Today we almost broke our record for morning laziness. It’s not that we didn't start early, it’s just that we left at one in the afternoon with all the unhurriedness in the world. And honestly, there was no rush anyway because the map around here is a blank slate. Shortly after setting off, we arrived in the town of Karabutak, where the road forks into two options: to the right it goes towards the southeast, but we kept to the left, straight towards the northeast.

After devouring the first 150 kilometres of steppe, we stumbled upon a surprisingly idyllic spot. It actually had real trees, so we took advantage of the oasis to stop for lunch and rest for a while. Once finished, we polished off another hundred and seventy kilometres of smooth tarmac. The only thing that broke the monotony of the landscape were some kilometre-long trains running parallel to the road; they were so extremely long that you had time to take a nap before seeing the last carriage pass by.

Just before sunset, when the sky was turning some spectacular colours, Papi Edu spotted our nest for the night. We are set back from the main road, parked next to a dirt track in the middle of absolute nowhere, but with incredible views of Lake Ayke. The place is brilliantly empty.

As soon as we settled in, an older gentleman appeared on a motorbike who was completely amazed to see our explorer van on his turf. The good man only spoke Kazakh, but thanks to the universal language of gestures, we understood perfectly that he had spent the day fishing at the lake. He was so fascinated by the camper that he took out his mobile phone and started filming it from all angles before saying goodbye and disappearing into the horizon just as he had arrived.

Now we are left here alone with the lake, ready for dinner and to sleep under a blanket of stars that makes your head spin. See you tomorrow!