Another delicious breakfast was waiting for us in the communal yurt, this time small pancakes with blueberry jam. So good that I gorged myself on them. Kyrgyzstan so far had more than impressed me with its food. Everything tasted fresh and really intense. Dishes were simple but due to the high quality of the produce the taste was superb. Apparently they don’t have enough money for chemical fertilizer.
breakfast @yurt camp Issyk-Kul
When it stopped raining (we were just not lucky with the weather the first couple of days) we headed for the Skazka (Fairy Tale) Canyon along the Issyk-Kul lake. We would keep it in sight for the next couple of days. With a blue sky as backdrop the experience of the Canyon would have been even more intense but the beauty was undeniable. The rock formations in all colors impressed us when we could finally see them from the top. That sounds as if we climbed forever while in truth you can drive up almost all the way. Just the last couple of meters you have to do on foot, with the ongoing rain it was quite slippery though.
Skazka (Fairy Tale) Canyon
Skazka (Fairy Tale) Canyon
Skazka (Fairy Tale) Canyon
Skazka (Fairy Tale) Canyon
Driving further along the lake we then stopped at the Seven Bulls but not without first driving up the mountain in the direction of a waterfall. Due to the rain and the overall bad street we only made it halfway up. I am still not sure what we were supposed to see because Tilek just told us to get out of the car and walk for a bit. That was easier said than done since the ground was soaked and with every step my light trekking shoes got wetter (maybe not the best decision to only bring summer shoes to Kyrgyzstan in spring). I am sure there was something to see but we didn’t get it. what we saw were green pastures and a lovely landscape. In the end we were quite lucky to get back down the mountain again. A small land slide had happened meanwhile and Tilek had to remove the biggest boulders so that we could pass.
Jeti-Oguz valley near Seven Bulls
Jeti-Oguz valley near Seven Bulls
Jeti-Oguz valley near Seven Bulls
Jeti-Oguz valley near Seven Bulls
Jeti-Oguz valley with Seven Bulls in the back
The Seven Bulls were an impressive red rock formation and my pictures don’t do it justice (but if you check out the link you can see how majestic it can look). The light was not good and the sky too grey. I am sure in better weather I could have captured it better. As you can see the weather was so bad that even the sheep were looking for shelter.
Seven Bulls
Seven Bulls
Seven Bulls from the back
bus station @Jeti-Oguz valley near Seven Bulls
For lunch we stopped at Tilek’s mother’s place. So great to get introduced to his family. The table was set in its usual way, with bread, cookies and sweets as well as different jams to sweeten the tea. Lunch consisted of salad (there was always a salad at every meal) and rice with meat. Not only was his mother a wonderful cook but also super generous. Sylvia loved her self-made ayran so much that she gave her a full bottle for the way.
Kyrgyz lunch
usual fare on a Kyrgyz table
Kyrgyz lunch
After a quick goodbye we were off to Karakol for the night. We stayed this night at a guest house with wi-fi. I was a bit exhausted and just slept right through the afternoon. For dinner I roused myself to go down but couldn’t eat anything (I must have been really sick for this to happen). Yours, Pollybert
Kyrgyz ayran rocks 😄