Day 443 - Another day in the mountains

Walking down the streets of Almaty at first light we jumped on the right bus and headed towards the outskirts of town where we jumped on another bus headed for the mountains. Our destination for today is Big Almaty Lake (Bolshoe Almatinskoe Lake), and when we arrived at GES 2 (where the bus stops) our friend Victor was waiting. So without any mucking around we started the 6km walk along the deteriorating road that winds it way through the Bolshya Almatinka Valley and eventually ends at GES 1. It's here that the steep, tortuous pipe climb began!!

We had the choice of walking up the winding road for another 6km or taking the straight 600m pipeline route up - and we opted for the shorter but more strenuous option. It wasn't as bad as it looked and after an hour and a half we were at the lake. The lake was a light turquoise colour and was surrounded by mountains on all sides - in the background loomed two 4000m peaks with their tips covered in snow. We walked half way around the lake to where Victor's friends live, where we chatted and had some Kazakh snacks including pancakes dipped in cocoa and some sweet pastry. We also drank fresh herb tea made with herbs collected by Victor and generally enjoyed relaxing in the rustic cottage surrounded by mountains.
Just as we left the cottage it began to rain and the temperature plummeted from around 30 to about 10 in a matter of minutes - but only last 15 minutes and soon the temperature was sweltering. We ambled through a forest on the rocky edge of the lake savouring the stunning scenery before Adam succumbed to temptation and jumped into the icy lake (we are 2500m high and the water comes straight from the snow...)!The walk back down the pipe was much easier and quicker than the upward journey, but it was somewhat slowed by some more raspberry picking and eating. We also filled up our water bottles with spring water spurting from the river running down the side of the mountains.

The 6km trek along the road back to the bus stop took forever and was less than enjoyable with dust coating us and weary legs complaining. However once on the bus we managed to rest and after making a hasty transfer to another bus we were on our way back to our hotel. We finally arrived back at 9pm and snacked on sandwiches before yet again collapsing into a deep sleep.

Adlibing Big Almaty Lake