We hadn't planned on going to the lake at this time, so if we did, I wasn't sure we had enough fuel to get to the next fuel station afterwards!
The fuel gauge on the Buhanka is wonky to say the least. And you can switch between tanks, but it's only the fuel gauge that switches between the tanks, the actual fuel delivery is automatic. Anyhow, I hadn't filled the second tank, so we only had the full primary tank. But even then it only read 7/8 even though I knew it was full.
Anyhow, I did the math and figured we should be able to make it. Worse case scenario, we would run out, but with Bjorn and Freya with us, there wasn't much risk... just a slight inconvenience. Anyhow, we decided to go for it.
We woke up to a beautiful day.
Gorgeous.
Scenery along the way.
Looking back on the road we came up on
We stopped at this viewpoint.
There, we met Maria and Geraldo, a couple from Spain. It turns out we would also see them later in the day!
Looking back down the valley.
The road ahead.
Horses running down below.
Heading higher.
Still lots of snow up there.
And finally we arrived at Song-Kol Lake.
There are so many horses in Kyrgyzstan!
Bjorn, playing in the mud!
Freya and Bjorn.
There are quite a few tourist yurt camps on the shores of the lake. I had read the reviews of some of them, and one stood out as being really well maintained and with great food and western toilets! So we decided to stop in and see what it would cost for them to supply us with dinner and breakfast.
One of the tourist yurt camps.
We pulled over and had some lunch.
This is the camp we stopped at.
Such a nice family that runs this camp. We were met by a young lady who spoke quite good English. She explained that dinner and the use of facilities would cost 1,200 SOM per person, and breakfast would be an additional 400 SOM. So 3,200 SOM ($51 CAD, $36.50 USD) per couple.
Sold!
The little girl is such a cutie.
The locals love their horses!
Bjorn, testing the water. He said it was not as cold as he expected it to be.
Beautiful scenery.
And, we bumped into the same Spanish couple, Maria and Geraldo, at the yurt camp. It turned out they were staying two nights, and they showed us their accomodations...
Inside a yurt!
There was also a group of Belgian photographers staying at this camp. They had hired some of the locals to provide a demonstration of the national sport of Kok Boru.
Two teams of six riders each compete for control of a beheaded sheep or goat carcass. The objective is to pick it up from the ground (while riding your horse) and carry it to a goal while riders from the opposing team try to steal it from you. The sport is extremely physical and rough.
It can be described as a mix between rugby, polo, and wrestling. The horses are often so well trained that they appear to understand the flow of the game as well as the riders.
So we were fortunate to be there at this time to be able to see the games!
The Kyrgyzstan flag.
The guy on the right has the carcass.
They hold it tight with their leg wrapped around it.
Look how far they need to lean to try to pick it up off the ground.
It's a rough game!
The players posed for a photo.
This 3 year old was riding a horse by himself. They learn young!
I took a video for you...
We sat beside our new Spanish friends Maria and Geraldo for dinner.
I forgot to take photos of dinner... but it was a small salad, a bowl of soup, and chicken and vegetables. All very nice!
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And in Canada...
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