Day 15 of Rally: Fire & Winds in Azerbaijan

5740 kms traveled so far
47/200 kids sponsored. Help send a rural child to school by donating at http://happyharriet.co

Today was windy as hell (the reason we’re not on the boat to Turkmenistan yet) so we explored a bit. Visited two spots with natural flames (fueled by the enormous natural gas reserves) and saw first hand why Azerbaijan is called “The Land of Fire” (Imagine how mysterious and terrifying this must’ve been for people who didn’t know why a mountainside or some random rocks were on fire!)

First was Ateshgah, a Hindu and later Zoroastrian Fire Temple! I found the place meditative, despite gusting winds, heavy foot traffic and no walls. They’ve excavated evidence of Ganesha and Shiva being worshipped here. The main alter is in the center and there are many tiny prayer and meditation rooms around the courtyard.

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Then it was Yanar Dag (lit. Fire Mountain), not much of a Mountain, but after seeing the fire at the base you walk up for a view of the village. What we experienced was winds gusting over 40knots (about 70 km/hr). We were literally getting knocked over.
Then went over to the port looking for a spot on the next ferry and parked our car there. Found no information. With the winds expected to die down on Wednesday, and with no queuing system or pre-booking, it might be a blood bath between all the parties trying to get into a ferry. Let’s wait and watch.
Came back and caught up with other teams. Found at least one other team traveling our route (but they are 3 of them and might drive up to 14hrs/day) – so we might get to convoy.
With 47/200 kids sponsored, spent a bunch of time spamming people for donations today. If you have any idea how to get our story in front of people who love to travel (so we can raise awareness and funds to send kids in rural India to school instead of to work) we would definitely appreciate your help 🙏🏽 http://happyharriet.co