We set off early today to tackle the highest point on our tour at 2720m, the Shariston Tunnel. It will take us 5 hours to reach the entrance to the tunnel. After a little hesitation, we finally decided to cross the tunnel on our bikes. We’d been told that the tunnel was dangerous and that the road was in poor condition, but in the end it wasn’t that bad. What bothered us most was the cold in the tunnel, but we let ourselves be carried downhill and it went fairly quickly.
On the other side of the tunnel, a tea shop we were aiming for has disappeared. The border guards think we’re trying to take a road and tell us it’s forbidden.
We decide to stop at the next spot and there we meet two English girls (one of whom speaks very good French) on a solo cycling trip or a group trip. We had lunch with Lanie and Rosie.
Then we set off again, heading steadily downhill towards Shariston, where we hope to find a hotel. We had to do a lot of negotiating and pay a guy to guide us in his crappy Lada to find the place. If they’d explained where it was very well, we’d still have passed it without seeing it ^^.