Our drivers meet us at our hotel just before 9am and we have a female guide this time named Jamal. We load into our large van and off we go. We decide to stop at a supermarket on the way out of town because there won't be much along the way that will likely be "safe" for us to eat...so we load up on bread and salami and snacks and large things of bottled water (for the yurt camp) and we head east from Bishkek. We travel right along the Kazakhstan border for a long time before turning south.
We are not sure what to expect from the Yurt Camp. I have had some correspondence with them recently which is interesting as I know they don't have power or wifi at the camp, so they must have someone stationed in town maybe. I was asking them about food and horseback riding and no alarm bells are going off, but I've told everyone that they should expect the worst, no water, no toilets, no clean beds etc. I have read that yurt camps can be dirty and not well cleaned...again, we are going for authenticity here, so that doesn't always equate to creature comforts.
The drive is beautiful and when we take the turn for Song Kol which says 50km, I think...huh..that wasn't so bad...except I know the next 50km will be slow. They anticipate it will take 2 hours from here.
It is bumpy and we are climbing way way way up. We will reach 3016m high at Song Kul lake which is just shy of 10,000 feet.
As we wind our way up and finally reach the crest, an amazing valley with the lake in the distance opens up around us. It is magical...and we can see yurts dotted across the valley and horses, sheep, cattle and donkeys roaming freely everywhere. I've never seen anything quite like it. It is a beautiful beautiful place.
We bump along and as we round each bend we think...is that it? No. We bump along a while longer...is that it? No. Then we start joking that it will be the furthest one we can see from here...and when we pull up to that one...and get out to see if its the right one...it isn't'! haha. It's even further.
We do finally pull up to Azamat Yurt camp, which we learn is named after the son who owns it. I say son, because his mother is a prominent figure in the camp and will truly feel like our host, although Azamat does make us feel welcome as well.
We are greeted warmly by Zuura, the grandmother as we will call her, and Azamat's eldest daughter, Aidai. We are shown to our Yurts and we unpack and get settled in. The Yurts are all in a line, with some smaller ones in behind. In the center is the dining Yurt which is the most beautiful of them all. To the left of the dining Yurt is the cooking Yurt where the family cooks and eats, and to the left of that is their sleeping yurt. Our Yurts are to the right of the dining Yurt and the parentals will get a small Yurt behind us after dinner once its clean.
In front of the Yurt is an open field with a soccer pitch, volleyball net, swing set and some seating. The whole area is delineated by large painted white rocks. Something that we noticed is done at most of the camps to mark out the area.
The Yurt camps are only open in the summer, these are summer pasture for the cattle and horses and its too cold here beyond probably September. What's amazing is that all the cattle seem to just roam around freely with fencing, and some seem to be tagged or branded, but not all of them...so I don't know how they keep track of things...and nobody owns the land that their Yurt Camps sit on, but apparently everyone is respectful of each others space and they come back year after year.
Upon arrival, mom made friends with Zuura and was invited in for tea. Our guide went with them to help with the translation. The rest of us unpack and sort of wander around a little in awe of the landscapes.
Its early evening by now and what we noticed as we climbed up here was of course the temperature drop. What we didn't anticipate was that as the sun went down, the temperature was dropping even further. It was starting to be damn cold - and we had mostly packed for 40 degree weather. I had expected 20-23 degree weather up here, like home, but it was dropping to 10-13...maybe less.
An exciting realization is that they actually have western toilets here...they are rudimentary for sure, and way off away from the Yurts, but they flush during the day and are a far cry from the squat toilets. Our two days here are really looking up. haha. They also have a makeshift sink station too, and the water here is clean.
As we are sitting and enjoying the scenery and waiting for dinner to be served, we all of a sudden hear the bleating of what we think is a goat....turns out to be a sheep, but whatever...its bleating...and not sounding happy.
This next section might be a bit offensive for some, trust me, we found it a bit hard being there. We just live differently and have a different sentiment about animals, so we will chalk this up to a learning opportunity.
So the sheep is bleating, I suspect, as I watch these two men carry the sheep in behind a small mound of dirt, that I know what is about to happen and I call to Avery to join me near the swings. I suspect she has a more clear view of what is going on behind the mound. Unfortunately I'm too late and she also knows what is happening.
We had been sitting with a Portguese family on the swings and we are all now alert to what is going on. The bleating has stopped. Is this supper perchance? If only...it will be something much more fantastic.
We carry on with our conversation and a short time later we notice the young men around the camp start to gallop around on horseback. They ride from an incredibly young age here and they ride their horses hard. I find it hard to watch, but they love their horses, and they are a critical part of their lives, however they don't treat them like they do at home. They work them hard, run them hard, and ride them with their heads very high, which appears to bee hard on their mouths. It's both amazing to watch and uncomfortable at the same time.
As the boys race around, at some point we notice that something has been introduced into the mix, something black hanging and dropping from their hands. Its not long before we realize that its the sheep that has been decapitated. It might also have had its feet cut off....we aren't totally sure and I don't want to get close enough to find out.
After watching them play around for awhile, one of the young men comes up to us and asks us if we want to watch them play their national game. Of course we do, I say, so he tells us to come over to the far field now. We gather our troops and head over along with the others staying at our Yurt camp.
What ensues is something unlike anything I've ever seen before. There are probably 7-8 riders and there is some kind of rug that has been placed in the field. One of the riders drops the sheep opposite the rug about 50+ feet away and then the game is on. They rush for one of them to pick up the sheep...while on horseback! It's incredible reach and the tack they use is pretty rudimentary. Then off they go, riding, circling, yelling, whipping each others horses and so on, trying to stop the one with the carcass from dropping it on the rug at the other end of the field. To me it looks like every rider for himself, but as it goes on, we realize that there are teams and that there is tactical defense and offense going on. One rider is clearly better than the others, he hooks the sheep under his leg and employs great strategy in outmaneuvering the others and scores several goals. Once that sheep is hooked under his leg, the others are almost totally unable to get it away from him. This would be Azamat, he is older than the other young men, and clearly has the upper hand. Even his son, Adil, who is only 11 plays a few rounds. It is obviously a multi-generational game, with the elders teaching the youth. From that standpoint, its pretty amazing. The riding abilities on their own are pretty unbelievable, especially when you consider the age of most of these men.
After a while I'm getting a bit turned off of the whole thing and so the girls and I wander off and go find the baby foals that are tied off in the distance while their mamas graze. They are friggin adorable! We pet them until finally the mamas decide we've overstayed our welcome and come down to shoo us away.
Its dinnertime once all the gaming is over and we wash up and head into the dining Yurt. It is beautiful. Zuura sews the interior decorations for the Yurts which takes her apparently 6 months. We all sit on the ground on cushions at low tables and dinner is served. Its a simple salad and the most amazing soup I think I've ever had. Big yummy thick noodles with meat and vegetables. They serve bread and there are always little desserts and fruit available. I had been worried about the food here and what we would eat, but I shouldn't have been. The food is delicous, clean and wholesome. They also serve endless tea...Chai? Chai? They don't like you to have an empty cup. The hospitality is truly remarkable.
After dinner a game of soccer gets going with the local young men, our boys and the other guests. It's awesome and they are all having a great time. I'm freezing and layer up to watch the game. Two pairs of pants, a long sleeve and a hoodie...that's all I've got. The girls also have their airplane clothes which consist of sweatpants and a hoodie. It will have to do!
There are small battery operated lights in our Yurt and mom brought some flashlights for us to use. At around 9:30pm they come into our Yurt and light our stove. I don't notice what they use, and the smell is a bit much for me and I start to feel like I'm suffocating. I'm thinking coal given the sightly toxic smell, but I would learn that they use cattle dung to heat the stoves, which is pretty awesome as they have an endless supply of that out here. I can't stand the smell though - and we end up having to prop open the door for most of the night to bring in some fresh air.
We all read for awhile and although the beds aren't super comfortable, they are clean, and the duvets are thick and comfy. Dave and I sleep right in the middle in the two beds that are pushed together. Our Yurt has 6 beds so I pull off the extra duvet from the 6th bed and put it across us, and use the extra blankets for the girls. I suspect we will have a pretty good sleep here in the mountain air...I just hope I won't have to get up to go to the bathroom! It's such a long way over there in the cold :(
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