Day 171 (Tajikistan): Veshab - Ayni ($400 fine???)

I paid a visit to the school in the morning before heading out. The elementary school had just been refurbished with the help of the German embassy and German Agro Action. The before and after pictures were a telling sign. We had little time only as we were heading back by car (didn’t want to bike down the same bad road), but it was good to talk to the children for a bit. I wished I had had more time with them and would have been able to talk to them longer. But that would have required a much longer visit.

It was then back to Ayni - a harrowing ride in a car. I felt much safer on my bike really. The rest of the afternoon I spent trying to update the website, that being blocked by power outages and low line speeds.

This is also the day when I found out that I may have to pay a $400 fine for registering late. This is a bit of a nuisance, but I couldn’t have done it even had I wanted to. All offices were closed. Hopefully we can work something out. We decided that it wouldn’t be worth taking a cab to Dushanbe and instead that I would be heading there tomorrow so that I am there on Friday morning. Keep your fingers crossed that all works out.