Day 9: My spirit is restored! With no lectures today,
my gracious hosts allowed me to flex my time to hike today and work on talks at
my apartment when the weather is expected to be bad Sunday. I’m so grateful as
it was a perfect day to visit the mountains.
My hosts recommended some local trekking companies,
but none were going Friday, so I arranged a guide. My guide, Alex, came to
Kyrgyzstan from Madison, Wisconsin, with the Peace Corps and has been in Kyrgyzstan
four-and-a-half years. His language skills are impressive and it was a nice
break to have him take care of transportation, communication, and EVERYTHING
else today.
In addition to being a great guide, he is an
interesting person with great stories about his personal path and the local
region. As we drove, Alex shared that he is dyslexic, and I commented that
though reading may be difficult, his auditory processing seems strong. I
wondered if being dyslexic was a strength since understanding and speaking both
Kyrgyz & Russian seem to require good auditory rather than read/write
skills.
He had never considered dyslexia a strength … I guess
that is the recreation therapy/OT lens at work.
Alex is interested in
architecture and we stopped along the way to visit a cemetery where he pointed
out the differences in the grave monuments. There was incredible history and it
helped to have him identify things like a stone marker with Arabic writing
that I could easily walk past. At the bigger monuments, Alex shared that Kyrgyz
people believe you will be blessed by the deceased people you visit. The
mountains in the background made this a beautiful place to visit. Of course, I
was also interested in the sheep being herded down the road, which is
not uncommon.
As we continued driving, the trees grew denser and
there were horses blocking the road. When we arrived at the park, Alex expertly
navigated the fees while I took pictures. There were Turkeys pecking the cars
and Alex warned the other visitors so they could scare them off. The park
entrance was beautiful, but I had no idea how much better it would become. We
had to drive quite a bit further to get to the trail head to hike to the
waterfall.
The weather is unpredictable in the mountains, so we
were dressed in layers and carried warmer clothes. The first 20-30 minutes, the
altitude left me short of breath, but I was comforted that Alex also needed a
slower pace as we started. Though the weather forecast showed it would be in
the 40’s in the mountains, the sun was intense, so it felt much hotter. We were
shedding layers and dripping sweat on the way up. No complaints though! It was
a gorgeous day and with bad weather coming a true gift to be exploring nature.
We stopped
often to take pictures, though they don’t do the beauty of this place justice!
Alex is also a photographer with vintage cameras, so even the iPhone photos he
took were 100X better than mine. Though it was steep in places, most of the
hike was easy. There was a section of large rocks to pass, that made me
watch my footing more carefully.
About two-thirds of the way to the top, we ran into another
guide that Alex knew well. Alzut was guiding an English woman (Rachel) and
Kyrgyz woman (Rimma). We continued hiking together which added to the
enjoyment. As we neared the waterfall, we saw snow! It was stunning to be in
the bright sun with snow melting from the trees. We were sweating from the
exertion, so though it seemed we should be cold, we didn’t even need jackets.
We had to hike more cautiously as the snow and ice
made it a bit slick. When we neared the waterfall, I was nervous to pass some
large icy rocks. Rachel was also hesitant and we asked how long we would
continue scaling rocks this way...15 minutes! We almost turned back, but I’m so
glad we didn’t. It was just a few more feet to reach a flat area with the
frozen waterfall making a stunning backdrop. We celebrated with lots of
pictures and chided Alex for saying it would take so much longer. To his
credit, he was estimating the time it would take to touch the waterfall and we were
happy to just be close. We carefully made our way around the rocks again to head back down.
During the hike, both Rachel and Alex mentioned not
having health insurance and the need to be cautious. Though expensive, health
insurance is something I take for granted, so this surprised me. Alex shared
some concern about obtaining health insurance when he returns to the states and
I do wonder if that will be hard after being away so long.
By now we were VERY hungry. Alex kept suggesting
places to stop, but I don’t think Rimma was as hungry as she continued us to go
farther. We passed some good places, and I was grateful when Alex just picked a
spot for us. We had an impressive spread of bread, meat, salads, etc. and
shared some tea.
The sun was bright and it was nice to relax with new
friends. As we continued down the mountain, the wind picked up and it was cold
enough to need my coat. Almost as quickly as it came, the wind left and we were
shedding layers again. On the way up, I worried that I would struggle on the
steep descent, but it was easier than I thought. Rimma set a good pace on the
way down, but Rachel and Alzut stopped every few feet for pictures. It was
funny to hear them chide each other as Rimma lagged behind on the way up.
We met a few hikers along the way, and always we
stopped to say hello and talk a little. It is fun to be in a country where
there are frequent encounters with people from other countries; today from
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Poland and Turkey.
As we descended, snow started blowing in
over the mountains. It was a beautiful, billowy gray and again pictures can’t
truly capture it. We had hats and jackets on and off as the temperature seemed
to change quickly. When we neared the bottom, a squirrel followed us looking
for food (pictures). It felt like a little kitten when it climbed my leg. It
didn’t try to climb anyone else, so I think even the animals are curious about
my foreign features. I think the hike took a little over 6 hours with our lunch
stop, but I wasn’t checking my watch on this gorgeous day.
Alex offered Alzut, Rimma and Rachel a ride back to
Bishkek. It is common to hitchhike from the park so Alex also picked up two
Polish backpackers. Other hikers signaled for a ride and Alex taught me to put
my hands up to show we were full. Alex’s 2018 van looks vintage Russian, so it
attracts attention as we drive. Alex is a small business owner with two or three other
rental vehicles. He shared tourism is exploding, so he works 70-plus hours with his
rental business and in tourism. He has Dutch partners, but I think Americans
should consider him an investment opportunity!
On the return to Bishkek, Alex suggested another quick
stop. We visited a memorial that translates to “Remembering our Fathers.” Alzut
is quite knowledgeable about Kyrgyz history and shared how some Kyrgyz people
were persecuted in 1916 and fled to China where many became slaves. The site
also has a memorial for unknown soldiers and for a famous writer who will be
celebrated next week.
The surrounding mountains enhanced the beauty of this
site and encouraged reflection. We saw a wedding party at the site, so I guess
it is also a great place for wedding photos. I was grateful Alex thought to
bring us here. We took an alternate route to avoid rush hour on our return to Bishkek.
While I expected animals in the mountains, I found it funny to have cows herded
in front of the van as we entered the city. We started the day a little before
9 a.m. and I was back in the apartment around 7 or 7:30 p.ma. I was exhausted,
but also rejuvenated by nature and good company.
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