Sprache wechseln: 
Nukus, Karakalpakstan, the UZ border to Moynaq
Distance: 313km | Total Distance: 2599km
The old Soviet-built train chugged slowly across the dry, featureless steppe stopping occasionally at villages and for about 90 minutes at the border for immigration and customs. I barely slept because I was paranoid about my bike and bags disappearing from the rear carriage. It was not my favourite experience by far – I guess that’s why I choose to cycle. After 12.5 hours it finally arrived at Nukus, my panic only alleviated when my kit was on the platform. A young French traveller, Baptiste, who shared our sleeper cabin, kindly helped with my bags and we negotiated the bottleneck of travellers pushing to get through the narrow gates. It was a relief to see my name being held up by the guys from Ayimtour who are coordinating the support in Karakalpakstan.
Day 37, 38 | 29th, 30th April | 67 km
After an overnight pitstop at the very comfortable Jipek Joli Hotel (owned by Ayimtour), we pulled everything together by the next afternoon – the logistics, supplies, the support team and even squeezed an interview in with Yusup Kamalov, an environmental scientist and activist dedicated to saving the Aral Sea. In addition to his research, Yusup founded and currently chairs the Union for the Defense of the Aral Sea and Amu Darya, an organisation committed to protecting these vital water bodies. He serves as a Senior Researcher specialising in wind energy at the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences. Yusup has also chaired the Global Water Partnership for Central Asia and the Caucasus.
We set off on a six hour drive northwest to Qubla-Ustyurt, a small village halfway to the Uzbekistan side of the western Aral Sea border. The following morning, we continued until we were as close to the border as our guide, Ruslan dared to go without risking being detained. It was a similar distance as we reached on the Kazakhstan side.
I started pedalling at about 2pm – the views were stunning from the Ustyurt Plateau to what’s left of Aral Sea South. Enormous chunks of the plateau, once a part of the bed of the prehistoric Tethys Sea, were gradually breaking away and crumbling like dominoes towards a shoreline that is receding year by year. As the track is within the border zone, it is little used. At one point I had to avoid a large snake, possibly a viper I was later told.
After 34km, we made a diversion to see the old Russian military base at Kantubek Harbour. In Kazakh language Aral Sea translates to “Sea of Islands” as it contained more than 1000 islands of at least one hectare in size. One former island was used for sinister purposes by the Soviets, as the centre of its bioweapons programme. During the Cold War, Vozrozhdeniya (“Rebirth”) Island was a top-secret testing ground for deadly Soviet super-pathogens, such as anthrax, bubonic plague and smallpox. Unfortunately, the sea that effectively formed a moat around what was secretly known as Aralsk-7 is no longer. The decaying village of Kantubek, the testing laboratories and buried caches of toxic and dangerous disease antigens became an extremely hazardous place and have only recently been decommissioned. Kantubek Harbour was used until 1992 – the fall of the Soviet Union. The port was used by the Uzbekistan government until 2002.
The sea has marched back a further 300 metres in the last couple of years. Standing on the last pieces of the concrete jetty, looking across the narrow strip of water, now a maximum of 13km wide, was a sobering experience. The water here is virtually dead – the salinity level is almost 200 grams/litre. Sixty years ago, the Aral Sea was mildly saline, containing only 8 or 9 grams/litre of salt. By comparison, the Mediterranean Sea, which is considered to have the saltiest sea water, contains about 36 grams/litre.
There are no fish – all of the native species are gone forever. The only living thing that can survive in these waters is artemia, a tiny brine shrimp. A new breed of fishermen has adapted by cultivating and harvesting the eggs of these microscopic shrimp. The eggs, also known as cysts, are scooped up from the surface of the water and the seashore. They are then put into dry storage and shipped around the world to aquaculture farms. There, they will be added to water, hatch and be eaten by the farmed fish.
On Day 1 of this section of the journey, my team was falling apart. Georgia had come down with nasal congestion, we think from the toxic dust, our young interpreter Tumerice was suffering from motion sickness and, I think most alarmingly, Ruslan, our guide was presenting as if he had a bad allergy. As I was finishing off the final 35km stint for the day, Ruslan suddenly came down with a temperature and his face was swelling, his eyes watering and puffy. There is no shelter on the plateau and it was evident we needed to reach somewhere warmer and get help. I marked the spot where I finished cycling and we drove to the Yurt Camp, tourist accommodation about 45km to the south.
On arrival, one of Ruslan’s brothers was there to take him back to Nukus immediately. Ruslan was not 100 percent at the start of the journey and his youngest brother, Rustam had also come with us in case there were any health issues. This was Rustam’s first experience as a support vehicle driver – he is a restauranteur by trade and had come to help his brother. My plan was to leave Georgia and Tumerice resting at the Yurt Camp the next morning while Rustam drove me back to where I stopped cycling.
Day 39, 1st May | 95km
It took over 90 minutes to cover the 45km – Ruslan was a cautious driver (I didn’t mind this). This section was particularly interesting. We stopped at an ancient cemetery that contained headstones written in Russian, Kazakh, Karakalpak and Arabic representing the many different cultures that lived, fished and traded in the region, a part of the Silk Route.
The track meandered very close to the cliff. The minerals in the fallen rubble appeared to cascade from the plateau and at times made a kaleidoscope of colour.
After a long sleep and lunch, Georgia and Tumerice were ready to soldier on. Soon I’d left the Aral Sea behind for the last time, heading back to the village where we stayed on the way up the coast, Qubla Ustyurt.
The tracks were coated with fine dust (bull dust) and I spent most of the afternoon ploughing my way through it across the plateau. Not a tree was in sight until the village became visible on the horizon.
Day 40, 41 | Qubla Ustyurt – Sudochye Lake and Urga – Moynaq | 151km
The first 62km across the dusty-filled plateau was heavy going with a hot head wind to contend with. The aim was to reach the ruins of Urga and Sudochye Lake by lunchtime. It was thirsty work cycling across the slightly undulating landscape, but I finally reached the ruins of a medieval watchtower that once looked out over an expanse of water four times the size of the shallow reedy lake before me.
Urga was a bustling community, with settlers engaged in fishing and trading. The settlement played a significant role in the local economy, contributing to the livelihood of its residents and the broader region. However, as the Aral Sea began to recede and the fishing industry declined, Urga gradually fell into disuse and was abandoned by the mid-20th century, leaving behind ruins that tell the story of its vibrant past. Sudochye Lake remains an important bird sanctuary and RAMSAR wetland.
There was a large fish processing factory that was last worked by Polish prisoners of war in the 1950s. Once the water receded from the Aral Sea (it was connected to the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya delta), the lake and with it, fish stocks reduced and the settlement was deserted.
As it turned out, the route to Moynaq wasn’t as direct as I thought. After cycling along the base of the spectacular plateau, I had to cross the Aralkum Desert to reach the next village, Karazhar and the next day, the final 39km to Moynaq.
I was going to write one long blog about the whole Aral Sea South journey, but it would have been too long. Part 2 is coming soon.
FOLLOW THE JOURNEY
Thanks to ZeroeSixZero, you can open this link on your phone and select “add to home screen” and the map will become and app. You can then keep updated in real time.
TAKE ACTION
Support my Water.org fundraiser to help bring safe drinking water and sanitation to the world: Just $5 (USD) provides someone with safe drinking water or access to sanitation, and every $5 donated to my fundraiser will enter the donor into the Breaking the Cycle Prize Draw.
EDUCATION
An education programme in partnership with Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants, with contributions from The Royal Geographical Society and The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Australia. We have created a Story Map resource to anchor the programme where presentations and updates will be added as we go.
