Another freezing night, this time much worse than all the others. I had had a hard time keeping warm and my feet were always cold. As soon as I stuck my head out of my sleeping bag I would have to put it right back despite the hat I was wearing. To give you an idea, the stream next to our tent which was running along fine before we turned in, was frozen solid. The ground which was soft when we reached the camp in the afternoon was hard as rock. We do that we believe the temperature must have dropped to at least minus10°C. Getting dressed was harder that in the previous days as I had a hard time moving my limbs. To get some warmth into my body I began my usual struggle with my sleeping bag, mattress and other stuff trying to get them into their respective bags. Then off to breakfast which I made sure would give me enough energy to warm up: 3 egg cheese omelette followed by 2 bowls of porridge with honey, tea and a shot of whisky to top it all. 
We are off at 7:25 to the Mongolian border with the usual strategy of rush-rush and wait. It takes about an hour during which we try to keep warm in the morning sun and take some pictures of local farmers tending their yaks (one elderly lady was actually milking one) blissfully indifferent to the action in front of the border and to the almost 100 vintage cars passing in front of their eyes.
After the formalities we finally rush off and, not without some regret, we check-out of Mongolia. After about 20Km of no-man’s land (actually we do spot a couple of shepherds…) we arrive at the Russian border for a new set of formalities. We soon realise we have a problem, a serious one. Mattia’s folder with all his papers has disappeared. After a moment of real PANIC he collects his thoughts and realises that he may have left it on the back of the car as the Mongolian border guard rushed us off and that it might have flown off in no man’s land. I approach a border guard and ask him whether we can go back to look for it either alone or with one of this colleagues. They suggest we first ask some of then drivers that followed whether they might have spotted it. There is some hope when of them confirms he has indeed seen what appeared to be a yellow folder on the side of the road a few miles back. At that point the head of the border organises a small search party that accompanies Mattia back on the road to the Mongolian border.
While waiting for his return just about all of the border guards approach me to get their picture taken with our car and myself. They are all very playful, a clear indication of how things have changed since the fall of the iron curtain. I still remember the formality, the fear I would feel crossing any border controlled by the Soviet block, the questioning, the intimidation, the knowledge that my passport could be seized and I would simply disappear. The doom and gloom are now finally gone.
Mattia finally returns with the folder and the sheepish look of someone who knows he messed up and risked the trip. I give him a big hug and we run to passport control and customs before they close for lunch. We know things are still not right when we have to wait for power to be restored for the computers to function. When it finally is, it is barely 5 minutes before the guards’ lunch break. We finally make it to the final control just in time but the border guard points out that Mattia is missing his entry form. He replies that the customs officers forgot to return it and could he please ring him to confirm. Sorry, it’s lunch time and we have to wait an hour. No point in explaining that it was not our fault his colleague forgot the form, that we have a long drive, that we would like to go now to take advantage of as much sunlight as possible. Nothing moves the border guard. Certain things have not changed after all.
We kill time preparing ourselves some lunch and espresso with two of the mechanics entrusted with monitoring the group’s progress at the border. When the border finally re-opened, it still takes half an hour to complete the process and we finally leave at 2:30 for our 600Km drive to Belokhurika, a thermal bath health centre. Actually, make that 710Km. Because of a forest fire our original route is now closed and we are instructed to make a long detour.
The scenery at the beginning of the route is not very different from Mongolia. The road could not be more different, however, good quality tarmac, fully marked, road signs etc. The beginning is straight and dull until we reach a river and follow it in it’s descent into narrow valley full of trees changing colour in the Autumn. It is a beautiful winding road which coasts the side of the hills which define the valley. We gradually drop from over 2,000m to just over 500m and it feels a lot warmer than in the morning. Despite the curves and our limited power we make good progress but at an average speed of just over 60Km/we know we will make it before 1-2am.
By half past seven it is dark and chilly particularly with no windshield. By ten we are also quite tired so we decide to stop at a small truckers’ restaurant. American crew of car 44 (a 1936 Ford Coupe) Arthur Freeman and Roger James are enjoying a bowl of borscht. We decide to join them. At that time and after the cold we endured it could not have tasted better.
We ask some young customers about the closed route and they confirmed it was. The suggested an alternative route which, though more complicated, would save us about 60-70Km. The American crew decide to join us. This actually makes us feel better about taking the alternative route in case something happens.
We finish off our soup and take off but not before all of us leaving our autographs on cards to those youngsters who provided the route suggestions. It appears that many young Russians collect signatures of foreigners they meet. Odd but… why not?
After a few miles we finally find the turnoff from the main road and cross a river on a wooden suspension bridge that seems taken right out of an Indiana Jones film. The route takes us then across a thick forest and over some hills. Despite the full moon it is still quite dark, colder than ever and we were both very tired. It is still a good 100Km to Belokhurika which we reach by 1:30. We warm up with some more soup and move on to our sleeping quarters. The rooms we are given are dreadful but we were so exhausted we cannot care less. Only a few hours to sleep before our departure for Kazakhstan at 7:25am!