What happened today? too many things and nothing was good.
Just to recap the situation, we need to get the ferry from Baku to Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) to continue our journey. We don't have other options. The ferry is supposed to leave every day but it doesn't. The ferry is supposed to take one day to cross the Caspian Sea but this is not guaranteed. Moreover we need to have a valid Turkmenistan Visa before boarding the ferry because Azerbaijan changed the law (in the past a letter of invitation was enough and people could get the Visa in Turkmenbashi) few months ago.
So this is what happened today...
Woke up eary and drove to the sea port to check whether the ferry was actually leaving or not as somebody told us that it was still waiting for lorries and other goods to arrive in Baku. It was impossible to communicate in english but luckily I had with me the number of Elshan's number (the guy we met at the border) and he helped us with the translation. Unfortunately that was not enough as a final decision on the ferry schedule would have been taken only in the late afternoon.
Just to recap the situation, we need to get the ferry from Baku to Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) to continue our journey. We don't have other options. The ferry is supposed to leave every day but it doesn't. The ferry is supposed to take one day to cross the Caspian Sea but this is not guaranteed. Moreover we need to have a valid Turkmenistan Visa before boarding the ferry because Azerbaijan changed the law (in the past a letter of invitation was enough and people could get the Visa in Turkmenbashi) few months ago.
So this is what happened today...
Woke up eary and drove to the sea port to check whether the ferry was actually leaving or not as somebody told us that it was still waiting for lorries and other goods to arrive in Baku. It was impossible to communicate in english but luckily I had with me the number of Elshan's number (the guy we met at the border) and he helped us with the translation. Unfortunately that was not enough as a final decision on the ferry schedule would have been taken only in the late afternoon.
We then drove exactly on the other side of town looking for the Turkmenistan embassy. Baku is quite a big city and the traffic is horrific all day long. After 1 hour we arrived at the address provided on the website only to realize that the Turkmenistan embassy have been replaced by the Indian embassy... 40 minutes later we eventually managed to find the new location but the problems were just about to start. The embassy is only open on Monday and Friday from 9am to 12:30 and therefor they are able to issue just a limited number of Visas every week as there is only one guy with a notebook and a small printer working on it. It was too late for us and despite an insane rush to the bank to pay for the Visas (yes, you need to fill out the forms and then drive 30min to the International Bank of Azerbaijan to pay for the Visas and then come back with the receipts) the Embassy was closed when we got back.
We camped there for a while together with other 2 Mongol rally teams but nothing changed. I only managed to befriend with Budodu (most probably this is not his name but I think he will understand) who I think is the driver of the consul. He smiled when I told him I was Italian and that "Italy-Turkmenistan, best friends!!!!" but despite his help the consul refused to reopen the embassy. If I understood Budodu correctly (and I seriously doubt it) we could try again tomorrow morning. He gave me his mobile and showed me his car (not sure why). If that doesn't work either then we may need to wait until Friday here in Baku (a city that by the way is considered to be the 48th most expensive city in the world). Should that be the case reaching Ulan Bator on time would be difficoult if not impossible...
But worry not people! Team The Wrong Way Around will make to the finish line and that's because our engine is powered by something that will beat the burocracy, will beat the "system", will beat the skeptics, and will bring us straight to Ulan Bator.
GRADONIIIIIIIII! Sempre forza Roma. Difficolta, non problemi... vlv!
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