Bubble and Squeek

It was an overcast and rainy day with most ducking in and out of the truck. For lunch we brought out the last three days leftovers and made "bubble and squeak." That's Aussie/Brit for leftover stew. I get the bubble part, the "squeak" evades me. We cooked in the rain and ate inside Sura.

Packing up on the rain is a real drag. Wet muddy tents will remain that way for our next bush camp. Wet clothes on top of four days dirty laundry-virtually everything I have-and all smelling pretty rank may get even worse.

Hopes of sun and a light breeze were on everyone's mind as we drove out of the valley and to our warm hotel and hopefully a laundry facility.

At the first log bridge we discovered damage. We had to bring out the sand mats and reinforce the bridge with rocks and a new log. The "rebuild" took a while before it was safe to attempt a crossing.

Once back in Kara-kol we settled in at our hotel, connected via wifi and enjoyed a quiet evening vigor dinner we had a free night and went in different directions looking for something different to eat.

Up all night

Okay, it's my turn. Over the last eight weeks I've drank the local water and eaten fresh produce. I've sampled some pretty interesting food and drank my share of wine and vodka. I've watched other family members suffer through colds and runs to the toilet. I've dodged the bullet...or so I thought

It all caught up with me last night. Fever, chills, cold sweat, and Montezuma's revenge in full force! Yuk! Imodium, Ciprofaxin, Tylenol and lots of water followed a sleepless night.

Update: Tired, rehydrated, and sleepy. The trots have slowed to a crawl and I'm on an uphill swing. Now, where is some more of that horse meat and fermented wheat wine?

Kyrgyzstan Entertainment

Our guest houses in Kochkor were very nice. Comfy beds and an adequate hot shower made the day.

For dinner we were treated to a group of traditional musicians in costume. They sang several songs while playing two Kyrgyzstani three-stringed mandolins, an accordion, and a percussion stick. A unique stringed instrument along with a mouth harp added to the fun.

The meal that followed was delicious. It was then an early night anticipating a long day tomorrow back into the wilderness.

Kochkor

Breaking camp this morning came with the decision to not only take away our own trash (we always do) but also to gather all the other debris left by countless other campers. It was quite an accumulation. By the time we were done we had about twenty bags of trash. We stacked it down the aisle between the seats and drove about 60 km to the next town where we deposited it in the local landfill. When our local family sees the next Dragoman truck arrive they will be welcomed even more. We all felt great about our random act of kindness!

Our drive today took us further through the mountains and over another summit, this time only 8700 ft. We passed through a lot of small villages and pasture land waving hello to the towns folk from the roof seats of the truck. All the while magnificent snowcapped mountains rimmed the valleys.

The cemeteries are of particular interest with many small mausoleums made of stone and mud bricks, many elaborately decorated, and in many cases, much nicer than the surrounding homes.

As we climbed higher this time it got dryer and there were stretches of high desert -sand and scrub. Along the way we spotted our first snow leopard. Yippee!

At 5,000 ft everything turned green again and we stopped for lunch in a really cool meadow with a fast running stream. Tuna cole slaw, fresh oranges, and fire roasted beets and carrots. How healthy is that!

At 8000 ft we stopped by a nomadic family's yurt and gave them the rest of our food from today. They accepted it without hesitation. At the summit were herds of horses and so many spring foals.

Our final stop was at a handmade felt workshop. This retail experience was worth every minute. We were shown the process for making the wool felt, made a small piece for the group to hang in the truck, and then were shown how a traditional felt yurt is taken down and set back up. Our two hour visit was both entertaining and truly unique, not to mention the extremely attractive hostess. The prices of the felt marquetry rugs were ridiculously inexpensive and a "few" of us bought some!

Our accommodations tonight were in three guest houses with hot showers. We're back to the bush tomorrow night!

Hiking in the Aral Gorge

A peaceful night with scattered showers was followed by a bright and sunny morning. We had breakfast by the river then made lunches for our day packs. Half of the group opted to stay in camp. Dave spent the day servicing the truck, changing oil, etc. He's such a good lad!

The rest started up the gorge. The views were amazing as we climbed higher. We discovered a pair of vipers in the shadow of a large rock, as well as lizards and lots of gophers. The trail was constantly uphill-not my favorite type of hike! After two hours the trail became a climb, versus an adventure and I opted to find a comfortable rock and do a sketch. The sound of the cool breeze and the occasional bird calls were revere.

I left my perch at 7,000 ft and climbed down through what I am calling a field of yellow "fireweed" and then across another small ridge where I promptly got a bit lost. After finding the river I was back in camp two hours later making the hike a five hour adventure for sure.

My cook team was in charge of dinner tonight and we had MEXICAN! To that we added an awesome lentil soup and carmelized wild iris roots (tastes like green onions) and wild asparagus, we think! We invited the local family to join us and gave them an unplanned sum as thanks for sharing their land. Life is sweet!!!!!

We ran out of firewood for tonight's fire so we went out and collected cow and horse shit. It burns really well!

And then it snowed

We went to bed with flurries and woke to a nice cover of snow. Our driver was concerned about the condition of the upper road so after packing up "Ursula" we were asked to walk down the first 3 miles of road to below the snow line. There we safely boarded the ATV and drove back to Kara-kol.

Once in town we unloaded Ursula and repacked Sura. A shopping trip to the local market allowed us to graze on our own for lunch. Different noodle bars, each with their own secret sauce were delicious. The shumsha (pastry filled with meat or veggies) was great, and the BBQd beef and lamb were very good. We restocked the bar with a variety of vodkas.

We left town for a short drive to the Jeti Orghuz Valley where we will spent two nights. Entering the valley the red cliffs and sculpted sandstone mountains were amazing (I know, I use this word a lot) and there we were soon deep into the spruce and cedar forest. We found a campsite next to another rushing stream and set up camp. Cabbage rolls, mashed pots, and tomato salad for dinner. Yippee. (I know, I use that one a lot as well) :-). :-)

Check out the horses among the tents!

A lazy day in the alpine valley

I got up early to do my breakfast and lunch chores. We made lunch early so that the hikers could pack a lunch. Almost everyone went out today. There were several day hike choices. I chose to stay and enjoy the quiet. I went back to bed for an hour. It was nice to have the whole place to myself. Mid morning I enjoyed a long hot soak in one of the pools with an Aussie lass. It was fun to listen to her marvel at the mountains and trees-something she had never seen before. There were three left in camp. We shared lunch and then were just lazy. It's been along time since I have enjoyed being mostly by myself.

Tonight was crazy hat night. The assignment was to make a hat from found objects. Dave and Frenchy cooked dinner. First course was a local delicacy-oh god, I'm afraid to put this into the blog-it was a boiled horse penis. I DID NOT try it! Although our guide swore by it and a few did indulge with positive comment. Gotta love local custom.

Second course was a horse meat stew and an aubergine casserole. REALLY YUMMIE! Somehow the lads also found a pork sausage-sorta contraband in these parts.

During dinner it started to snow. The Aussies got pretty excited. Little do they know! Tomorrows descent back to Kara-kol may be a bit tricky! Yikes!!!!

Finally!

ATM success! Three weeks of limping is over. Finally found an ATM with USD. I got enough to pay back all of my personal loans and cover me well past the China border.

You can all stop worrying about me now. I may even buy a nice WARM sweater to celebrate!

To Altyn Arasan

Our day started with breakfast and a quick shopping trip to the market due to an adjustment in our plan. Snow and below freezing temps have caused another itinerary adjustment. Instead of heading south to Zety Oghuz and forest hiking, we will go north into the mountains and a hot spring resort. Heated dorms await our arrival.

But first we have to change vehicles. The road is "interesting" and only four wheel drive vehicles can make the pass. So...our guide arranged for us to use an army transport vehicle. Right out of post WWII Russia comes "Ursula." It took about
45 minutes to transfer our camping gear, food, and luggage. Then we all packed in, and headed out. Really exciting stuff.

It became immediately apparent why we were using the ATV. The mountain road was barely wide enough for the truck, dirt and mud, and full of boulders. We rocked and rolled for three hours up another 4,500 ft to an amazing alpine meadow above the evergreen treeline. Our accommodations for the next two nights and days are dorms in a mountain cabin. There are four hot spring pools just below the cabin each with temps varying from 94 to 105. Just like home. This is heaven!