Down to the last day...Turkmenistan!

I wrote emails, made calls, talked to consulates in three countries, officials at two US embassies, and negotiated with both FedEx and DHL.  I fought the good battle.  Yet, the Republic of Turkmenistan still had not issued my Letter of Invitation and my time to obtain a tourist visa before departing next week expired today. So...I was ready to surrender...oh great god of the visa domain, your will would be done and I am but your humble servant. 

I along with two Canadians, a Frenchman, and a Brit...all waiting...and looking at having to start it all over again once we arrived in Istanbul!  In the words of dear Sonny, the hotel manager of the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, “everything will be all right in the end... if it's not all right then it's not yet the end.” 

I was already planning to depart Azerbaijan and head over to the Balkans for two weeks, resuming my tour once the rest of the group had left Turkmenistan and entered Uzbekistan.  And then this morning, with only hours to spare, my Letter of Invitation has arrived.  It will be a race to the finish line with only five days for processing and two days for return of my passport.  It looks like this is turning out to be quite an “adventure” after all! 

Nine days and counting…