Fire training was not in vain
Four elements – air, earth, water and fire. The team "Equites" has already passed through three of them (remember the swim under the ice of Diamond Lake, the "training run" across Africa, and the acrobatic stunts on hot air balloons). Only the Red Flower remained untamed. The guys saved the hellish temperature for the middle of their "Ten Steps to Africa." It is no coincidence that the fifth step was called "equatorial."
Let us recall that this program is a whole series of actions performed by the team "Equites" as part of the general training regime before the African Crossing, demonstrating the special capabilities of the human body and human spirit. The expedition of the team, consisting of three professional adventurers – Goltis, Konstantin, and Alexander – along the entire coast of Africa, 70 thousand kilometers long and lasting about a year, will become the basis for a fundamentally new television show game. Its working title is "Afrodrome or Ukrainians Who Turned Africa Upside Down."
Meanwhile, the team never tires of amazing viewers and readers, as well as ordinary people who happen to be within three hundred meters of the action. So – Obolon Embankment. Crowds of onlookers, strolling along the massif (what a word!) with four-legged and two-legged pets and the inevitable bottle of "Obolonske," began to concentrate around the strange preparations on the beach long before the show started. A police squad, security with walkie-talkies, workers with some poles and boxes... Funny, interesting, and most importantly – free.
In the crowd, guesses were born one after another, until two buses full of journalists pulled up to the scene. "And here comes the circus," someone sneered in our direction. But representatives of the "second oldest profession" proudly proceeded to their reserved seats in the front rows of the improvised "stalls." Each had a press release, after reading which the show could be skipped. But work is work. Concentrating near a pile of boxes already doused with some flammable stuff, we await the action. The constant hosts Igor Molyar and Masha, with kind words and threats, finally drove away the most annoying and fearless "journos" to a safe distance and... "Hark, I hear the thunder of cannons!" Sorry, the roar of a jeep engine. In the darkness (I forgot to say that all this happened in the evening), headlights flashed, and a few moments later a beam of light from a Toyota light bar drowned out the color of the flames of the burning boxes. Drowned out the color, but not the temperature. A shower of sparks shot up over the car that had rammed the barrier... Molyar muttered something about the danger of the Toyota's paint coating catching fire, but we were not scared. And the guys were not either.
By the way, they performed with a reduced lineup. The fact is that Konstantin got injured during training, and his comrades had to literally tie him to the hospital bed with barbed wire – so strong was Kostya's desire to be "with his comrades."
And then the show itself began. A fiery corridor 20 meters long and 2 meters wide was already waiting for its victims. The flame (oh, how hot it was!) eagerly devoured the tow on the poles, while Goltis and Sasha on "Giant" bicycles courageously covered the fiery meters over the sand. But on a bicycle, it turned out, it was not interesting.
Goltis, like Tarzan, climbed a tree and slid down a cable through black smoke and orange fire safely to the ground. And Sasha turned back and jogged through the fire. Too bad he's bald... A fiery mane of hair would have been guaranteed. Now that would have been a show!
They say you can't get used to fire. Even flipping through a dream book, you learn not the most optimistic forecasts regarding this element. However, being prepared to meet a wall of flame does not hurt. Africa, after all: military conflicts, savanna fires, maybe some volcano will come across. An awakened one.
But the main thing is that "Equites" proved they do not lose their presence of mind in any situation, and our guys cannot be thrown off by a pathetic fire.
In an interview with your correspondent, Goltis said: "In Africa, it's 60 degrees in the shade. It is possible that we will end up in places where savannas and jungles are burning. And today's action is a demonstration that we are psychologically prepared for such situations."
– I have been to the plowed fields. I am ready. Look! – Mowgli raised a pot of coals above his head.
– Good! Here's what: I have seen people put a dry branch into this, and then a Red Flower blooms at its end. Are you not afraid?
– No! What should I be afraid of?
That, in fact, is all. What could be called a show fit into fifteen minutes. On the other hand, the guys once again proved that they are preparing for the journey thoroughly and comprehensively. The only thing missing is "circus-like" theatrical action. Something that could ignite not the tow, but the audience. But as it is, I am again proud of our team.
They say the next action will be on water. Follow our reports.