Yes, Ashgabat, the capital is located quite close to Iran. I fail to see why Iran would have any vested interest in invading Turkmenistan as most of the photos I can find on-line involve large quantities of sand. Of course oil often resides below sand but I'm guessing they would have found it by now. I am not the least bit concerned about this geographical quirk. True, I was also not the least bit concerned about walking down a sandy African road into Windhoek with only my Tevas and every valuable document I had with me either. We all know how that one ended! But Dagmar is a Swiss cop who is also a black belt in karate. Adrian has the smooth, glib tongue of his Italian heritage that coincides with his dry English humor so between all of us, I think we will be fine!
The trip is 12 days and 11 nights. We will (theoretically) cover 216 km or about 130 miles. Unlike Namibia, this trip involves a lot of sightseeing and visiting historical places which will be a welcome relief from the sands of the desert. Namibia had very little to see (other than mammoth German castles rising inexplicably out of sand dunes) but the beauty of the desert more than made up for the uniformity. Here are some more photos of the various scenes of Turkmenistan.
It's only when I see the photos of places I am about to go, that it becomes reality and I can hardly wait. People ask me all the time am I not scared of going to places like this on my own. Never. The only thing I am afraid of is not living. To live in the US, travelling only to Vegas or Mexico and being stuck in the daily grind without ever challenging myself or meeting new people and experiencing new cultures is the most frightening thing I can imagine. (Although shopping at Costco comes close) This is not to say that there isn't value, satisfaction and contentment to be derived from living in a free country with almost boundless affluence, raising one's children and seeing the beauty of all the little things that happen every day. I also derive great satisfaction from these things. But at least once a year, I feel the need to step outside the familiar and have an adventure. And by the end of it all, I will have stories to tell as a result of my own haplessness, foolishness and/or carelessness!
You know I couldn't get through a posting without mentioning the white one. (TWO as my father refers to him) Minor setbacks as he has had some growly moments in the car and strangely, at my father while we were sitting at the dinner table last week. He is usually fine with my parents but my father looking directly at me was perceived as a threat to me and a low growl erupted from under the table. I still struggle with how best to deal with that. Generally I ignore it though sometimes I get up and leave the room. Being separated from me, particularly in any foreign environment, is a punishment of sorts without any aversives. I want Baby to learn that when he growls, he loses me which is something he tries to avoid at all costs. Usually he follows me which removes him from the trigger anyway. I STILL struggle with not exposing him to too much and to keeping him utterly stress free. However, I have gotten pretty good at self regulation and we are doing quite well with it. He is on an 80% raw food diet now so hopefully that will help things. That is, assuming I can keep Hudson from breaking into the styrofoam container the food came in and flinging the packets around the deck in his frustration at being unable to get them open. Monster.
I am taking a longer view of this whole thing with Baby and rather than each up and down constituting a mountain or a valley, I see it more as rolling hills now. I am amazed at how many people on my various list serves have the same issues with their Maremmas, even those they have raised from puppyhood and valiantly socialized. I am heartened though by how many people laud T Touch as helping with their fearful dogs. I am very much looking forward to our appointment on Friday. In the meantime, therapy for me in the form of skiing this week. In an effort to reclaim my life from the dog vacuum, I am trying to resume my usual winter activities. The sun of Turkmenistan shines in my head though!
Where are the horses?
I'm sure I'll look exactly like this on my horse. Minus the hat of course.
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