2008 Kyrgyzystan
After a delicious breakfast of crepes with jam and cream, butter & cheese, our guide, Nazar loaded our bags into our large bus with Vadim and Gregory the Russian drivers. We departed the quaint guest house at 8:30am, crossed the Naryn River to the cemetery on a hill overlooking the town. Some of the tombstones resemble mosques. On our way, Nazar told us the history of this area. We stopped to see a three generation herder family (Chabanes) in the hills with their animals. We went into their beautifully decorated yurt and they served us naturally dried cheese balls and deep fried little squares that were still warm and very tasty. Vivian and Laury bought felted rugs (shyrdaks) that the grandmother had made. They sell mares milk and produce 30 liters per day.
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We continued on near Orto-Tokay Reservoir,
designed by a 
Russian Engineer for irrigation. The irrigation channel was
dug by Stalin’s prisoners in the 30’s and 40’s. After lunch at a small village, we
drove on and arrived at Hunters Lodge Guest House at Issyk-Kul Lake. It is
a beautiful setting nestled among the birch trees. The cabins were
constructed with Russian Spruce which is a light wood. Several got massages or
swam in the lake where the water is slightly salty. Flowers along the
pathways to the cabins are lovely. We all had great fun when this old man showed a keen interest in Vivian.
He had a great sense of humor. With lots of laughters we left this little
village behind.
