John & Mick's BIG AdventureTo the Caspian
Day 16 – 363 kms (5669 kms total)
On the road at 8am under cloudy skies an rode through Elista to photograph some of the Oriental pagoda type buildings. There is a massive Buddhist temple here, built at some fantastic cost that escapes me… Elista has a massive oriental influence, which dissipates as we get further from it.
The road surfaces deteriorate yet further. Occasionally interspersed with a few kilometers of perfect asphalt. The roads stretch into a distant horizon and are bound by fields which also disappear when they reach the sky. The only point of interest are the telegraph poles which follow the line of the road at a discreet distance, just far enough away to stop you being able to count them.
Men on horseback herd cattle across these deserted plains and as we near Astrakhan, salt lakes appear in the sub-sea-level terrain influenced by the Volga delta meeting the Caspian Sea. Most of it is about 28 metres below sea level.
Stopping for one such Photo opportunity Mick’s leaky front brake finally gives up and despite our ability to purchase a bottle of brake fluid for the next garage, we find the Spiegler bracket which mounts it needs a 7mm Allen key…which we don’t have!
Consequently, Micks first sighting of a snake slithering across the open tarmac resulted in; BMWs 1-0 Serpents
Further stops at every auto shop we see, proves fruitless until at the far side of Astrakhan we stumble across a mechanic with what seems to be a 7mm key (actually about 6.8), but he manages to chisel the bolts loose and we remove the caliper.
Despite an hours brake bleeding we got no joy and though the brake pressure has improved, it ain’t great. So hopefully, not too many checkpoints to stop for !
There are some impressive buildings in Astrakhan, but the traffic scheme, is not favorable to either stopping for photos, nor to aim in the the right direction, hence we got none.
Leaving Astrakhan, we continue to look for accommodation, but the only one we find wants to charge us 3750 roubles. No thank you! So we chose to head onwards, through the hordes of local wooden buildings, sited on dykes, to Krasny Yar, in hope of finding something and if not, head back.
A Baily bridge over the river Akhtuba, (running parallel to the Volga), costs us 50 Roubles and thus forces us to stay there. Two helpful chaps in a van, lead us to a local hotel, which has to be seen to be believed. It’s a far cry from the modern buildings of Anapa.
At 600 roubles a night, it seems comparatively expensive, but its a place to recuperate ready for tomorrows border crossing.
The whole delta seemed to be full of tiny flies – delta flies? Billions of the little buggers. Stop for more than 15 seconds and the sods are at you. Up the nose, in the mouth, the eyes and ears. Not nice!
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