40. Stage 'Murghab'

I arrived today after a challenging ascent from the Wakhan Valley to Murghab. The road was dotted with corrugated tracks, sand, and rock. I am riding slowly and hoping to spare the motorcycle a bit. My accommodation is the dS Guesthouse Erali. Erali is one of the few facilities available, necessary to get on a list required for crossing into Kyrgyzstan. When I ultimately decide to continue my journey will be determined tomorrow. To my great surprise, Ben, the young Brit with whom I had organized the transport of the motorcycles to Azerbaijan, shows up. He should have been in China by now. Apparently, something went wrong, but he didn't want to go into details. Moreover, Gerrit had announced his arrival for the next day. Due to damage to his machine, he couldn't continue and had to arrange transport of his bike to Osh in Kyrgyzstan. I’m already curious about his story.