Lasīt tālāk
22.May
MAY 22. DECIDING MOMENT.
21 May
- 2014 -
Author
Andis Pikāns
A helicopter which frequently flies over the snow capped mountaintops to Georgia is visible from our hotel room window. The rescue and search for the missing people are still on. The glacier landslide has covered 300 m of the road and taken 6 trucks with it, ruptured a gas pipe and filled up river Tereka. Seven people have died and many are still missing.
Today, our declaration for equipment entry in Russia is over, so we go to the border to figure out what to do about this. 10 km before the crossing is a police and army post. Noone is allowed near the crossing. We talk the guards into letting one motorcycle inside to figure the situation out. The Russian guards assure us once again, that crossing is not allowed and probably wont be possible for about a month. They recommend us to go to the border crossing with South Ossetia, which is 80 km away. We decide that this is our best option. On the way, another cash blackmail from the police happens. This appears to be the only unpleasant thing about North Ossetia. The rainfall is dreadful and the temperature is around 10 degrees celsius. After a 2 hour ride on the turpentine, we are at the border.
There is Russian army equipment everywhere. The guard hears us out, and warns that our one-way Russian visa won’t be valid to go back. We decide to go back. Nearby, there’s a spot in the mountains called Cej, and it’s rumoured to be worthy of seeing. There, we would also have to search for accommodation, because we have to dry our wet clothes. Not far from our destination, there’s a painting of Stalin on a cliff. Later, we find out from our host Tamirlan that this is nothing unusual and they appear in several places here. Our host is very welcoming and the night continues at the table with stories of Ossetian life and values. 100 km covered today. A film about this trip is coming soon.
2014-05-21
