Exposed

Our Mongolian Catharsis was tougher than expected, but we’re grateful to come out freshly and ready for this open, wild and beautiful land.

After leaving Ulaanbaatar, we went straight into the vast nothingness of the central steppe. The route? Mostly off-road. The challenge? You can’t trust any road, or the weather forecast. So, the first days out in the steppe taught us what it really means to be exposed. ☀️🥵💨

We had planned short distances, but even those proved ambitions. Washboard tracks and deep sand slowed us down, and wore us out. Double effords in watts, no shade nor shelter. The heat dried up the needed rivers, leaving behind shallow animal water holes. We took and filtered a lot, still not enough for the desert. A nearby Ger camp generously shared some of the little they had with us. It reminded us how much kindness exists in the most remote places. Especially the Mongolian kids conquered our hearts with their blunt coolness.

We made it to the next little store, but we both suffered from sunstroke 🤮 After thirty hours of recovery in a tiny wild-western town, we hit the “road” again. One night later, we were caught in a massive thunderstorm. Our tent was nearly blown away. Sitting in the tent holding onto the frame with both hands it became clear to us: we’ve officially unlocked Level Two of this adventure 😋

Lesson learned: Mongolia is full of surprises and if we want to go off the beaten track, we have to enhance our preparation game even more and still dependent on the nomads out there. It’s the only way and we are exited!