see also nitrate deposits
wildlife
Bangladeshi ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Chilean ref 1
Indian ref 1
Siberian ref 1
Williams, David ref 1
winds, desert ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
wolves ref 1
World Meteorological Organization ref 1
Yakutia, Russia ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
see also Yakutsk
Yakutsk, Siberia ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Yohannès, Zewditou ref 1, ref 2
Zahel (guide) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7
Zeus (Chilean soldier) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. The drunken edifice of wooden housing built on permafrost in Yakutsk. A heated building partially melts the surface layers of the frozen ground causing heaving and subsidence.
2. Chopping a hole in the ice in preparation for a spot of river fishing.
3. The ‘Road of Bones’, Stalin’s main contribution to development in the ‘White Hell’ of the Kolyma region.
4. One of the moustache brothers, a walrus club stalwart.
5. Andrei the interpreter examining the author’s nose for signs of frostbite.
6. Olga and two of the herders offering advice on how to ride a reindeer. Staying in the saddle was largely driven by the fear of losing an eye on its antlers.
7. Sunrise over a Siberian truckers’ stop.
8. The author testing the medical effects of extreme sub-zero temperatures at the monument to ‘Oymyakon – Pole of Cold.
9. Pipeline carrying water from the Andes, across the world’s driest desert, to the city of Antofagasta on the coast.
10. Chinchorro mummy in Arica’s San Miguel de Azapa museum. The Atacama’s minimal rainfall and abundant salt are ideal conditions for preservation.
11. Sea lions off the Atacama coast enjoying the fertile waters of the Humboldt current.
12. Watering a public park in Arica – suspiciously lush and green for the driest inhabited place on Earth.
13. Fog-collecting nets set to catch the camanchaca as it races across the hillside above Chungungo.
14. Ancient geoglyphs in the Atacama – icons to appease the gods? Desert road signs pointing the way to the coast? Or maybe just giant Chinchorro doodles?
15. Apparently unaffected by the lack of food and water, Zeus disappears over a ridge in the Plain of Patience.
16. The author getting to know the least active rain gauge on the planet at Quillagua.
17. A world-weary ten-year-old points out a pair of Chinchorro legs in the open-air mummy museum near Caleta Camarones.
18. Players marching in slow motion before the Kor’so match with enough lethal weapons to start a small war.
19. The Afar are in love with goats and rocks.
20. Fearsome Afar warriors turn out to be more interested in hairdressing than castration.
21. Hayu Yassin (left) and his mate advising the author to grow his hair longer.
22. An Afar woman prepares bread for baking in her ground oven. (Dudu Douglas-Hamilton © Keo Films)
23. Assabolo, last watering point before the salt lake and the Gara ‘fire wind’.
24. Loading salt hacked from the crusty surface of the Danakil Depression. Bars of Danakil rock salt were used as a form of money in Ethiopia for more than 1,000 years.
25. Mr Bisrat surveys what’s left of Dallol, the hottest town on Earth.
26. The camel caravan heads into the Danakil’s burning inferno.
27. A river gypsy entertains the crowd by swallowing one of his snakes.
28. Residents of Mawsynram watching the rain in the world’s wettest place.
29. Elephants preparing to take us on a sit-down anti-poaching patrol in Kaziranga. Hidden in this picture are several elephant leeches preparing to suck blood from the author’s right leg as soon as he sets foot in some water.
30. River traffic in Dhaka not as congested as on the city’s roads.
31. A half-time cigarette with Runa at the hadudu match. (Ali Kazimi © Keo Films)
32. Planting rice seedlings in preparation for the monsoon’s arrival in Bangladesh, a country in just two dimensions.
33. Kaziranga park rangers awaiting the migration of wild elephants from the Brahmaputra floodplains to the Mikir Hills.
34. The author braving Mawsynram’s elements in his knup and tartan shawl.
1. The drunken edifice of wooden housing built on permafrost in Yakutsk. A heated building partially melts the surface layers of the frozen ground causing heaving and subsidence.
2. Chopping a hole in the ice in preparation for a spot of river fishing.
3. The ‘Road of Bones’, Stalin’s main contribution to development in the ‘White Hell’ of the Kolyma region.
4. One of the moustache brothers, a walrus club stalwart.
5. Andrei the interpreter examining the author’s nose for signs of frostbite.
6. Olga and two of the herders offering advice on how to ride a reindeer. Staying in the saddle was largely driven by the fear of losing an eye on its antlers.
7. Sunrise over a Siberian truckers’ stop.
8. The author testing the medical effects of extreme sub-zero temperatures at the monument to ‘Oymyakon – Pole of Cold.
9. Pipeline carrying water from the Andes, across the world’s driest desert, to the city of Antofagasta on the coast.
10. Chinchorro mummy in Arica’s San Miguel de Azapa museum. The Atacama’s minimal rainfall and abundant salt are ideal conditions for preservation.
11. Sea lions off the Atacama coast enjoying the fertile waters of the Humboldt current.
12. Watering a public park in Arica – suspiciously lush and green for the driest inhabited place on Earth.
13. Fog-collecting nets set to catch the camanchaca as it races across the hillside above Chungungo.
14. Ancient geoglyphs in the Atacama – icons to appease the gods? Desert road signs pointing the way to the coast? Or maybe just giant Chinchorro doodles?
15. Apparently unaffected by the lack of food and water, Zeus disappears over a ridge in the Plain of Patience.
16. The author getting to know the least active rain gauge on the planet at Quillagua.
17. A world-weary ten-year-old points out a pair of Chinchorro legs in the open-air mummy museum near Caleta Camarones.
18. Players marching in slow motion before the Kor’so match with enough lethal weapons to start a small war.
19. The Afar are in love with goats and rocks.
20. Fearsome Afar warriors turn out to be more interested in hairdressing than castration.
21. Hayu Yassin (left) and his mate advising the author to grow his hair longer.
22. An Afar woman prepares bread for baking in her ground oven. (Dudu Douglas-Hamilton © Keo Films)
23. Assabolo, last watering point before the salt lake and the Gara ‘fire wind’.
24. Loading salt hacked from the crusty surface of the Danakil Depression. Bars of Danakil rock salt were used as a form of money in Ethiopia for more than 1,000 years.
25. Mr Bisrat surveys what’s left of Dallol, the hottest town on Earth.
26. The camel caravan heads into the Danakil’s burning inferno.
27. A river gypsy entertains the crowd by swallowing one of his snakes.
28. Residents of Mawsynram watching the rain in the world’s wettest place.
29. Elephants preparing to take us on a sit-down anti-poaching patrol in Kaziranga. Hidden in this picture are several elephant leeches preparing to suck blood from the author’s right leg as soon as he sets foot in some water.
30. River traffic in Dhaka not as congested as on the city’s roads.
31. A half-time cigarette with Runa at the hadudu match. (Ali Kazimi © Keo Films)
32. Planting rice seedlings in preparation for the monsoon’s arrival in Bangladesh, a country in just two dimen
sions.
33. Kaziranga park rangers awaiting the migration of wild elephants from the Brahmaputra floodplains to the Mikir Hills.
34. The author braving Mawsynram’s elements in his knup and tartan shawl.
Nick Middleton is an Oxford Don and a well respected travel writer. He was born in London and as a geographer he has travelled to more than sixty countries. His exploits in Going To Extremes have been the subject of a Channel 4 television series. When not writing or travelling, he teaches at the University of Oxford where he is a Fellow of St Anne’s College.
OTHER TITLES BY NICK MIDDLETON
The Last Disco in Outer Mongolia
Kalashnikovs and Zombie Cucumbers: Travels in Mozambique
Ice Tea and Elvis: A Saunter through the Southern States
Travels as a Brussels Scout
Surviving Extremes: Ice, Jungle, Sand and Swamp
First published in 2001 by Channel 4 Books
This edition published 2003 by Pan Books
This electronic edition published 2012 by Pan Books
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ISBN 978-1-447-23227-8 EPUB
Copyright © Nick Middleton 2001
The right of Nick Middleton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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