Day 140: Ələt to Shirvan
/Headwind again
We went really slowly again today, battling a headwind through the valley. We’ve turned off the coast now, but somehow the wind has turned with us. Still, we’re still making progress, so no worries.
Our hotel last night was too weird to compare with Fawlty Towers. Just one guy running a huge hotel with about 80 rooms - and there was only one other group of guests there - a Swiss motorcycle touring couple on very smart BMW G5’s.
There was no electricity until 7pm, but everything worked once it was on. We had breakfast too, which was pretty good. We ignored the plastic looking sausages but the boiled eggs, cream cheese and bread was a nice start to the day.
We get ready to go
The Swiss bikers head off
The people here are so welcoming and helpful though. It’s a theme we’ve noticed in Muslim countries that people are so helpful They go out of their way to help, whether it’s directions to a restaurant, where we might find a hotel or just shouting out their car window “Welcome to Azerbaijan!” as they drive past.
The locals are always keen to find out what we’re up to
The big wide roads, and no shelter from the wind
On the other hand, we’re having to be on our guard when paying for things. Twice today we were given 10 Manet less in change than we should have received. They are very apologetic when it’s pointed out, but we get the feeling it’s no mistake.
More fun tomorrow.
