Turkmenbasi
At last, destination achieved, although a little later than anticipated last night. No one could tell us what the duration of the crossing would be. We had various answers ranging from 14 hours to 20 hours. The longer time seemed depressingly unlikely. By last night the food was running thin, we’d already eaten the same fare several times, being a soup at first, turning to thin gruel with the addition of more water and not much food. It’s amazing how one adjusts. We would have turned up our noses at such food at home but here, alongside Turkmen, Azerbaijani and Russian drivers, we tucked in much like the prisoners we had become. No coffee either but we raided Nigel’s emergency bottle of Balvenie and polished it off rather quickly. The water ran out. No shower, no washing of hands, no brushing of teeth and no flushing of the loo….. In the morning we expected to find land, perhaps even be docked, as we woke. A quick dress and up onto the top deck revealed sea in all directio...