No opportunity for a break!

For breakfast we enjoy a muesli from Rapunzel. Countless birds sit in the withered and burnt trees that we discovered yesterday as shelter for our camp after 124 kilometers. They chirp and call incessantly. The crows in particular are cawing loudly. They seem to be timid and cautious by nature, because as soon as we move strongly they flee and leave the tree stumps and branches behind us in swarms. Today, the road turns north again. From now on, we soon hear the incessant warning call of the marmots that have built their burrows in the vast fields. Like soldiers on guard duty, they stand in front of their hole in the ground and watch the area incessantly. As soon as they notice the slightest irregularity, they emit a bright warning call. Sometimes we can see an eagle gliding over the fields in search of prey. As soon as the large rodents recognize the danger, they disappear into their den. From time to time they also run several hundred meters across the open field to escape from a short excursion in their burrow. “At a time like this, the eagle has easy prey!” I shout again, pointing at one of the burrow dwellers rushing away. “They look really funny. Look at that one. You’d think he was waving at us!” says Tanja happily.

Numerous thunderstorms are still raging around us. We pass several large lakes. It smells of swamp and brackish water. Seagulls and other birds live here in large numbers. The air is humid but the thermometer only reaches 32 degrees due to the many clouds. Like every day in the steppe, we are looking for a way to replenish our water reserves. A dirt road leads from the main road to a village about two kilometers away. We stop and consider whether we want to take the four-kilometer detour. “What do you think? Should we drive in or take the village up ahead?” asks Tanja. I look ahead and try to assess whether it is closer to the road when suddenly a car stops next to us. The doors burst open and a policeman gets out. He laughs and asks us if he can help. “Is there a store here in the village?” I ask. “But yes.” “And over there. Is there a store there too?” “No, there’s nothing there,” he replies. “Hm, we’ll just have to take the gravel path to the village,” I huff. “If it’s too far for you, my colleague will be happy to drive you there,” he offers, pointing to a man sitting in the rickety Lada. After a moment’s consideration, we accept his offer. While one officer drives me into the nest to go shopping, the other guards our bikes with Tanja.

The Lada bumps slowly along the completely dilapidated track to an even more dilapidated village. He stops at a small house. “Is that a magazine?” I ask. “But yes,” he says, nodding his head. There is an old woman in the tiny store who is delighted to see me. She makes a great effort to understand my Russian. I discover a few oranges and bananas in a crate. What a rarity. “I’d like a couple of these, please.” “Gladly,” she replies, goes into a cupboard-like chamber and hands me three magnificent specimens. “Otschin charascho, ßpaßiba (very good, thank you) I say, whereupon she smiles at me in a friendly manner. My eyes continue to glide through the shelves in search of something useful for us. I discover a few chocolate bars, a box of dry cookies and mineral water. A few minutes later I leave the simple and only grocery store in the settlement with a large bag. Then we rumble back over the patchy strip of earth to the main road. “We were happy to help you,” the two policemen say modestly, say goodbye, get into their car and drive back in the direction they came from.

At 3 p.m. we finally discover one of the rare rows of trees. However, it lines a track that leads from the road to a distant village. After a long search, we find a spot right next to the burrow of a marmot family. For the night, we share a 2 ½ meter narrow strip of grass between the bushes. As soon as the tent is up, a downpour pours over us. We slip into our fabric dwelling. Then the sun shines again and the tent becomes a sauna. It will remain changeable in the late afternoon today. It is humid, humid and warm. The only ones who seem to be happy about the weather are the mosquitoes, sandfly-like midges and horseflies. They thrive magnificently between the dense, windless rows of trees. I find it difficult to type our experiences into the laptop. We constantly have to spray ourselves with mosquito repellent. We are dog-tired and exhausted. The country does not allow a break. The distances between the supply points are too great. Due to the limited possibility of carrying water, we can hardly afford to stay in one place for two nights in a row. We always have to be prepared for things to go differently than planned. This is precisely why we never want to be without water reserves. In the steppe, civilized places to spend the night are more than 500 kilometers apart. Only in such a place can we rest and gather strength. We feel our muscles, joints and bones. Tanja’s Achilles tendon has been irritated and swollen for some time. We treat them with moist soaks and cooling gel. According to our calculations, we have covered just under 500 kilometers since Aktöbe. Nevertheless, we must continue tomorrow. With the headwind picking up again, we even decide to get up at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning to be on the trestle at 5:00 a.m.. So resting will have to wait.

Dear reader of our diary!!!

We are happy to write down our experiences here. We are happy to share our experiences with you. However, our journey also has a meaning for us, a deeper meaning. We no longer expose ourselves to such efforts just for the pleasure of it. We have experienced too much for that. Of course, our motivation is still to experience peoples, cultures, their customs and traditions. We are still exploring the unknown corners of our mother earth with an unquenched thirst for knowledge. It gives us energy and purpose in life. However, despite all the positives, we have also experienced many of the downsides of human civilization. We have seen with our own eyes a tremendous amount of human suffering and environmental destruction. It hurts us as if a knife were penetrating deep into our own skin. Our life project “The Great Journey” has taken on a different dimension for us for years now. During the trip, during our travel life, we also want to do something to balance things out. Giving something back to the troubled planet. Not out of selfishness or gratification or self-aggrandizement, but to really do something sustainable. To do something for us humans. For our children. So that they too can breathe fresh air tomorrow. So that they too can play in the sandpit in the open air and swim in clean rivers. We wish all beings on this wonderful, fantastic planet a future worth living. So we urge you to plant at least one tree a month for the Green Vein. You can find more information on our website. (One tree 5,- Euro) We can’t do it alone. We don’t have the financial means. Not yet. Only together can we make a difference. Our motivation lies not only in knowing that our texts are currently read by between 40,000 and 50,000 (forty thousand and fifty thousand) people a month. Our motivation is to work together to create something sustainable for our human future. Together means together with all of you. That’s why we write, that’s why you can read the texts without any financial investment. So we ask for a donation to the mountain forest project. A project that works without profit. A project we have been looking for years to give our name to. A project we trust. We ask you to donate trees. Trees that give us air to breathe. Habitat for insects and birds. Living space for the earth’s population in future years. The donations do not benefit us financially in the slightest. Everything you give goes to Mother Earth!!! We guarantee this with our life project and our name.

Donations are very welcome at:
Bergwaldprojekt e.V.
Keyword:Green vein
GLS Community Bank
SORT CODE 43060967
Account number 8022916200

Mother Earth is alive!

We look forward to your comments!