Terelj National Park was only a hour away on mostly paved roads, along which we passed a few army bases and a military radar station. As well as a Kazakh cemetery and Buddhist cemetery with a massive golden Buddha near then entrance. We passed yaks, falcons, a Bactrian camel, Mongolian restaurants inside gers, and toll booths. Into the park we headed As the landscape changed to more mountains with smooth boulders, rock faces, and more evergreens.
Just outside a village we had to cross a river, but stopped just on the riverbed where we saw a car stuck that had also tried to cross. A family had waded to shore, and the father was still at the wheel, door open, and water filling the inside. We all hopped out of our vehicle and Achiro and Eku leaped into action. Achiro our driver turned our van around, backed into the river, and undid the tow line. I stood on shore and took a selfie with one of the girls who was wearing a Yankees cap, with me in my Cubs visor. The men of the group (including Geldan, who turned out to be our horse guide for the upcoming trek) rolled up their jeans, waded into the river, and tried to find a way to attach the tow line to the other car. Surprisingly the engine wasn't entirely washed out so they attached the line under the front bumper, and Achiro towed the car back to shore, everyone cheering and clapping. When they opened the car doors, water flooded out to the ground, the entire inside soaked through. We were able to cross the river in our van with no consequence. And this was just the morning. For reference, the car was a Toyota, and our van was a Mitsubishi.
We would next make camp for the night in a ger of our own. Inside we have 4 beds, a small table, and a little wood burning stove in the middle with a pipe through the roof. These gers can be assembled and disassembled in under 2 hours, as we had seen some families do this morning so they could move into the mountains for the winter. The mountains offer protection from the cold winds, then they move into the valleys in the summer for their animals to graze. There are no nails used in the construction: some of the joints are either pegs, or hinges made out of horse hide, which is incredibly tough and durable.
After settling in we walked over to Geldan's family ger to say hello. In this country it is perfectly acceptable to walk up to a home and invite yourself in for a visit, even to a stranger. Inside were two young teen girls and one teen boy. They offered us milk tea, which is twice-boiled milk. In this case, cow's milk. It was homemade, unpasteurized, and delicious, just like warming up milk before bedtime. I'm curious what this will do to my digestive system, but no maladies to report as of yet. They had three beds, two chests, a desk with a small computer and stereo, and a light bulb, all hooked up to a car battery. They also had a small solar panel outside near the kitchen tent for supplemental power.
The young boy invited us out to a ride on the family horses, so this was our chance to practice for the next few days of riding. Southward we rode for a couple hours with our little teenage friend, who looked to be about 9 but was actually 13, and had been riding his horse since he was 5. He was a chatterbox. Adorable. It took Fay and I a little while to get acquainted with our horses, meaning, just to get them to GO. We got them up to a trot a few times but couldn't sustain it. The weather was gorgeous, the sun warm but not oppressive, the breeze gentle, and the countryside peaceful. On the way back we were all getting more comfortable in the saddle and with each other so we began singing songs... Old classics, The Beatles, modern songs, mostly out of tune. We rode over hills, through rivers, and under low-hanging branches. When we returned to Geldan's ger and hopped off the horse, my legs felt like spaghetti. That was just two hours. We have three days of riding ahead of us.
Geldan's wife had returned home and invited us inside for a snack. We didn't turn down her hospitality and went inside to find more children. Some were Geldan's and some were just "neighborhood" kids. The youngest was an adorable boy of about 5. The milk tea was served in bowls and they offered us bread and orom, which was the consistency of butter. I had a sense that we were in surreal surroundings, yet at the same time felt completely normal and comfortable.
Geldan's son, the eldest with us on the ride, had been kicked by a bull a couple weeks ago and his knee was very swollen and he had difficulty walking (yet apparently no problem happily riding a horse). Geldan asked Eku if he had a bandage, so Fay and I rummaged through our supplies. Between the two of us we were able to flush the wound out with hydrogen peroxide, clean with an alcohol wipe, and apply bacitracin to a tough bandaid. He winced as the peroxide bubbled in the wound, but I gently blew on it as I told him what I was doing and Eku translated. He was a good sport. We believe his mother will finally bring him into town to see a doctor tomorrow. I hope his knee will be fine again soon enough to play basketball again... Which seems to be the national pastime here. Outside nearly every ger and inside every village is a basketball court. Eku knows more about the NBA than anyone I've met.
Night is upon us and we're in our own ger now with the wood stove glowing red. We have firm beds but are happy to be less exposed to the elements. Tomorrow we begin our horse trek up into the mountains. Every day is better than the day before. We are roughing it for sure, but I love the simplicity and I'm so glad that Fay is just as adventurous and having a marvelous time. Although I won't deny I will bask in the four-star luxury of the Ramada at the end of the week. For the time being, we are feeling Mongolia through and through.
No comments:
Post a Comment