The Aral Sea has dried up, leaving behind sand and a few rusting Soviet-era fishing boats. This boat was about a half-mile out from the former shoreline.
Many people now use the seabed as a place to graze their cattle.
Where once there were fish, now there are cows. A Karakalpak woman and her daughters. I was the honored guest, and my hosts were unfailingly generous. Knowing that these people did not have very much money, I often tried to dissuade them from treating me so well. They always insisted.