It was now Friday, and we had no plans to ride any further. In fact, our guides were going to take our horses back the way we came and return them. Then, we would be driving down the mountain on Saturday, back to Kochkor.
As we woke up, a bit tired and groggy after the "smoke incident" from the previous evening (Day 5 - The Night of Smoke), we came out to find our guides returning from riding the past couple of hours to look for our horses. The horses had all wandered off during the night and they couldn't find them. They did say it happens occasionally, but they had gone to all the usual places and it seemed that the horses were nowhere to be found.
We had breakfast together and we prayed for them, that they would find the horses quickly and easily that day and then they departed on their quest.
Our two families spent the day enjoying the lake and the surrounding area.
This lake is truly lovely, so peaceful, and the mountains and clouds were astounding.
I know, the previous picture is similar...
Which do you like better, the first one that is further way, or this one that is closer to the boat wreck?
Then, I had the kids get in the boat for a picture.
My two boys stayed in the boat, talking with each other.
And, just the mountains, the clouds, the water, the reflection...so tranquil.
We came back to the yurts and discovered a new one being put up. Since we've never watched the whole process of putting up a yurt, we asked if we could stay and help and take pictures. Of course, the answer was, "Yes!"
First the frame goes up, and then the reed wrap-around is attached.
The men secure it with rope.
Then they add this layer at the bottom to keep out the wind.
Then, another layer is put around the frame...
along with plastic to keep it waterproof and then a layer of felt.
Here, they are attaching it to the roof to ensure it is secure and won't blow away if the wind picks up too much.
Finally, they start to layer the roof.
It started to get a little cloudy, and we knew a storm was heading in for the evening. The kids really wanted a few minutes in the water, so we took off all their warm clothes and let them freeze a little bit!
Here we are talking to some of the boys that live in the yurts.
We were surprised at how long the kids stayed in the water. The local boys wouldn't go in.
But, they did say the kids could ride their donkey!
Sissi fell off at first, but she got the hang of it and tightened up her hold.
The donkey was pretty stubborn though and she had a hard time getting him to go without help from the boys.
Gwangi on the donkey.
Krypto riding the donkey.
This was funny...the man was watching the turkey look at and try to attack himself in the mirror. The noises and clicking sounds as he hit his beak against the glass was really humorous!
Here is he, totally confounded by the turkey he sees looking back at him.
That night, when we all came together, we found out from Azis that the horses were found! They had gone all the way back and past where we had eaten lunch the previous day, trying to get home by themselves. This isn't uncommon, but they were surprised at how far they had gone. Another answer to our prayers! Thank you Lord for showing our Kyrgyz friends that you care about them and their horses, and all the things in their lives!
As we fell asleep that night, to another round of story telling and a rain storm, it was peaceful in our "Little Yurt on the Jailoo" (a jailoo is a large mountain field)... but, that ended about 3 am, when we awoke to loud techno music followed fifteen minutes later by what sounded like gunshots!
Indy and our friend again, got up, and headed out to figure out what was happening. It turns out, that down by the lake, a bunch of young guys had driven the 3-4 hours out from Bishkek and were drinking and partying and setting off fireworks! It took some convincing from our guide for them to quiet down and cease all the racket. We were able to get a few more hours of sleep before heading out on the last day of our trip.
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