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| Gumba and 4x4 |
Gumba was the fifth member on our little voyage through the marvelous Gobi desert. He was by far the oldest and the roundest in our little crew. Gumba was a driver, who had GPS in his head, cigarette in his lips and driving wheel in his hands. Also, he would have a sip of local vodka in the evenings. The harsh Mongolian sun and north winds do not leave Mongolian faces untouched. Hence, it was difficult to judge how old he was. Gumba said he had 4 daughters and 1 son, who was our age. Gumba is in the photo standing next to anold Soviet made, yes (almost) very reliable and, actually ,very comfortable 4x4 Latvia van. We - Michael, Sydney, Isabela and myself were four passengers in the car. Kiwi Michael and me were 27 years old. The Canadian girls were 21. Well, what I'm trying to say is that I don't know how old Gumba's only son and Gumba himself were. But I can guarantee you all, that Gumba was young enough to have mistress in the middle of Gobi desert.
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| Parked properly |
Gobi desert is vast and Mongolia is even wider. The country stretches over a territory three time larger than France. Only around 1.5 millions people live outside capital city - Ulaanbaatar. Every day we would drive deeper and deeper in to the desert. Our crew in a little USSR made van from time to time would stumble upon a ger camp, a herd of livestock or another tourist van. But undoubtedly one of the best qualities of Mongolia - it's pretty much empty space. When we would stop for a pee, I would walk around the corner of 4x4 Latvia and every single time I would be left speechless by the absolute silence. I could hear nothing, but the wind.
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| Pit stop |
Gumba, also, had numerous qualities. The best of all were his amazing
driving skills and an absolutely exceptional sense of direction. One should expect
that a man who drive tourists for the last 18 years of his life knows the
area pretty well. On the first day of out trip, while cruising on an only paved road in Mongolia, Gumba suddenly took a right turn. One
and a half later he took another unexpected turn and we continued to
drive through Mongolian planes. Not the sun, not the stars, not road sighs, not a compass and not GPS
were guiding our way. All directions were in the Gumba's head.
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| Ready to camp |
Gumba did not say many words in English. But it was not a obstacle, which we would stand in our way of communication. Gumba said "eat, eat, eat" when he brought us local cheese and mutton in a ger of Mongolian nomads. He said "drink, drink drink" when we presented with
сүүний цай - salty milk tea. Gumba shouted "Nadam" when he tried to wrestle us in a traditional Mongolian manner. And
most importantly he tought us how to say "Tok Toy" when we were
sharing a glass of Chingis Chan vodka after long days
of driving. Gumba had his way and he knew how to tell us must by saying only few world
Also, Gumba talked about himself like bad narrator talks about character in a book: "Gumba do not know", "Gumba drink vodka and go to sleep" "Gumba is driver". Well, he was a character and I have to say one of the most memorable characters in the book of my journey.
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| Michael, Isabela and Sydney |
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Thanks, Gumba, and thanks to you, basic #@%^!. It was one of the most
memorable trips of my life and I happy I shared our time, our drive, our food you, our vodka and the breathtaking Gobi sky :)
