Horse trek - Day 1

Bob says: We based ourselves in the town of Kochkor and set out from near there towards lake Song-kol. 1st day we were 6 hours on horseback, not natural if you ask me. Following this trek I firmly believe that horses should be wild and not ridden, it is torture for the ass!

Ruth says: He loved it really. By the second day he was cantering like the rest of us and we were even having races.

Trek day 4- Down the Arashan Valley

Ruth says: We had an unexpected night spent in Altyn Arashan when we arrived at 6 in the evening and were told that it was another three hours walk to the end. Fortunately we were offered a bed and dinner in a guest house (we had run out of food by lunchtime) and there just so happened to be some hot springs there where we could take a gorgeous bath followed by a dip in the freezing river.

Bob says: This walk presented some of the most spectacular and picturesque views that we have ever seen. It was certainly worth dragging the bag around. For clafication I mean the rucksack. One bad point was the soviet petrol stove that we hired, having two settings: flame thrower and candle. All very well if you want to torch a village or light a lantern but if you want to boil river water, highly frustrating. The hairs on my arms are just starting to grow back.

Trek Day 3- Ala Kol Lake- Altyn Arashan

Bob says: Day 3 took us to the summit of the walk at about 3900 metres.

Trek Day 2- Ala Kol Lake Ascent

Bob says: The hardest day of the trek when we climbed from around 2000 metres to 3500 metres at the lake edge.

Ruth says: The horses at the top are wild horses. We heard them arrive in the night and then woke up to find our tent surrounded in the morning.

Trek Day 1- The Karakol Valley

Ruth says: After our dodgy tummy episode we decided to make thing nice and easy for ourselves and do a trek which was initially meant to take three days but thanks to numerous factors including hailstorms and a very dodgy stove it took us four days. We hired a tent and all the necessary camping equipment and set off into absolutely stunning mountains with backpacks weighing about 17kg each. It was very very hard, but so worth it. I have never seen anywhere like it.

Bob says:As the wife says we encountered bad weather on the way up the valley. When we finally camped the weather had completely cleared up but the earlier bad weather had forced some very disgruntled French from the summit. They decided not to camp at the lake because of the weather, only to find it that it cleared when they got down near our first camp. After one Frenchman told us of his woes, he left declaring that he was going to Bishkek to find a woman with big jugs. Presumably he meant the Kyrgyz pottery sold by the local women. Very cultured yer French!

Jeti-Oghuz

Bob says: Following two or three days halled up in our guest house in Karakol doing the toilet relay we finally acheived bowel confidence and took a picnic up to the beautiful Jeti-Oghuz. The rock formation at the bottom is known as the Broken Heart. Given the name it was strange to see a Kyrgyz wedding party having photos next to it later in the day. The third picture shows the traditional yurts which are usually used as kitchens for cafes at tourist spots.

Ruth says: Yurts are the traditional homes of the nomadic shepherds. They are still used for that purpose as well as cafe kitchens.

Karakol - The Animal Market

Ruth says: This was at about 7 in the morning. It was just a crazy mass of people and animals with no visible order anywhere. It was really good fun to go and see. See if how many traditional Kyrgyz hats you can spot. The old men wear them with suits, it looks rather odd.