Don Curry as Schildkrötenretter

Don Curry sometimes has to think for a long time to find the right daily title. It should either summarize the whole day in a concise manner or at least highlight the highlight, it should arouse curiosity and it must not have been used before. The problem today wasn't having to laboriously find a title, but choosing between three extremely suitable titles. Because the day would have deserved the headline “Don Curry back in the High Caucasus” or “Don Curry at a family dinner”. But since Don Curry realized that daily titles with animals always attract a particularly large number of readers, he decided on the turtle headline. But don't worry, the other things also appear in the report.

Like every day before, the weather in Baku continued to deteriorate. Thick gray clouds prevented any sun from getting through today; it seemed to have rained again during the night. At around 10:00 a.m., one of Jabir's employees knocked on the door to briefly inspect the apartment and was very happy to receive the key. Actually, Don Curry would have liked to stay in this optimally located apartment for a while, but he also wanted to discover the rest of Azerbaijan, and to do that he had to get moving.

Today was almost entirely devoted to the country's natural wonders, but Don Curry found the miserable weather all the more annoying. But the further north he went, the more the sun came through. His first destination, the Candycane Mountains, was already visible in the bright sunlight. He had already encountered something similar in the west of the USA and to some extent in Georgia, but the mountains in northern Azerbaijan, which were fascinatingly illuminated by colorful layers of rock, could only be described as extraordinary. Some of the layers formed real curls that were actually reminiscent of the patterns on candy canes. Don Curry trudged extensively through this surrealistic landscape, which would have uninhibitedly thrilled and inspired artists from Van Gogh to Dali.

As he continued driving, Don Curry braked abruptly when he saw a rather large turtle about to cross the road. He carefully approached the animal from behind to encourage it to hurry up. But “turtle” and “hurry” are two terms from very different worlds. And if Don Curry got too close, the reptile retreated into its shell and stopped moving at all. Finally we reached the middle of the road when a car came speeding from afar in the path that the animal was still ahead of. Don Curry spontaneously grabbed the astonished creature, who shortly afterwards hissed indignantly and didn't appreciate his free flight at all. He set it down again across the street. The toad eagerly crawled away without noticing its rescue. Don Curry, on the other hand, drove on with a very good feeling.

He saw the next ornament from afar. A striking rock formation rose clearly from a mountain range to the left of the highway, which not only looked like a castle, but was also artificially expanded and used as such: Beshbarmaq. Kia followed in Xerra's footsteps up an adventurous gravel road, so to speak, without of course being able to exploit the power and sovereignty of an all-wheel drive vehicle. At least Don Curry arrived safely at the foot of the rocks, where the remains of a massive castle wall were still clearly visible. From here there were numerous steps leading up, in some places Don Curry had to squeeze through narrow rocky passages. Almost directly at the summit of the highest rock there was a brick hut in which a park ranger was lying comfortably on an improvised divan and was constantly talking on the phone. Don Curry found another place to quietly enjoy the magnificent view of the coastal plain and the Caspian Sea. After an equally steep descent on foot and by Kia, Don Curry continued to follow the well-developed road north to Quba. There a side road branched off into the mountains to his actual destination.

Until now, Kia had been able to get by completely with the landlord's tank filling. The fuel gauge reported that the fuel would last another 145 km. The navigation system showed 45 km to the destination, so Don Curry assumed that he wouldn't be able to refuel in peace until he returned to the mountains tomorrow. Unfortunately, fuel gauges can sometimes be tricky. Don Curry would soon find out for himself.

First we continued our journey through a sparse forest full of deciduous trees. A number of Qutab restaurants were located here, each of which had set up numerous pavilions and benches in the forest so that guests in groups could eat their Qutabs undisturbed. Don Curry certainly had an appetite, but it was more important to him to arrive at his destination in daylight. Even a young rider who offered huge walnuts to Don Curry could not make a successful business. After the Qutab forest, the road became noticeably narrower and steadily gained altitude. Don Curry was shocked to find that after 5 km of driving, the fuel gauge only guaranteed 115 km remaining. If it stayed that way, it would just be enough for a safe return from the mountains. But it didn't stay that way...

As the surrounding landscape became more and more impressive, Kia's remaining lifespan decreased rapidly. The road followed a rushing river through a mighty canyon and later climbed up one of its walls. While the area had previously been characterized by autumnal forest, Don Curry soon left the tree line below him. There were a few tea rooms and small restaurants on the side of the road, but in the last 30 km Don Curry only passed a tiny mountain village, but also several herds of animals, which consisted of a colorful mix of sheep, goats, cows, horses and donkeys. Sometimes he had to drive through the middle of the herd, and Kia was repeatedly bumped into by cows with gross motor skills.

Behind the already mentioned mountain village, Don Curry finally reached a pass with an eagle monument, which finally led him into a high mountain landscape. He returned to the High Caucasus! The snow-covered mountain peaks quickly brought back memories of Tusheti, Svaneti and Khevsureti. The road followed a meandering river for many kilometers until a final, intense climb to 2,100 meters above sea level. And there the destination lay before him: the village of Xinaliq at the foot of Mount Xinaliq, inhabited by the Xinaliq people, who are the only ones in the world who speak the Xinaliq language. In short: a world of its own!

The fuel gauge now indicated that Kia only had 20 km remaining driving time. So Don Curry would have to stay here if he didn't get this problem solved. But first there was another problem: where was the accommodation he had booked, the Ecomama Guest House. Don Curry knew from the reviews of the guest house that it was definitely not where it was shown on Google Maps. But where then? He drove carefully on the increasingly poor slopes to the highest accessible point in the village. Here he got out and went to a tea house. An older woman in folk costume who was sitting there couldn't understand him, but - presumably - called over her son, who understood some English. When he heard the word “Ecomama” he knew straight away and pointed to the lower part of the village and to his cell phone. He made a phone call and then happily said: “Ecomama coming!”

A short time later, a small white car rumbled up the track, from which a warm, gray-haired man emerged, introduced himself as Rahman and told Don Curry to just follow him in the car. At first it went downhill, but then a little bit uphill again on another slope. Kia was able to stay there and Don Curry was led into the house, where he first had to take off his shoes at the entrance. Behind the anteroom, the dining and living room awaited him, which essentially consisted of a long table with around 20 chairs. Behind it was Don Curry's room with a plush double bed, a table and 4 chairs. Right next to it was the landlord's bedroom and another guest room, which would only accommodate 3 Dutch women tomorrow. What is not available in residential buildings throughout Xinaliq are kitchens and toilets. Both are located in simple sheds outside the house, with the toilet consisting of a 40 cm long and 10 cm wide hole in the floor, which should be targeted when carrying out the tasks here. The landlords provide buckets of water, there is only light if you leave the door open during the day or - the better solution - have a flashlight or smartphone with you.

Rahman told Don Curry that Germans and Brits can easily adapt to these simple circumstances, while Chinese, Iranians and Arabs complain about the lack of comfort. He immediately invited Don Curry to share tea from the samovar and began to philosophize about good and bad people all over the world, about the increasing commercialization in all areas, and he dreamed of a future in which Christians and Muslims can support each other visit their prayer houses and praise and praise God together. He then showed Don Curry the video of the last UNESCO conference in mid-September, in which Xinaliq was officially added to the world heritage list. Another video showed Rahman himself showing Xinaliq and the surrounding area to a reporter on an Iranian television broadcast. Meanwhile the tea glass was being filled for the third time when a little girl, about three years old, came out of the landlord's bedroom, but quickly ran back when she saw Don Curry. Now Rahman talked about his family, about his daughter, who died 5 years ago, and his two other children. “And your granddaughter,” Don Curry added, hitting the spot. "Oh, this is my youngest daughter," Rahman clarified. "Her name is Nubar."

When it came time for dinner, it wasn't just Don Curry and Rahman who took a seat at the long table. Nubar also came along, took another close look at Don Curry and then, laughing happily, chose the chair right next to him. In the meantime, her mother served up: there were kofta, home-made fries, fresh cucumber slices and flatbread for everyone, and for Nubar and Don Curry there was also lentil soup with lots of sumac; Plus, of course, tea from the samovar. Finally the mother was able to sit down with Nubar and we had a relaxed family meal. Rahman spoke English with Don Curry, Xinaliq or Azerbaijani with his wife, and Nubar spoke a little of everything.

Don Curry soon retreated to his room to have some real family time. Although he had brought a beer with him, he refrained from taking any additional fluids. He didn't want to have to go outside to the hole at night. The weather app also showed a nighttime minimum temperature of -1°C for Xinaliq. Good thing his bed had plenty of down pillows and he also wore a sweater over his pajamas. He was still happy about the rescued turtle. Little did he know that a much bigger rescue effort would come his way tomorrow...