On the way we also found a nest with a couple of heron's eggs, and watched the herons nearby and every step we took sent grasshoppers darting over our feet. We came to a remote ger and joined the kids in a game of basketball while some of us sipped on airag offered from the family.
While we were relaxing by a river, the flies began to arrive - by the end of the day we were surrounded by hundreds (if not thousands) of flies. The incessant buzzing and tickling drove us all into either a state of fury or depression (or both), and we began counting down the hours until the freezing night would send the flies into hiding.Today marked the day when we met the Belgium group, who we would see off and on for the rest of our trip. Not exactly the friendly type, and by the end of the hiking Chana had given them the name Yaks, because they just eat and walk, and grunt when spoken to!!!
We stopped for lunch by the river, where we lazed under the shade of the trees while Chana prepared our food for us - boy we really are lucky - we even have a horse to carry our gear!!
After about 3 hours of walking we made our way up a big muddy hill, covered with trees, and on the other side we came to a bubbling brook that led us into marshlands!
We dodged as much of the bog as possible by jumping over volcanic rock, and under 2 hours later we arrived at our first camp, right next to Bayan Uul (Rich Lake). 
The total distance of today's walk was 35km, and as our tired pack horses grazed amongst our tents, the sun set taking with it the warmth and the flies - so our comfort level and enjoyment increased!! We rested our weary feet, while sipping on tea made from muddy water from the lake, and Chana messed with us by telling us we had a 40km hike over multiple hills the next day - we were happy to find out this wasn't true, and we retired to our tents: the 3 boys nice and cosy in one small tent!Adlibing it with the flies.
No comments:
Post a Comment