Summer Adventures, PART 4

The Epic Travel Adventures of One Peace Corps Volunteer in the Summer of 2011
(or What I've Been Doing For The Last Month) – PART 4

The next morning we woke up to a chilly morning. Let me tell you, it was rough. I ached from the time spent on horseback the previous day, I was seriously sunburned, and I was cold from the damp morning air. The rest of the camp was already awake, our guide Batyr was saddling our horses, the women were finishing breakfast preparations and the men were preparing for the day. We rolled up the mattresses, sheets and blankets that covered the yurt floor, and pulled the table to the center of the yurt before setting breakfast out. For breakfast there was tea, bread, eggs, fresh butter and apricot jam. We finished breakfast, said goodbye to our hosts, slathered ourselves in sunscreen, and rode off into the hills.

Batyr was less talkative than the previous day, it was much colder than the previous day, and our horses were less pleased us than the previous day. My horse did his task of picking his way through the hillside valiantly, but COBC's horse was in no mood to be carrying someone around. We had to stop frequently while Batyr tried to coax it along, and eventually he and COBC traded horses. The second day's ride was much more difficult than the previous day's. The terrain was rockier and steeper and it was cold. Despite my long underwear, heavy duty fleece jacket and rain coat, I was freezing. The higher we went the windier it got. Slowly we climbed to the Jalgyz Karagai pass – 3300 meters (10,800 feet) – from which we would descent to Song Kol basin. Just as we reached the pass, the sun peaked out from the clouds to shine light on the lake that glittered in the distance.

The break in the weather was short-lived, and in no time at all we found ourselves in the middle of a chilly hailstorm. We soldiered on, and eventually reached the Jaman Echki jailoo, and the dry warmth of yurts and lunch. We didn't eat alone, but instead were joined by some other travelers that had come in with a CBT guide by Land Rover to do some hiking. The other travelers were German. It was two girls working Bishkek with the German volunteer program (similar to Peace Corps), and one of the girl's parents who had come to visit. We exchanged amusing stories about life in Central Asia and went on our way. The ride after lunch was cold but easy, as we were covering fairly level terrain of the lake basin. We passed marmots, steppe eagles, and herds of horses as we made our way to the lakeside yurts off in the distance. By mid-afternoon we had reached the 20 yurts that made up the CBT Song Kol jailoo community.

Song Kol was beautiful, perched among mountains, and it was amazing to be staying with a local family in a yurt in a place so sacred to the Kyrgyz people. We made friends with 3 kids staying in the neighboring yurt who had come from Bishkek for a 10-day kumus treatment. Kumus is the fermented mare's milk that is thought to have healing properties and is quite popular throughout Central Asia. These city kids – Bigzat (age 11), Kanashai (age 5), Begimat (age 3) – came with their aunt every year to Song Kol to be restored by the lake and the kumus they drank every three hours. They were cute and because they were city kids they spoke Russian. We strolled along the lakeshore, played with the kids, and ate a delicious dinner of sauteed cabbage, potatoes, and carrots for dinner before hitting the sack for a last evening in a yurt.

The next morning we ate breakfast, packed up, and waited for our ride back to Kochkor. We spent 4 bumpy hours in the same beat up Lada that had dropped us off 2 days earlier before reaching the town. We arranged to spend the night with the same host family, and dropped our things off before setting off to explore the town. Kochkor is a typical Central Asian town. Town life centers around the main drag which has a bizarre, cafes, and businesses. We walked through a slightly terrifying regional museum that was full of Soviet memorabilia and rotting floors before heading to lunch. We spend the afternoon napping, reading, and planning the next day's trip back to Bishkek. After a final night in central Kyrgyzstan we found a shared taxi back to Bishkek.

Our trip back across the border into Kazakhstan was considerably less interesting and less hectic than the trip into Kyrgyzstan, but the easy crossing was a relief after a tiring trip. Overall, it was a truly amazing trip. When we were first planning the trip, I expected to enjoy the time we would spend in Kyrgyzstan, but I didn't expect to love it. And I did love it. A week was too little time to spend in such a beautiful place. I'm hoping to make it back south of the border before my time in Central Asia ends, maybe to stroll through the walnut forests of the south, or to spend some more time in the mountains.

I guess what I'm trying to say, dear reader, is if you ever find yourself in Central Asia, give Kyrgyzstan a chance. It's a small country, but it has a lot to offer the adventurous traveler. Getting a visa is no problem, crossing the border by land is only slightly terrifying, and the people are warm and welcoming.


COMING SOON! Stay tuned for pictures of my Kyrgyzstan trip. They'll be posted as soon as the internet cooperates.