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!

Asalama ellekum Kyrgyzstan

With unbelievable charm and speed we were processed (in almost disbelief) out of Uzbekistan and into Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgh was faster than the USA. They must really want us here. Even Sura got through in reasonable speed and with a bit of negotiating, the entry fees were reduced.

We met our local guide Erkin, pleasant and well spoken. I changed my last US dollars into the local currency. Yikes! Erkin promised that we would have no trouble at an ATM once we got to one in four days. In the meantime it is crackers and vodka.

Kyrgyzstan is the least visited country in the world. It's 5 million people are mostly nomadic. It is a country of high high mountains, forests and lakes. It is also home to the highest concentration of snow leopards in the world...fancy that! It's wealth lies in gold, water (that they sell to Uzbekistan) and natural wonders. For the next 15 days we will be camping, staying in yurts, hiking, rafting, horseback-riding and experiencing an amazing culture. A shower is assumed once every four days or so! :-)

Our drive from the border was pleasant with grand views of the snow capped mountains we would encounter tomorrow. The green rolling foothills were lush with grass and crops. The sunset was spectacular. We reached our homestay at midnight. It seems we have another local guide that misrepresents time and distance...and did not know where we were going. We were split up into three different private homes and served a lovely dinner. We are at 5,000 ft and it is rather cool. Tomorrow is an early morning hike before breakfast.

Adios Uzbekistan

Thanks to Dave and an extra $1,000 USD, Frenchy and Sura were released from no man's land and back in country after midnight. Ah, the power of the bribe!

We stopped at a handmade silk factory before leaving town. It was quite interesting and the prices were exceptional. However since I haven't been able to access my cash, no one gets a nice silk scarf. :-( , the purple ones were really pretty!

We headed for the Kyrgyzstan border excited to be leaving Uzbek and entering a new land. Before crossing and maybe standing in line for several hours, we stopped for a quick lunch of dolma and lagman. This was also a great way to get rid of the few soms left. Any cash leftover from lunch was put into a mutual kitty and we purchased a few bottles of vodka for the campfire tonight! Can't take the money across the border and its no good outside of Uzbekistan.

Update: When everyone was done filling the hat with their left over soms we had enough for eight bottles vodka ($2.80 eac) and 20+ liter bottles of beer ($1.20 each). The campfire will be raging well over the next seven days.