The Mountain Goats

We are in the eastern corner of Kyrgyzstan where the country narrows and the mountain ranges  create a natural border with Kazakhstan and China. From entering the border (which took no more than 15 minutes,) we drove straight to Karakol: a large town that sits on the eastern edge of Lake Issik Kol. The town acts as a good base for people wanting to explore the mountains; indeed, the hotels, hostels and restaurants were filled with European hikers.

We spent the next four days driving along a few of the mountain valleys and camping out. We had had plans to join the hikers and get some exercise but wussed out: not least because the nights are getting rather chilly and Totty is just too comfortable (and valuable) to leave behind! The first valley, Jeti Oguz, started off as a gravel dirt road that weaved several times across the river on crude log bridges. It then opened up into a large beautiful green valley scattered with holiday yurts. We continued on as the road got muddier and rockier until we could go no further: which fortuitously coincided with an amazing view of the mountains.

I won’t bore you with the details; rather, here are some highlights:

We drank a few bottles of nice Chilean wine; watched lightning silhouette the mountain tops; sheltered in the car from heavy rain; huddled around the camp fire; ate barbecued beef; searched for snow leopards; watched giant hail fall; touched snow; sat in the hot midday sun; gazed at the stars; saw a 6 year old expertly guiding tourists on horseback; drove up to a 3500 metre pass; became blocked by a landslide; waved at men herding cattle; camped in the shelter of high mountain sides; followed icy cold gurgling rivers; saw the morning sun peak over the mountains; drove past families harvesting potatoes…….and continued to look for snow leopards.