We were awake in time to watch the sun rise over the Aral Sea - a very pretty sight. Indeed the entire camping experience had been good/pretty. It is a long time since we have camped (in a tent) in a desert and the whole experience had caused us to reflect on our camping days in Australia.

After a quick breakfast (same food as for dinner last night) we were off on the days drive. The plan was to retrace part of the route back across the plateau for about 35 km then turn east, drop down off the plateau onto the old sea floor, and cross the now dry sea bed to the town of Moynaq. In its hey-day Moynaq was on an island and was a prosperous fishing town that boasted a fish cannary. Today it is a shadow of its former self and no longer an island.

As planned we turned east and descended the plateau on to the old sea bed but a few kilometers later the days plans came unstuck in a most emphatic manner. A big "thump" as the underside of the car hit a bump was the culprit, but the problem did not manifest itself for another 1 km and then the driver stopped. The car was making an unusual noise. It took about 10 second to find the problem, a big puddle of oil underneath the engine and a nice little puncture in the aluminum crankcase. A quick check of the engine dip stick confirmed the worst - no oil.

This is the kind of predicament that desert travelers are always being warned about. "What are you going to do if you car breaks down miles from anywhere on a remote desert track". The good news for us was that the weather was moderate (temps in the 80°Fs), we have plenty of food and a good supply of water. However, Nina and I were both very aware that just 3 weeks ago the situation would have been very serious as midday temperatures in this spot were around 110°F. It seems that there is a gas production plant 27km "down the road" and after some deliberation our driver picked up a liter bottle of water and his cigarettes (not his Vodka) and started walking. That was 10:00am. We figured that at 4-5km/h he would not be at the gas plant until 4:00pm at the earliest and therefore the earliest we could expect him back was 5:00pm.

At this point our "Tour to the Aral Sea" was over or at least had been transformed into "how do we get back to Nukkus in time to enter Turkmenistan on Friday and meet our guide there at 9:00am".

Nina and I put out that felt mat on the shady side of the car and proceeded to try and hide from the sun in that little patch of shade for the next 6+ hours. We spent much of that time listening to iPods and speculating on when we should take some action of our own. After all we could not simply wait for days our driver to return. We had resolved that by 7:00pm I would undertake the walk to the gas plant.

Just after 5:00pm a battered Russian Jeep turned up with our driver in the passengers seat. With in minutes the Jeep and the car were hooked up and the towing process was under way.

We did not see much of the scenery while crossing the heart of the old sea bed as the tow rope was short, and the cloud of dust being made by the Jeep pretty much engulfed us and hid almost all scenery. About 2/3 of the way to the gas plant we stopped while our driver used his cell phone to arrange for another vehicle to come and tow his car from the gas plant to the town of Moynaq. Once that was organized the Jeep towed us the remainder of the way to that gas plant.

We waited at the gas plant for a bit under an hour and then a battered old Russia Lada sedan appeared and after some heated discussion in Uzbek the Lada and our white car were hooked up and our second tow of the day began. The 45 km from the gas plant to Moynaq was an amazing exhibition of driving. The tow rope was just that; a length of old rope. The road was very rough with many many large pot holes and ruts and both vehicles had to avoid these obstacles. By this tiime it was dark and our car had no lights as the battery was almost flat. That both drivers managed to get to Moynaq without accident or damage was impressive.

At Moynaq our driver found us a local taxi driver that was prepared to dive the 220km to Nukkus and at 10:00pm we set off on tha final leg. I could say a lot about that final leg; again 130km/h, on rough roads, at night, with poor lights. I just tried to relax and have faith that our driver had the reflexes to keep us "safe". Mind you I would have been a little more confident if he had not talked on his cell phone for the entire 2 hours 50 minute of the drive.

The day finished for us at 1:00 am when we dropped into our hotel beds. I dont know about Nina but I was asleep within 2 minutes.