6 - 9. DANGEROUS MISHAPS IN THE DESERT

During the night a storm blew up and nearly flattened all three tents. The rain poured down and then we heard the generator sounding strange. The muffler had rattled off. The day broke and the storm raged, and Green Car had only a little power left. No power to be had anywhere near. Was this to be the day when Green Car had to towed through the desert by camels - (my secret dream-picture). With no camels in sight we used our last power to return to Sainshand and try to get the generator welded. Near the town Green Car hit some iron in the sand and a tire got cut right through. Nowhere in this town could we buy a new 17 inch tire. Hjalte got the tire repaired with an over-size patch and a new tube. Perhaps it would work a few kilometers... With the help of Mugdi our dear driver we found a man with an old welding-machine and a pair of sunglasses. The muffler was fixed. When we started out of Sainshand Claus saw the front tire too had been damaged. We put in a tube and crossed our fingers. On our last power we continued south into the desert with two bad tires - not good. It stormed again when we made our camp. The generator was started up but soon all weldings broke again. To be continued...

Nina