A Tajik Tale

Tomek Milewski – along with his companion Weronika Szalas – is a MASON-supported rider with a constant thirst for adventure – Tomek riding his ISO and Weronika on a Macro. Linking together multiple trips to central Asia, their discoveries and photographs are always to be treasured.

With his most recent batch of photos, Tomek shares a story with a lovely perspective on the people he meets while touring, and the beauty of serendipity in a world that is so huge, yet simultaneously so small.

We move forward by moving back.

Yes, Tajikistan completely washed Iceland out of my memory. The beauty and harshness of Iceland felt like a kind of curse, it stayed with me and would not let me rest. Nothing moved me as deeply... until I reached Rapim, to the Ismailis from Ganbart, and later the Nafn Mountains.

I am deeply impressed by how people adapt to such a demanding landscape without greatly interfering with nature. For me, these places are like "Lost Golden Cities", a forgotten way of life close to nature and full of respect for it. I know it may sound familiar, a bit like a romantically admiring rural simplicity. I realise how difficult life there can be, but at the same time how simple and beautiful it is.

I am amazed by the biodiversity in such a harsh environment. How many ancient trees have survived there for hundreds of years. The richness of herbs, scentss, and colors. Unusually branched birch trees that I had never seen before, plane trees more than a thousand years old – yes – more than more than a thousand years old – and those prehistoric junipers dancing with the strongest winds in that part of the world.

After such powerful journeys I never fully come back.

For me it was paradise. And I said it many times while I was there, and the locals nodded and said: “We know very well that this is paradise. We have clean water and air, our own fruit and vegetables, small farms and animals. But we don’t have money and the younger generations remind us of that more and more often.”

This will probably be the last year without Starlink.

Why am I writing this? Because I came back to Poland, although it’s not really a return. After such powerful journeys I never fully come back. I am still processing those few months of my first visit to that part of the world.

While searching for topics about Tajikistan, I found Pawel Drozd’s podcast with Polish botanists researching plants in Tajikistan. Listening to it, I felt that it reflected my own feelings, both about the wonderful place and about the people who live there. Loop!

The story becomes even more looped. While cycling through the Nafn Mountains to see Targamich and Energia, I met some Tajiks on the road. They stopped their car and asked, surprised, what I was doing there after all, the season was already over. And how was I traveling by bicycle if winter was about to come?

At that moment I was waiting on a plateau for Werka and explained that for several months we had been traveling from Ulaanbaatar through China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Uzbekistan, and from there we would fly home to Poland.

They immediately became excited when they heard about Poland. One of them said:
“I have a good friend from Poland, a botanist, a professor from Opole. He has been coming here for almost twenty years with a group of people. They walk in the mountains, fascinated by this land, collecting and studying plants".

Wait, wait,” he said, “I will show you”.
He took out his phone and showed me photos from their meetings, dinners, and celebrations.

“He is like my Polish brother!” he said, showing me a photo from his wallet.
“If you are ever in Opole, say hello to him from me!”

And this is him. Unfortunately, I no longer remember the names of either the professor or the Tajik man. But after listening to Drozd’s podcast and speaking with him, we thought the person in the photo might be the botanist professor from the podcast. So I am passing along greetings from Tajikistan, from a paradise on earth.

I love these coincidences, these loops that return to me. When I'm properly attuned, which is especially true when I'm traveling, I feel everything around me connect and flow. I analyze every encounter, every event along the way. My awareness then sharpens. This is that state!

Now I am looking through the documentation from botanists team about Tajik plants, "Illustrated flora of Tajikistan and adjacent areas" and on page 90 the story connects even more, because I found information about a certain herb in the documentation...

Root of Angelica - Arcydzięgiel.

Over a year ago, I suffered from severe food poisoning during a bikepacking trip in Cappadocia, and since then I have struggled with constant intestinal problems. But earlier this year, while still traveling, a friend recommended a herb to me. He had treated himself with root of angelica. Since then I tried to find where I could get it. Only after returning to Poland did I finally start drinking angelica infusions, and I can honestly say that they help regulate my digestion.

The subject became so intriguing for me that I decided to write, send greetings from the Tajik friend, and also ask whether botanic trips to Tajikistan are still being organised, and whether might need an extra pair of helping hands on such expeditions. I may not be a botanist, but I am a nature enthusiast, photographer, illustrator, and adventure seeker...

Loop?

Peace!