Although it was not until the morning of my final day that I saw rain again, its arrival was announced by a colossal explosion. For a brief moment, I thought that it was a bomb going off, but it was only Heaven declaring war on Earth. The heavy artillery of thunder boomed as the rain began to fall, followed by the cracks of gunshot, one after another, a volley of ten shots rendering the sky. Flashes of lightning ignited the heavy clouds, illuminating the downpour with brief, bright explosions. I could feel the reverberations in the air as extended peals of thunder ripped through the sky and disappeared into the distance like the sounds of aircraft passing overhead. More heavy guns flashed and crashed as the rain came down, steady and torrential like the monsoon should be.
As the thunder passed, it sounded more like heavy furniture being moved up above, or giant bowling balls rolling away down a celestial alley. But little by little, in a sort of audible slow motion, the heavenly noises faded and left just the sound of the rain.
Index
acute mountain sickness ref 1
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Adolphe (fisherman) ref 1, ref 2
Afar Pastoralist Development Association ref 1
Afar people ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9
castration ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
drinking water ref 1, ref 2
greetings ref 1
hairstyles ref 1
inhospitable nature ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
justice system ref 1
Kor’so ref 1
language ref 1
men ref 1, ref 2
nomadic lifestyles ref 1, ref 2
origins of ref 1
salt mining ref 1
settlements ref 1, ref 2
trade ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
women ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Afar region (Region Number Two), Ethiopia ref 1
African Rift ref 1
Agra, India ref 1
Alan (author’s friend) ref 1, ref 2
alcohol consumption
Chilean ref 1, ref 2
Indian ref 1
Siberian ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Alexei (Oymyakon villager) ref 1
Altiplano, Chile ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
altitude sickness ref 1, ref 2
Ambassadors ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Anatolie (fixer) ref 1
Andes ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Andrei (interpreter) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9, ref 10, ref 11
Angara River, Siberia ref 1
Angarsk, Siberia ref 1
Antofagasta, Chile ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Arica, Chile ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
meteorological office ref 1
precipitation ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
San Miguel de Azapa museum ref 1, ref 2
‘arrow’ (game) ref 1
Asayita, Ethiopia ref 1, ref 2
Ashoba, Beléa ref 1, ref 2
Assab, Eritrea ref 1
Assabolo, Ethiopia ref 1, ref 2
Assam, India ref 1
Atacama Desert ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
aridity ref 1
human water requirements in ref 1
precipitation ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Atlasov, Ipatiy ref 1
Awash, Ethiopia ref 1
azmari beit ref 1, ref 2
Babu (driver) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7
Badhi (river gypsies) ref 1
Baikal Environmental Wave ref 1
Bangladesh ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
brick/stone industry ref 1
corruption ref 1
fishing ref 1
Hadudu (game) ref 1
Harialgoup ref 1
river gypsies ref 1
wildlife ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Baquedano, Chile ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
BBC ref 1
bears ref 1
Berahile, Ethiopia ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Bisrat, Mr ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9
Bolivia ref 1
Borah (ranger) ref 1, ref 2
Brahmaputra River ref 1
Britain ref 1
Browning, Valerie ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6
Calama, Chile ref 1, ref 2
Calcutta, India ref 1
monsoons ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
traffic ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Caleta Camarones, Chile ref 1
caliche (nitrate deposits) ref 1
camanchaca (fogs) ref 1
camel caravans ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Campbell (author’s associate) ref 1
Charles (author’s associate) ref 1
chat (narcotic) ref 1
Cherrapunji, India ref 1, ref 2
Chile ref 1, ref 2
animal sacrifice ref 1
Arica ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Caleta Camarones ref 1
Chinchorro people ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Chungungo ref 1
Chuquicamata ref 1
Collahuasi ref 1
Coya Sur ref 1, ref 2
María Elena ref 1
Mejillones ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
mummies ref 1
nitrate deposits ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Ollagüe ref 1
Quillagua ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
San Pedro de Atacama ref 1, ref 2
wildlife ref 1
Chilean army ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Chinchorro people ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Chris (electrical engineer) ref 1, ref 2
Chungungo, Chile ref 1
Chungungo’s Water Committee ref 1
Chuquicamata, Chile ref 1
coca ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6
Collahuasi, Chile ref 1
Cossacks ref 1
Coya Sur, Chile ref 1, ref 2
Daily People’s Voice (Bangladeshi newspaper) ref 1
Dallol, Ethiopia ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7
as ghost town ref 1
temperature ref 1, ref 2
Danakil Desert, Africa ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8
Darjeeling, India ref 1
Decembrists ref 1
Derg regime ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
dew harvesting ref 1, ref 2
Dhaka, Bangladesh ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Dima (guide/interpreter) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9, ref 10, ref 11
Diramo clan ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Djibouti, Ethiopia ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Dobtsov, Nikolai ref 1
dogs ref 1
Domeyko region, Chile ref 1
Don Cecilio (shaman) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Donato (master of ceremonies) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Doobi Pass ref 1
Dulci (translator) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7
Dzerzhinsky, Felix ref 1
East India Company ref 1, ref 2
El Niño ref 1
Enrique (fisherman) ref 1, ref 2
Eritrea ref 1, ref 2
Espindola, Aldo ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Ethiopia ref 1, ref 2
Addis Ababa ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Asayita ref 1, ref 2
Assabolo ref 1, ref 2
Berahile ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
calendar ref 1
Dallol ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8
entertainment ref 1
Hamad Ela ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
history of ref 1
Mekele ref 1
temperatures ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
time ref 1
Evens people ref 1
exiles, Siberian ref 1
Farago, Ladislas ref 1
Felicia (llama owner) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
fish/fishing ref 1, ref 2
, ref 3, ref 4
fog collection ref 1
frostbite ref 1
furs ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Gara (fire wind) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Garden Reach Workshop, Calcutta ref 1
ghost towns ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Goa, India ref 1
Gobi Desert, East Asia ref 1
Godunoff, Boris ref 1
gold ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Graham (Paul) (catering manager) ref 1
guano ref 1, ref 2
Guinness Book of Records ref 1
gulag system ref 1, ref 2
Guwahati, India ref 1, ref 2
Guy (water truck driver) ref 1
gypsies ref 1
Hadudu (Bangladeshi game) ref 1
Hajra, Ratan ref 1
Hamad Ela, Ethiopia ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Harialgoup, Bangladesh ref 1
Hayu Yassin (Afar tribesman) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9
hilsa ref 1, ref 2
Horn of Africa ref 1, ref 2
horses ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
hot springs ref 1
Hotel Angara, Irkutsk ref 1, ref 2
Hotel Ulan Bator, Mongolia ref 1
Humboldt Current ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6
hunting ref 1
see also fishing; poaching
Hyniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) ref 1
Ïasaid (teacher) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Inca people ref 1
Independent (Bangladeshi newspaper) ref 1
India ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Calcutta ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Cherrapunji ref 1, ref 2
corruption ref 1
Kaziranga ref 1
Mawsynram ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6
Meghalaya ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
railways ref 1
seasons ref 1
wildlife ref 1
India Meteorological Department ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Indian air force ref 1
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune ref 1
Indigirka River, Siberia ref 1
Irkutsk, Siberia ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Ishmael (Afar tribesman) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9
iskista (Ethiopian dance) ref 1
Issa people ref 1
Italy ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Jagannath (ranger) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Jefferson (Khasi child) ref 1
Kadabuda clan ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Kaziranga, India ref 1
Kerala, India ref 1, ref 2
Khasi Hills ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Khasis ref 1, ref 2
culture ref 1
entertainment ref 1, ref 2
freedom fighters ref 1
Kiasha (reindeer herder) ref 1, ref 2
Kirov, Sergei ref 1
Kitoy River ref 1, ref 2
Kole fish market, India ref 1
Kolyma Road, Yakutia (Road of Bones) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Kor’so (Afar game) ref 1
Lake Baikal, Siberia ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
leeches ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Lem Hotel, Asayita ref 1
Lena River, Siberia ref 1, ref 2
Lenin ref 1
Lican River ref 1
Lima, Peru ref 1
llamas ref 1
Loa River ref 1
lomas (vegetation patches) ref 1
long rouble system ref 1
Luis (mine guide) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Luitel, M. P. ref 1
Mahsud (boat) ref 1
Manolin (Khasi hostess) ref 1, ref 2
Marbaniang, Jackson ref 1
Marco (mine chief administrator) ref 1, ref 2
Margot (author’s sister) ref 1
María Elena, Chile ref 1
Marxism ref 1, ref 2
Mawsynram, India ref 1, ref 2
entertainment ref 1
Public Works Department ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
rainfall levels ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
size ref 1
medicine men ref 1
see also Don Cecilio
Meghalaya, India ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
see also Mawsynram
Mejillones, Chile ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Mekele, Ethiopia ref 1
Meteorological Magazine ref 1
Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) ref 1
Mohendra Dutt Grandsons Company ref 1
Molotov, Vyacheslav ref 1
Mongolia ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
monsoons
Bangladeshi ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6
Indian ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6
Moscow ref 1
Mozambique ref 1
mummies ref 1
Mussolini, Benito ref 1
Nadia (reindeer herder) ref 1
Nandargi, Dr ref 1
Narsingdi, Bangladesh ref 1
Natasha (meteorological assistant) ref 1
Natasha (walrus club member) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Negou (ranger) ref 1
Nesbitt, Ludovico ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Nezhdaninskoye, Siberia ref 1
Nikolai (boiler house manager) ref 1, ref 2
Nikolai (forest ranger) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
nitrate deposits, Chile ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
nomads ref 1, ref 2
see also Afar people
Obruchev, Sergei Vladimirovich ref 1
octopus fishing ref 1
Oficina Concepción, Chile ref 1
oficinas ref 1
Olga (reindeer herder) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Ollagüe, Chile ref 1
Orissa, India ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Oromo people ref 1
Osman (camelman) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Osses, Pablo ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
otter fishing ref 1
Oymyakon ref 1
boiler house ref 1
breathing ref 1
clothing ref 1
food ref 1
gravedigging ref 1
horses ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
location ref 1
school ref 1
sense of community ref 1
temperature ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
toilets ref 1
water supply ref 1
Pakistan ref 1
Parjatan Motel, Sylhet ref 1
permafrost ref 1, ref 2
Peru ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Peru–Chile trench ref 1
Petya (reindeer herder) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Pinochet, Augusto ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Plain of Patience, Atacama Desert ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
poaching ref 1, ref 2
precipitation
Arica ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Atacama Desert ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Mawsynram ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Pribaikalsky National Park, Siberia ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Puna de Atacama, Chile ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Quillagua, Chile ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
rainfall
Atacama Desert ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Mawsynram ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Ralph M. Parsons Company ref 1, ref 2
Red Sea ref 1, ref 2
reindeer herders ref 1, ref 2
rhinos ref 1
rickshaw wallahs ref 1
river gypsies (Badhi) ref 1
Rodrigo (fisherman) ref 1, ref 2
Roy (Khasi host) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 1
Royal Geographical Society ref 1
Runa (translator) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9, ref 10, ref 11, ref 12, ref 13, ref 14, ref 15
Russia see Siberia; Sovie
t Union
Russo–Japanese war ref 1
Saba River ref 1
sables ref 1
Sahara Desert, North Africa ref 1, ref 2
Salar de Atacama, Chile ref 1
salt lakes ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6
salt trade ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
San Josè River ref 1, ref 2
San Miguel de Azapa museum, Arica ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile ref 1, ref 2
Santoro, Calogero ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Sasha (interpreter) ref 1, ref 2
Saudi Arabia ref 1
Scott, David ref 1
Shillong, India ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Shura (reindeer herder) ref 1, ref 2
Siberia ref 1, ref 2
alcohol consumption ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Angarsk ref 1
clothing ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
exiles ref 1
Irkutsk ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Lake Baikal ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Nezhdaninskoye ref 1
reindeer herders ref 1, ref 2
sense of community ref 1
size ref 1
summer ref 1
temperatures ref 1, ref 2
Tomtor ref 1
wildlife ref 1
Yakutsk ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
Sierra Gorda, Chile ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
snakes ref 1, ref 2
Soviet Union ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Srimongal, Bangladesh ref 1
Stalin, Joseph ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4
steam harvesting ref 1, ref 2
Sylhet, Bangladesh ref 1
taiga forest ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Taparacá, University of ref 1, ref 2
see also San Miguel de Azapa museum
Thesiger, Wilfred ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) ref 1
Tigray (Region Number One), Ethiopia ref 1
Times of India, The (newspaper) ref 1, ref 2
toasts ref 1, ref 2
Tomtor, Siberia ref 1
urine recycling ref 1
Venison (Khasi child) ref 1, ref 2
walrus clubs ref 1
War of the Pacific ref 1
water supplies
Chile ref 1, ref 2
Ethiopia ref 1, ref 2
Oymyakon ref 1
see also precipitation; rainfall
West Bengal, India ref 1
‘white gold’ ref 1
Going to Extremes Page 26