Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
pale brown grass merged into pastel blue sky on the shimmering horizon. There
was not a tree to be seen all the way to Kazakhstan.
We were on the border of the endless grassy steppe, and precisely … I looked
at the map for a moment. We were precisely … I handed the map to Tim. 'Which
way do you reckon it is to this Ishimka place?'
He studied the map for a few moments then handed it back to me with a grin.
'Yep, I definitely agree, mate. You're spot on. Amazing view, isn't it? And by the
way, which way did you say we go from here?'
We fiddled with our compasses for a while, then set our sights on a distant patch
of forest. We followed another cattle pad that became increasingly substantial until
we decided that it might have been a vehicle track at some stage in the past. Where
there'd been vehicles, there must have been people, and maybe a nearby village,
too!
The first track joined another, and although it wound round a fair bit, it seemed
to be heading generally north-east. I peered at the map while Tim had a better look
around.
'Just thought you might want to know that the forest we were aiming for has
completely disappeared,' he told me, amused.
'That's okay, I guess,' I replied, measuring distances on the map. 'Even if we
don't find Ishimka we just have to keep on heading vaguely east and we'll bump
into a real road somewhere in the next hundred kays or so.'
We pedalled along until an intersection left us choosing north or south. We
flipped a coin and rode south. At the next intersection we turned east, then north
and then south again. It was great fun and we had it all to ourselves. Besides
the long forgotten tracks, there was not a trace of civilisation to be seen. We'd
both lightened up immensely since leaving Omsk, and I wondered whether Tim's
laughter was a sign that he was starting to come to terms with the loss of his friend.
Eventually, we saw a boiler-shaped water tower rising above the treetops in the
distance. With all our turns and diversions we must have cycled at least thirty kilo-
metres but we had no idea how far we'd come in a straight line, or exactly which
direction we'd been heading in. We might have found Ishimka, but then again
we might be somewhere different altogether. As long as we hadn't inadvertently
crossed the border into Kazakhstan, everything would be fine.
We rode towards the tower. Soon a few houses and buildings came into view.
We were approaching the village from behind, and I guessed that this was defin-
itely not the main route into town. We saw a group of kids playing soccer on the
