Chania to Iraklion

Chania to Iraklion

Early morning

Our noisy neighbour

Instead of Samaria Gorge we decide to take a leisurely drive to the west, avoiding major roads and travelling, firstly along the coast, and then inland while watching the locals going about their daily lives. Along the coast the Kolumbari Peninsula looms up ahead in all of its  rugged grandeur and so when we see a road leading in that direction we take it. The narrow road is at first sealed as it wends its way through olive groves which are irrigated from amazing “Christmas trees” of pipes, taps, valves and hoses placed at regular intervals along the roadside. The road soon turns to gravel as it climbs up into the rugged peaks and we have great difficulty in relating the roads to the map. We stay with the most obviously travelled options while enjoying some quite spectacular scenery and the company of herds of inquisitive goats.

Kolumbari goats

Crete irrigation system

The road eventually descends steeply to an unexpectedly fertile little flat perched high above the sea where there is a number of vehicles parked and groups of people enjoying picnic lunches. This turns out to be the site of an historic little monastery nestled in the shade of some large green trees. We opt for the quick way back along the new national road and quite easily find our way back through the town and manage to find a car park a little closer to the hotel – no doubt this will be greatly appreciated in the morning.



Monastry site

Dinner with a view

Old Harbour lighthouse

For our evening meal we are tempted into a waterside “French” restaurant by the offer of a fifteen euro special deal being touted by a couple of guys out the front. Once seated they show no further interest and the ‘service’ is left to a lone waiter who is very much more attentive to Greek speakers than to visitors. The location and outlook are magnificent, but the food and service leave a lot to be desired and in spite of repeated requests for our bill it is not forthcoming. We are not allowed to pay by card and eventually just leave our money on the table and walk out in spite of their attempts to delay us. Fortunately all of this does little to spoil our enjoyment of the moment

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The following morning is spent with a leisurely breakfast, repacking, blogging and strolling around the waterfront before re-joining the new national road for the longish drive back to Iraklion. Apart from a moment or two of concern when the service station on which we are relying for fuel is closed (permanently) the journey is uneventful. (There is another service station just 10 – 15 minutes back along the road)
We re-join  our genial host at the Kastro Hotel and are lucky enough to find a park right in front.  A stroll around the old town and harbour, another very pleasant meal in a waterfront                                                           cafe and an early night round out the day.
After yet another leisurely breakfast, we pack ready for travel then head once more for the waterfront for photos and a stroll before an early picnic lunch and a coffee. Then it’s off to the airport bound for Turkey.

Reflections

We decided to go to Crete when we had a week's gap in our travel itinerary...somewhere to go to relax and recharge our batteries before embarking on a very full 3 weeks in Turkey.  Crete filled the bill very nicely!

We didn't trudge around museums or seek out historic sites or pay a guide to take us to the "must see" places with eleventy-hundred other tourists...we simply pleased ourselves, wandered from here to there and, incidentally, happened upon quite a few of the above.  We met and mingled with the local folk in the back streets, met fellow adventurers in restaurants and along the beach, and found, by the end of the week, that we were ready to hit the road again.

Crete is a beautiful island, its people are friendly and generous, and we enjoyed their hospitality.
















Plakias to Chania

Plakias to Chania

The road from Plakias  to the north coast is a major thoroughfare and traverses through the highest mountains on the island, the highest peak being     metres. We are reminded of this and of the winter weather as the road markings change from white to yellow indicating that the higher barren tops but as we descend towards the coast we move into greener regions and many small townships and extensive agricultural plots. We also see more domestic animals than we have previously encountered – predominantly goats and sheep.

Looking back on Plakia

We decide to avoid the new national road which links the eastern end of the island with the west and instead follow minor roads through the many picturesque little villages now bypassed by the freeway. We finally arrive in the large town of Chania and make our way towards the coast, frequently being frustrated by one way streets and not really knowing exactly where we are in relation to our objective of the Old Harbour.

We stop off at an internet coffee shop for a much needed coffee and to check the address and details of our hotel. The proprietor advises us to simply follow the coast back to our right for about 1.5 kilometres and we will be there. However, after only a short distance, the road becomes one-way – in the opposite direction to that in which we need to go! After wending through the maze of one way streets the foreshore is regained but we are confronted by a dead end! Following a series of instructions and occasional signs to the Old Harbour we are no closer to our objective, having been constantly frustrated by one way streets, dead ends and no turn signs. At this point a young lady informs us that you can’t actually drive to the hotel – you must park and walk. So it’s back to the dead-end we were at nearly two hours ago where we manage, after much manoeuvring, to squeeze the car into a parking space and carry our bags some 200 metres to the hotel, arriving somewhat hot and bothered. We suggest that this important little snippet of information could perhaps be mentioned on the web site.

The Old Harbour is truly magnificent and a hive of activity, while our hotel is a quaint older style building with a steeply winding seventy-two steps to our room. After dragging our luggage to the top, we are more than ready for a cuppa from the small kitchen provided for guests and we join an English couple on the balcony overlooking the harbour as we enjoy our drink in the shade of a spreading grape vine.

The temperature is around 35 degrees and forecast to be even higher for the next few days so, after some debate, we decide against walking Samaria Gorge as planned and opt for a more relaxed time around the harbour. After blogging and washing our way through what is left of the afternoon, we head out in the evening to join the crowds thronging the narrow streets which are full of happy voices and colourful shops and restaurants. A most enjoyable evening finishes with a delightful meal of fresh fish, while being entertained by a local musical group and our hostess, an Australian lady who arrived in Greece 35 years ago as a backpacker, met a charming Greek gentleman, and never left!

Old Harbour by night

Our hotel - the dark building

Street scene, Old Harbour

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crete (continued)

After a leisurely breakfast and a relaxing morning around the pool we finally set out just before noon – this life of leisure could easily become addictive! Against some local advice we choose to take a minor road from Matala along the southern coastline but find it to be in much better condition than described, being sealed all the way apart from a short section under construction. This proves to be a good choice as it winds its way up through the arid, rocky and sparsely vegetated hills with the occasional farmhouse and even more occasional little townships, and glimpses of southern coastal beaches. We descend to the little coastal resort town of Agio, where we enjoy lunch under a palm tree near the water’s edge while watching the passing parade of both holiday makers and local fishermen going about their business.

We take the high road out of Agio and shortly see a trackscavator perched most precariously above the road as it digs an access track to a building site. We hold our breath as we cautiously approach the hairpin bend immediately below and just as well, for right in the middle of the road is a huge boulder that has just been displaced. Fortunately we are both watching the road and we manage to squeeze by without incident. We soon find ourselves descending through the Kourtalioyilio Canyon and out onto a rare flat stretch of land leading into the town of Plakias which is our next overnight stop.


Lunch at Agio

The gorge

Our hotel, the Castello, is a fine looking, almost Spanish style building set among beautiful gardens where we are met by our genial host. No formalities such as forms to fill in and passports here, just a genuinely warm welcome. The swimming pool, which we can look down upon from our toilet window, is shared with the hotel next door so we have a short walk to access it but are soon enjoying a swim and a relaxing read on the sun beds under a canopy of leafy green. Then it’s back to the balcony to dry the laundry and catch up with the diary.

Hotel Castello

In the cool of the evening we head for the beach – an easy 3-4 minute stroll away – for a little bit of shopping as we wander along the main street then down to the foreshore. We find a lovely little beachfront restaurant and enjoy the local speciality of freshly caught sardines along with salad and garlic bread, all washed down with a cool beer and a 7UP as we watch the light gradually fade over the water.

View from the toilet window

Sardines for tea

Crete

Crete:

August 18, 19, 20. Travel Time

As we have no further use for our sleeping bags and mats I eventually manage to stuff them into a mailing carton and seal them securely before heading to the Post office to mail them. The lady insists on opening the package for inspection and, in spite of my warning, is taken completely by surprise when the contents leap out to meet her. After ten minutes of effort by Elaine, the aforementioned lady and myself on the floor of the PO we eventually have the contents back in captivity, sealed and ready to post. The rest of the day is spent drying laundry, reorganising packing, cups of coffee and dining before heading to the airport for a midnight flight to Seoul. Having checked in and passed through customs we are enjoying a coffee when I was summonsed to the luggage 'dungeon' to unpack our large pack. I had to remove our little kettle, which had never been questioned before, and open it to show them the Pocket Rocket stove stored inside. They had never seen anything like it before, but we all had a bit of a laugh as I tried to explain how it all worked using mime as none of them spoke English.

The rest of the three hour journey to Seoul passed uneventfully, and after a few hour's sleep at the Sky Hotel and coffee and a donut at Dunkin' Donuts, it's back to the airport for our rather tiring  eleven-and-a-half flight to Istanbul for yet onother stopover, but didn't sleep particularly well. Maybe it was because we didn't really feel at home in a hotel with four stars above the door!

Up early for an eight-thirty departure back to the airport for a ten-thirty-five flight to Athens, which thankfully only eighty minutes duration. Athens airport was very busy and just a little disorganised. Elaine, who had both tickets and boarding passes, and I became separated. I thought that she had gone on to the departure lounge so proceeded through two security checks into the departure lounge.
Elaine, however, was still on the 'outside' looking for me only to be informed that I couldn't be in the departure lounge without a boarding pass and advised to return to information to have me paged but was not allowed to pass back to where the information booth was. Stalemate!! Eventually I talked my way back out of security and we were re-united and proceeded, via  the most intense security check we had ever experinced to catch our flight. Thank goodness for long intervals between flights! We no sooner were airborne than we were descending again into Heraklion - about forty minutes flying time.

With Crete being such a popular holiday desination, Heraklion airport is quite busy, but we passed quite quickly and smoothly through customs, collected our luggage and made our way to the Budget office to collect our car. By the time we had driven the four kilometres to the town we were feeling quite comfortable on the right hand sise of the road but were quickly becoming aware that such things as stop signs, double lines, speed limits and, at times, even traffic lights were regarded as suggestions only. We received a number of 'toots' as we tried to comply as we would at home.

Our hotel was in the old town which fronts both the old and new harbours and is surrounded by remnants of the town wall. The very narrow one-way streets are made even more difficult to negotiate by the cars parked bumper to bumper, often on both sides, necessitating external mirrors to be folded in, not only on the parked vehicles, but sometimes on your own as you drive through.

We eventually locate our hotel, the 'Kastro', on the second pass and settle in before heading out to explore the immediate surroundings. We wander along the waterfront where the old harbour is still guarded by the largely intact old fort. We are unable to get a close look at the fort as the waves, in spite of the very hot day, are crashing into the sea wall throwing spumes of spray across the walkway. From there we wander up into the town following one of the main streets which is now permanently a busy pedestrian mall lined mainly with restauants and souvenir shops. After soaking up the atmosphere for an hour or so, we settle down at one of the many street-side restauants surrounding a leafy square for a very pleasant repast before turning in for a good night's sleep in air conditioned comfort.

Old fort and seawall

View across the Old Harbour



Relaxing

Finding our way out of Iraklion proves to be something of a challenge as we are unable to locate any signs, but in our wanderings we do locate a large supermarket where we are able to stock up on water and a few other supplies. We are unable to find a gas cylinder to fit the Pocket Rocket but are able to purchase a new stove complete with gas cylinder for E18, so we can now match any type of cylinder on the market and have our ‘elevenses’ wherever we happen to be.

We eventually just head generally south out of Iraklion and find ourselves on minor roads rather than our intended route but they are taking us in the right general direction so we wander along enjoying the scenery and the lack of traffic. We soon discover that the road map, like the road rules, is suggestive only but we eventually find a few villages with names resembling those on the map (some town signs are in Greek only) and are able to plot our course towards Matala on the south coast.

 Our first impressions of the countryside are that it is very mountainous with barren rocky peaks below which are more fertile valleys with groves of olive trees and vineyards interspersed with figs, prickly pear and various vegetable crops but few domestic animals. We eventually wend our way back onto the main road for the last thirty or so kilometres into the bustling little seaside resort of  Matala.

By early afternoon we are ensconced in the hotel Zaffiria and enjoying a cuppa while looking out from our balcony across the swimming pool which is set against a spectacular backdrop of rugged limestone outcrops. The rest of the afternoon, after the laundry has been attended to, is spent lazing about the pool reading, snoozing and taking the occasional dip. In the cool of the evening we join the throngs down on the beach for a stroll and a visit to some of the Roman tombs carved into the cliff face. We enjoy a pizza in one of the open beachfront restaurants as we are entertained by a local group of musicians and enjoy a rather magnificent sunset to round out a very relaxing and enjoyable day.

Just out of Iraklion

Central Crete

Beachfront Matala

Sunset

View from the balcony

Day Twenty 17.08.2012 Ulaan Bataar

It rains during the night and the slope of the hill doesn’t change, so most people spend some of the dark hours regaining their original positions in their tents!  A misty, moisty morning, but no more rain. 

After breakfast, Jess gives us each a blue khadag to place somewhere in the area as a commemoration of our visit to this wonderful country.  As we leave, we can see our khadags blowing in the wind, taking our thoughts, wishes and memories to the eternal blue sky…an emotional time for some!

Back to the road – the main road to UB.  Traffic soon builds up and we take forever to wend our way through town and eventully arrive safely back at the Dream Hotel, after some exceptional driving yet again by Turuu and Sandag, this time the enemy is not the road, or the water and mud, or the hills, but other drivers!!

Most people drop their bags, have a quick shower and  head out for lunch and more retail therapy.  Our “Last Supper” this evening is at Granvilles, the Irish-pub-that-really-isn’t, which is where this journey began 22 days ago.

We say our goodbyes to Jess as Gamba waits to drive us to the airport the next night.  We are sad to leave, but are proud to say, “We love you, Jessica Brooks.  Stay true to yourself and your dream, and may your spirit ride on the winds to eternity!”

Pause for reflection time:

When John and I first thought of returning to Mongolia to join Jess and Turuu travelling again through Untamed Mongolia, we decided we would like to share it with like-minded friends.  This decision proved to be an inspiring one.  Not only have we enjoyed the company of people we already knew, but we now know them well, and believe that we are all better for that experience.

Jess, Turuu and Sandag made this journey one that some of us might have thought would never happen to us;   one that has provided us with an experience outside our comfort zone;  maybe one that, if we had known the fine details, we would never have undertaken.  And that would have deprived us all of some memories that we will carry with us forever, that we will dine out on for a long time, and that we will share as private moments between just us.

Thank you Graeme, Suzanne, Janine, Julie, Richard and Meaghan for being with us, and may your khadag carry your spirit on the winds to the eternal blue sky.

A pensive moment

A hug

Turuu, Jess and Sandag

The 'last supper'

 

Day Nineteen 16.08.2012 Hustain Nuruu

Day Nineteen 16.08.2012 Hustain Nuruu

We move early this morning to have breakfast at the Orkhon river campsite where we yet another spectacular view, given the improvement in the weather.

We depart 'Faulty Towers'

Excitement at tasting airac!!!

As we drive across the steppe this morning, Turuu takes a detour to a nearby ger.  The family are not known to him, but he sees from both the mob of horses close to the ger, and several large blue plastic barrels outside, that this may be a place where we can taste the best airac…and he is right.  The young man says that they do indeed have airac and we are invited into the ger to sit and taste with him.  He has a ‘sharing plate,’ which is a prepared dish of cheeses and maybe other nibbles to eat with the airac.  He fills a bowl from a large jug, tastes it himself, refills the bowl and hands it to Turuu who agrees that it is good.  The bowl goes back to be refilled and is then handed to the next person, goes back for refilling, and so on and so on, until everyone has had a taste.  The second round starts and we all have another taste, and Julie asks if he will pose for a photograph with the jug and bowl.  He takes this to mean that she wants more airac and so leaves the ger to refill the jug, and off we go again!!

The man has a wife and 2 daughters who are outside the ger preparing cheese for drying.  We find some gifts for each of them, Jess gives them flour, oil and rice, and also pays for the airac, as it is part of what they do to make money from their ‘farm.’

A long drive from here, broken only by lunch, as we are headed for Hustai National Park.  The road runs by some more small sand dunes before reaching the main east/west road which takes us to the National Park Headquarters and Research Station.  This facility  conducts research into the management of various species, particularly the takhi, or Mongolian wild horse, focussing on behaviours and breeding patterns in a protected area with a view to increasing numbers and possibly planning their reintroduction in to other areas.  There are only about 200 takhi in this park, they are retiring by nature preferring to spend their days deep in the hills and returning to the valleys only in the evening.  Jess has added this to our tour as a special favour, given the interest in the takhi by our ‘zooies,’ John, Suzanne and Meaghan.

We drive into the park away from the camping area and large ger camp, seeing marmots along the roadside.  Turuu stops at a likely place where there is a creek and stony hills.  No sooner have we made our way out of the trucks then along comes 2 minibuses and another truck, all stopping to see why we are stopped.  In spite of the movement and noise these people make, Janine spots movement on the skyline! Four horses can be clearly seen.   John, Meaghan and Julie have headed off in various directions, but it’s not long before John comes running back with news that he has found a stallion in another gully.  We gather together again, back into the trucks and head back along the road towards the entry just in time to catch two horses as they approach the road.  We have time to capture them on ‘film’ and video before a truckload of noisy individuals turns them back up the hill.  Not only the ‘zooies’ are excited about this close encounter…we have all experienced something very special!

Turuu is getting anxious about the time – we still have an hour’s drive to go before we make camp – which we do with very little daylight to spare.  Cold wind and the side of a hill makes pitching tents interesting.  Turuu and Sandag wrap the big tarp around the ends of both trucks and we snuggle into the space between to enjoy Jess’s Pesto Penne and chew over what has been a long, but very exciting day!

 

 

 

The elusive Takhi



Day Eighteen 15.08.2012 Orkhon Gol

Julie is still unwell this morning as we bid farewell to our campsite and head to Bulgan aimag (province or area.)  The road is quite good…it IS an actual road!...and we move into farming land with crops of barley and wheat almost ready to harvest.  Some fields, laid fallow this year, are ploughed already for the new planting, and grass cutting is underway to lay in feed for the winter.

We come across more roadworks, making ready for the new main road.  The thing about these new roads is that many different companies are contracted to do sections, so if one company does a great job, their road will last, but if another company does a not-so-good job, the consequences are …hmmm!  Sand dunes here, isolated from the Gobi and gold-mining activity is also in evidence.  There are new bridges being built to cross the many rivers, but it’s mainly the winding Selenge as it makes its way to Lake Baikal that flows in the way of the road.

A stop is made at a medicinal natural spring where the water is said to be beneficial to folk with diabetes to collect a container of water for Sandag, who is a diabetic.  A ‘resort’ has been built on land adjoining the spring and appears to be doing good business…an impromptu camping area has also been set up along the perimeter fence of the ‘resort’ in the general area of the spring. 

Still the hills surround the steppe and, due to the close proximity of the forest area, timber buildings are replacing some gers as family homes, although there are still many gers in the area.  It seems that some families have built timber ‘houses’ to live in and use the gers as B & B’s to make a bit of extra money from the tourists.  As we’ve said before, education is a huge expense for families because the children eventually have to go away to school and/or university, to say nothing of the fees required at some schools and all universities.

An “essential” stop along the asphalt road reveals a wildflower field, and on returning to the truck, we are joined by a bumble bee.  Not content with being a photographic model and video star, he bites John on the finger before escaping through the open window!

The agricultura centre of Mongolia

The wildflower field

Finally arrive in the aimag (town) of Bulgan. The weather here is notoriously unpredictable and the storm clouds are gathering but with what intent is unknown.  Camping can be a bit wet and miserable at the Orkhon River site so we are staying at the (in)famous “Fawlty Towers” aka Bulgan Hotel.   Jess has upgraded us to “rooms with shower and toilet.”  We are booked into the ‘Honeymoon Suite,” a room with one bed…that’s one single bed!!  However, unlike our 2009 experience here, the mattress doesn’t hit the floor when you sit on the bed!  The toilet has to be refilled after flushing by lifting the cistern lid and manipulating the mechanisms, the shower is electric, and the water is hot but must be treated with respect.  We feel a little put out because in every other room, when the hot water service is heated, the unit breaks into a rendition of either “Jingle Bells, or “We wish you a Merry Christmas!”….I kid you not!!

'Faulty Towers'

Dragonfly

We give Jess a hand with supply shopping, buy beer for John and stock up on OMO for our laundry…shower gel doesn’t really do such a great job.

Dinner is at a local restaurant – cheap, very tasty and traditional.  Happily, Julie is feeling a bit better tonight…maybe singing in the shower is what’s done it!  We head back to our ’suite’ and have a quick shower…just in case we get a song, but alas!!  We only have one pillow and use our double silk liner so we don’t fall out of bed…Sweet Dreams!!

Steppe eagle

Lunch

 

 

 

 

Day Seventeen 14.08.2012 Selenge Gol

We leave the beautiful Lake Khovsgol for the drive back to Muron – there’s only one way in, so we have to take the same way out.  For some mysterious reason, parts of the new road that were open are now closed, so the same trip takes much longer.

We have a quick stop in Muron for Jess to stock her larder, Turuu needs to change a car part (he used the angle iron to fashion a new step for the passenger entry to his machine!) and then it’s across the steppe to the Selenge River, Mongolia’s largest.  During today’s travel, everywhere we look we are surrounded by high hills, but we don’t seem to go across any particularly high passes.  The wind is warm and it is mostly sunny.  The views into the river valley are as beautiful as ever, and in no time at all we are pitching our tents and “D(o)ug” is at it again!  Julie has the tummy wobbles today.

Mozzies are an issue at this campsite, but some take the opportunity to have a nice wash in the river, and we have dinner while John’s small fire makes some impact on the relocation of the mozzie brigade.

Jess kindly does the dishes tonight and boils the water for tea while we climb the nearby hill to view the sunset…well worthwhile as the suns sinks slowly in the west and we say goodbye to yet another beautiful day under the eternal blue sky.  The fire is crackling and we enjoy our cuppa before a warm night in the tent…we didn’t bother zipping our sleeping bags tonight – silk liners were more than adequate until the early morning when the sky cleared and ‘zzippp’ went the bags!

Local store along the way

Watching the sunset



Campsite visitor

 

Sunset over the Selengi





Days Fifteen & Sixteen Khvolsgol Nuur

Day Fifteen

The early birds are out and about - Richard for his daily walk, Suzanne wandering with her camera at the ready, and John, usually with the camera round his neck, is today doing our laundry.  Jess offers a day walk to the top of a nearby mountain and all except Janine accept the challenge.  Jess carries lunch and John, water and a stove. 

Turuu drops us off about 3km from camp and we follow the road to the top.  Every area of shade is taken advantage of as we zig-zag up, ever up!  Some very steep zigs are compensated by some not-so-steep zags, and it’s basically just hard work…Meaghan struggles with her breathing in the early part – but the views!!!!  At every turn in the road there is another aspect of the lake or another perspective of the mountains.  The lake changes colour and range upon range of mountains stretch back from the lake, some are forested, but others are stark, their sheer black ridges reaching skywards! 

We are overtaken by a young woman who is walking to the top because she doesn’t ride – the rest of her party, from Taiwan, catch us up on horseback some time later.

We stop for lunch on a rocky plateau, short of the top, in a sheltered place out of the wind, and with magnificent views of both lake and mountains.  After a good rest, a fine lunch and a reviving cuppa, we climb to the top where we can clearly see the snow-capped peaks on the Mongolia/Siberia border.  There is a Russian communication tower but, more spectacularly, hundreds of uvoos!  There are all shapes and sizes, some obviously built by visitors like ourselves, are quite simple, small and unadorned, but others a piled high and have khadags, flags or other decoration.  We add our own special uvoo to support our friends who  are doing it tough at the moment – they know who they are. 

Julie decides to go it alone on the return with the rest of the party following slowly…the downhills are also challenging and deserving of respect.  Some of us have probably not had enough to drink and are starting to feel the effects…and we probably should be having more regular rests.  John starts to get the wobbles (a forewarning of the onset of a 'bug') and Graeme is slowing down markedly.  By the time we get to the log cabin where Turuu dropped us off, Graeme needs serious rest time, so jess decides to continue as ask one of the boys to pick him up.  Suzanne, Richard and Meaghan go with her and John and I wait with Graeme.  After a rest with the mozzies, and an encounter with a chipmunk, Graeme decided he would like to continue slowly towards camp.  Another rest by the lake and here comes Sandag!

Janine has had a restful day walking in the area and has the camp all ready for dinner preparation.  John and I catch up on our fluids with cups of tea and water while assisting Jess, Janine and Julie with dinner.  Graeme rests up and recovers well.  Our dinner of Korean spiced yak and vegetable rice is yummy and just the thing after a long day.  Janine and Richard light the fire but most are in bed early.  John has a squirmy tummy tonight.

Looking back

Lunch with a view....again!



The long climb

Uvoo overlooking Khovskol

Cheeky chipmunk

 

 

Day Sixteen

A lazy day today.  John elects to miss breakfast and ends up sleeping under the trees for the morning.  There’s lots of laundry around, and folk are walking, taking photos, reading, snoozing, swimming (brrr!) and just relaxing.  Turuu and Sandag are mending tyres today, using the lake to locate any leaks.  A family camped nearby packs up and the daughter takes a plastic bag of rubbish into the nearby scrub to dump…go figure!

Jess prepares dinner and places it in her African ‘beanbag’ as backpackers pass by on the road as well as a couple of horse trek groups, complete with pack horses. Richard and Meaghan ride this afternoon, albeit a short ride, but an experience nonetheless.  John continues to sleep the day away but says he feels OK.  I’m a bit of a wuus and warm up some water to wash my hair and it gets decidedly cooler with a few spots of rain.  A heavier shower sends everyone to their tents.  The fire I lit to heat my hair water struggles on (with the help of a large log thrown on by Jess as the rain started) and we are able to stoke it up for the evening.

We have an early start tomorrow as we head back to ‘the real world’ after yet another unforgettable experience.  The variety of this country knows no bounds and we continue to be in awe of it and its people.


Sunrise over Khovskol



Early morning

Tree creeper

Richard & Meaghan off riding

Campsite