From mountain village into paradise

Last night's grouchiness was relieved by a good (albeit cold) sleep and breakfast by our host family. We woke to see ourselves surrounded my 10,000 ft snow-capped mountains and blue skies. As the lads readied the truck we wandered down through the village chatting with children and adults alike. We then drove to the town well below on the valley floor where we shopped the local market for the next four days supplies.

Fully stocked we headed west acros the Kyrgh Fergana valley and then north into the wilderness. Before reaching the foothills there was a long stretch of highway that we learned was the international border. No fences, markets or guards-just farmland on both sides of the road. And to think that just two years ago Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan were at war. Odd indeed! Photo shows the road as the border.

Reaching the foothills we found landscape that reminded me of the badlands of South Dakota. A magnificent maade lake and flooded river gorge with emerald green water greeted us. It was so invitong we decided to picnic on its shore and have a swim.

Our drive continued through one magnificent valley after another. We wound around colored cliffs of ocher, sienna, and verde (thats French); backdropped by massive snowcapped mountains. We were mesmerized by the stark beauty of the landscape.

We stopped alongside the road and bought some wildflower stalks. The flowers had not yet bloomed but the stalk looked a bit like rhubarb or water hyacinth and when peeled tasted like tart green apples. Yum!

We eventually traced the shoreline of the second largest reservoir in the world before climbing into a crayon gorge and our campsite for the night. Life is sublime!