Aral sea

Words by: Yulya Darkova

To go to Uzbekistan to dive into the disappearing sea?! Yes, that was possible, and I did it. True, the feelings were very mixed. On the one hand, it’s great to swim in the warm sea water, because for the last three summers I have plowed only the northern seas with an unbearable temperature. On the other hand, every step along the muddy bottom and every splash of bitter-salty water informed me that everything was amiss with the sea.

Of course, I knew that the Aral was drying up, but I did not expect that there were such consequences around it. Even when I heard that someone had seen the Aral Sea alive, for me these were just words.

And here we are. First, for almost the whole day we were going along the exposed bed of the sea to find water. We were imagining how there was water here 30 years ago, and now it is only sand, shells and colourful bushes. Some areas have no signs of life at all – only cracked earth.

We wanted to swim at night, admiring the moon and indulging into the mystery of this place. However, people accompanying us found arguments against it and we went to sleep in the yurts.

We got to the sea only at dawn. Imagine our surprise when in the morning it was impossible to enter the sea. Due to the sapropel, it was very slippery and soft, and as soon as I put my foot in, the sea pulled it inward. I managed to walk about 50 meters knee-deep in the water and then decided to dive with my head and this was a mistake. The salt concentration is so high that the water does not just pinch, but burns the eyes so much. In this case, there is nothing to rinse them with, as you understand. You can swim in such water only on your back. After swimming, be prepared that upon exiting the water your legs will be covered in the same sapropel.

Culture of Karakalpakstan

Wonders of Karakalpakstan