Tajikistan: an adventure on two wheels
Tajikistan: an adventure on two wheels With this blog article we take you to an exotic place, in the most continental Asia: Tajikistan. The protagonists of this story are Fabio and Mirco, two friends – and friends of CAMCO – who in September flew from Milan Malpensa to Istanbul and, after a stopover of around 3 hours, left for Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. With them they had their two bicycles, a tent, and everything that could make them as independent as possible with minimal space. Dushanbe was not their final destination. Here, in fact, they took a collective taxi and, with a journey of approximately 12 hours, they arrived in Rŭshan, approximately 500km away, to the east. Rushan is a small town of around 6,500 souls, at 2,000 meters above sea level, on the border with Afghanistan. The protagonists of this story are Fabio and Mirco, two friends – and friends of CAMCO – who in September flew from Milan Malpensa to Istanbul and, after a stopover of around 3 hours, left for Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. With them they had their two bicycles, a tent, and everything that could make them as independent as possible with minimal space. Dushanbe was not their final destination. Here, in fact, they took a collective taxi and, with a journey of approximately 12 hours, they arrived in Rŭshan, approximately 500km away, to the east. Rushan is a small town of around 6,500 souls, at 2,000 meters above sea level, on the border with Afghanistan. In addition to this, Mirco tells us some curiosities, sensations and experiences: The people are “extremely hospitable” and he doesn’t remember how many people offered him tea every day, on the street or at home.In the first half of the journey the overnight stay was in guesthouses or in tents, but from then on, not finding any more accommodation, they understood that it was sufficient to ask the people they met in a village to be welcome guests in their home, or to grant them the garden to be able to place the tent. The same goes for food: when you asked where you could have dinner or breakfast, local products were offered and prepared (especially milk, eggs, fruit and vegetables), for which Mirco and Fabio always felt like leaving an offering. , since no one has ever asked them for money in exchange for this hospitality.On the other hand, in the few shops in the larger villages the food offering left a lot to be desired – mostly snacks and industrial foods, often out of date. A recurring curiosity when we hear the stories of those who have traveled in exotic places refers to possible encounters with wild animals: in this case Mirco says he met camels for the first time in his life, free to roam the plateaus, in the state wild. P.S. For the record, they have never had any problems of any kind, apart from a few punctures… but it is physiological to have this type of inconvenience when you clock up so many kilometres, especially on unpaved roads. An inconvenience foreseen and welcomed with serenity. Finally, a curiosity of our own on how the Bulètt and Bisbìn T-Shirts from CAMCO behaved, which both Fabio and Mirco have known since well before this adventure, but which with this adventure were tested in situations far removed from everyday life, even that of those who have an active life. They had already long appreciated the qualities relating to thermal comfort, the ability to prevent odors from developing even during intense and prolonged use, the exceptional management of body humidity, and had thus decided to add them to their baggage, in compliance with the approach “few functional items”. In conclusion they can add that not having had the possibility to wash the clothes every day was not a problem for the t-shirts, as they were not burdened with odors and humidity, and indeed: they often chose not to wash them even though they had the possibility because if they found themselves as fresh as at the beginning of the stage. …and, on the few occasions when they wanted to wash them, they were happy with an additional quality of the merino wool + TENCEL™ fabric: the extraordinary speed of drying! Below are many photos of this cycling trip along the mountain roads of Tajikistan. Many… but still only a small part of all those that Mirco and Fabio showed us. It was hard to select them. We wanted to stick to around ten photographs, but there were too many that just couldn’t be excluded. Good vision! The first section, which runs alongside Afghanistan and the Wakhan Corridor Self-sufficient, always! Mirco and Afghanistan beyond the river Afghanistan beyond the river Lunch with some truckers at a hot water spring The first afghan “6.000s” in the background Tajik flags Tents dismantled, ready to start the day Fabio and the afghan 6.000s in the background Wakhan Corridor, Alichur Pamir, Murghab, Ak-Baital Wakan Corridor Fabio, Mirco, and Afghanistan seen from the Wakan Corridor Typical Pamir house Lake before Alichur The Pamir Highway, more than 4.000 m above sea level Murghab The Ak-Baital pass Descent from Ak-Baital towards Bartang Valley Bartang Valley Bartang Valley Bartang Valley Bartang Valley Fabio and the yurt of some shepherds Bartang river Different levels of sustainability A red Bulètt enjoys the view Fabio waiting in a restaurant along the Pamir Highway Some of our favorite photographs, randomly ordered Back to all articles
