September 3, Hello from Bishkek. Please forgive any typos, fragments and spelling errors. Just can't check them. Every few minutes the power goes down and I lose the last few words.
August 29. After the nice walk down the Arashan Gorge in 18 degree temperatures, we arrived back in the mountain town of Karakol. At 5 am we were up and on our way to the weekly animal market. It's like a gigantic auction market day: full with fat goats and sheep, sleek horses, cows, bulls and the run of the mill yak. The people attending were mostly men looking rather elegant in tall, white, felt karalpak hats. I learned to feel the sheep with their fat wiggly bums. I couldn't get my fingers all the way through their thick curly fleece. The air was thick with the smell of animal dung, sweat and cooking dough balls. The chaotic, noisy market set in the valley between two towering mountain ranges was very specil. After almost coming away with 3 sheep at $100/each, we went off to visit the local Russian Orthodox Church. Every self-respecting Russian still living in town was gussied up and geneflecting (never could spell that word). The wooden building was nicely constucted with domes and all and behind the church I noticed the Kyrgz priest necking with a pretty, blond Russian woman. One could say that "a good time was had by all". In the afternoon we took a taxi out to visit the Przewalski monument and museum. I only remembered this famous explorer of the Russian Geographical Society for the little horse that he discovered on the steppes. The stuffed beast in the museum has bullet holes in his hide. Poor Przewalski died in 1888 while hunting tigers when he drank the water and contracted typhus. The Tsar gave permission for him to be buried beside Lake Issy Kol, dressed in his explorer's clothes. Looking down from the grave site, one overloos the Mikhaylovka Inlet and a clutter of cranes, docks and warehouses-all once part of the old Soviet top-secret polygon for torpedo research in the 700M deep lake Issy Kol.
August 30, We drove from Karakol to Kochkor and enroute to visit the Broken Heart Mountain and Seven Bulls. These red rock formations are part of the interesting geological formations and close to the southern shores of Lake Issy Kul. We paused near the beach to wet our toes in the lake and to look at the few sunbathers still on the beach. Most of the big resorts are along the north shore and this side of the lake is famous for a garish resort built by a Kyrgz millionaire-what do they say, more money than taste! Along the way we drove through the town near the Kumkor Gold Mine. I'm not sure whether or not Canadians are very popular here. There was a nasty spill of toxic chemicals (cyniade) into a river. Several people died and the water was polluted. Gold mining provides about 20% of the economy and I'm told that the Canadian company paid a big fine. I do wonder whether or not the company adheres to a Canadian environmental standard. Kochkor is a little, alpine town that reminded us of Canmore, 50 years ago. Mountains on 3 sides, little unpaved streets, a market street and new guesthouses offering bed and breakfast. We stayed the night and drove up a rough and windy road to Naryn and onto the 10-15th century Caravanseri, Tash Rabat. The ruins are sunk into a hillside at about 3000M. A stream runs down the vally and cows, sheep, goats and horses graze all around; a perfect lay over for the well-to-do traveller over the centuries. We were told that there are remnants of a mosque, a well, and a dungeon in the original structure deep inside. The Soviets did some sort of restoration in 1984 and in the light rain and drizzle it was an impressive site. We slept in a yurt near the site and getting up every 2 hours to pee, we were rewarded with seeing the site with a star-studded sky, in the moonlight. In the morning we drove back down the twisty road, back through the town of Naryn where we almost got to meet President Rosa Otunbaeva, who was having lunch in the town where she attended school. We drove on over rutted, gravel roads, up big switch backs and onto a high alpine plateau. Wide open spaces, rolling hills, little streams and animals dotting the hillsides. After another 2 hours we spotted Song Kul, an alpine lake that is a gigantic watering hole for the pasturing animals. No wonder the animals grow big and fat, there is nothing for them to do all day but eat and run and play in the wide open spaces. We finally located our yurt camp, just as a big thunderstorm was approaching. A yurt is made from sheep's wool and coated with sheep fat to make it waterproof. The top has an opening that opens to the sky and the light that filters in is quite magical. However, in the rain, the flap is closed, the door is closed and despite the colorful wool and reed screens and the home made quilts, the space is dark, cold, smelly and very boring. The outhouses are about 50M away and bring no great joy. A freshly skinned goat awaited us and I must say that the long, silky hair looked much better on the goat. The goats are very cute and reminded us of our doggie friends, Finnegan and Smidgey.
We started to smell like the sheep and it wasn't all that appetizing to watch our hostess make a cow-dung fire and then cut our bread with unwashed hands. A little dirt is okay but I was thinking that there are real opportunities for health inspectors here. The "home on the range" experience was very worthwhile, but I must say that the hot shower and warm bed in Kochkor were very welcomed. Kochkor was a charming little town and the guest houses were clean and hospitable. It reminded me of Canmore 50 years ago before the streets were paved and the wealthy Calgarians turned it into an overpriced playground.
We will be sad to leave Kyrgestan. The Kyrgz people are very attractive and have a long, rich history. There are more than 80 ethnic groups living here and for the most part, everyone gets along. Despite underemployment and the political tensions, the country is a minature Austria or Switzerland with huge potential for agriculture, meat production and tourism. We have been eating Manty's (dumplings stuffed with veggies and meat), tomatoes that taste like real tomatoes, delicious soups, stews and omlettes made with yellow-orange yolks. Dinner for 2 is costing about $10.00 (including Stefan's beer). Unfortunately vodka and cigarettes are really cheap (a litre of vodka costs about $2.00; pack of 20 smokes costs about $.50). The country has major challenges to overcome corruption, alcoholism, regional tribalism. Thanks to iodine in all drinks, pristine in the water, and with lots of luck, we have been staying healthy. We are flying from Bishkek to Dushanbe tomorrow and will look forward to adventures in Tajikistan. Lots of love to all, Corine & Stefan
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