. We
gleefully set up camp and waited for the moon to sink below the horizon.
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| Stood atop the Ayaz Kala II fortress, Uzbekistan |
Complete and utter darkness descended upon us around 1 am and the scene was
set. Streaks of glittering light started flashing across the night sky against
the twinkling backdrop of the Milky Way. I’ve never seen such a clear sky so
awash with stars; it was a truly magical sight.
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| Watching the Perseid Meteor Shower beneath the night sky at the Ayaz Kala II Fortress |
Posted by: Rich