May 28-June 1
We rolled into town in the marshrutka and took stock of our surroundings: one traffic light and two restaurants. We went straight to the Community Based Tourism office (CBT) for details on the 4 day horse trek I had booked with them for the next morning. That taken care of we walked to our homestay where we enjoyed our dinner and breakfast in a well-furnished backyard yurt.
We headed out at 9:00 am the next morning. A block down the road from the CBT office we saddled up and rode out of town. That kind of took us by surprise – we assumed we'd taxi out to a ranch or something, but it wasn't long on the dirt road before we started winding up into the mountains. We started each day around 9:30 am and rode about three hours, lunch break, then rode another two couple hours before setting up camp around 4:00 pm. We'd pitch our tent and read or nap until dinner and crash early.
Riding a horse is much better than riding a camel, but it's still pretty uncomfortable for those of us with uninitiated butts. For some reason my right knee got super stiff while riding and it took a few minutes after dismounting to shake it out and get functional legs again. Our two horses were Khara, who was docile and sweet, and Asshole (aka Kashka). I rode Asshole for the first day and a half and it was a constant war of the wills. Unsurprisingly, due to my lack of horse[wo]man skills and the fact that he was an obstinate 1000+ lbs of muscle, he usually won. Tim kindly traded me Khara and it was a much more pleasant trip. Tim and I both almost got unseated a time or two due to unexpected running (downhill) and Asshole kicked at Tim's head one time (luckily missed). The country song “Should've Been a Cowboy” kept cycling through my head, except in our case we definitely should not.
The scenery is spectacular, overlooking the Tien Shan Mountains and lake Issyk-Kul. Each camp had slightly different terrain and a beautiful panoramic view, as you would expect from the Panorama Horse Trek. The weather was perfect as we rode through the high altitude summer pastures (aka jailoo) which were filled with livestock. Did you know that from a distance a herd of sheep sounds like a crowd cheering? Up close they run the gamut from drunk man burping to crying baby. One tiny white one sounded like a dead ringer for a new years eve party blower. We passed several real-life cowboys on horses tending the livestock and a family setting up their summer yurt on the jailoo, giving us a glimpse into a lifestyle that dates back more than a thousand years.
Despite the soreness and Asshole's temper tantrums, it was a great experience and really cool way to see Kyrgyzstan. By the end, though, we were ready to be done. The hot shower waiting for us at the homestay was fantastic.
On the trail
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| Tim dragging Asshole. Some sections were so steep we walked down. |
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| This was "extreme riding", along a tiny trail on a super steep face. Held my breath the whole time. |
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| Lunch break! |
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| Our guide helping a baby cow too weak to stand to get milk |
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