Waiting for the Ketchup

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  Karakol, Kyrgyzstan
Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Until I met Valentyn, I was wondering about Kyrgyzstan.  "Too cold, we don't go now." I heard all too often from guides and travel agencies. But this is your country!  And now was the best time to go see wildlife and enjoy the winter weather.  After three days of walking around Karakol town in a snowstorm and its icy aftermath, to no avail, I met Valentyn at Yak Hotel just as he was driving to the gate in his ATV, looking ready for anything.  He was.

Soon, I was heading up a spruce-filled snow-covered valley by ATV to Altyn Arashan with Pauline and Regis from France and Tom from England.  At the cabin, we relaxed, played chess, ate Valentyn's home-cooked meals, and enjoyed the nearby hot springs, surrounded by icy mountains. 

After two days, everyone else left and I headed into the mountains for a couple of day hikes, following fox tracks through the snow, watching dippers hunt in the streams, and climbing high in mountain valleys

Altyn Arashan Scene

.  Walking in a Winter Wonderland hummed into my mind more than once.

On the fifth day, I returned with Valentyn to Karakol, where we met Alexander, the head biologist for Sarychat-Ertash National Preserve.  This was perhaps to be my next destination, if Alexander could arrange the necessary permits from a wide variety of organizations.  I waited and felt like I was thrown into a Heinz Ketchup commercial: good things come to those who wait, the ad says as the bottle slowly pours its contents.  After four days, I felt as though the ketchup was frozen in time. 

For one day, I took a bus to and from Cholpon-Ata to visit ancient petroglyphs, with views of the immense alpine lake Issyk-kul to boot.  On another day, I took a bus out of Karakol town to walk around farmlands and visit a Muslim cemetary, just because I though the Soviet-era photographs of people on the tombstones was telling.  On Sunday, I went to the market to buy more warm socks, some snow boots, and snow pants, just in case things worked out.  Karakol was a medium-sized town with a few things to do, including drinking vodka, walking on the icy sidewalk trying not to fall, and eating at one of a few cafes.

But the ketchup commercial continued.  After six days of waiting for the ketchup, I was about to leave when...

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Altyn Arashan Spruce Forest	Altyn Arashan Valley	Altyn Arashan Yak Tours Cabin	Bedroom Window
Brown Dipper	Cholpon-ata Balbal, part I	Cholpon-ata Balbal, part II	Farm Children
Fields of Karakol	Karakol Dawn	Karakol Farm	Karakol Orthodox Church
Karakol Winter Fields	Lake Issyk-Kul, part I	Lake Issyk-Kul, part II	Lake Issyk-Kul, part III
Lake Issyk-Kul, part IV	Muslim Graves	Muslim Gravestone Near Karakol	Muslim Graveyard
Muslim Tomb	Old Blue Tractor	Petroglyphs, part I	Petroglyphs, part II
Petroglyphs, part III	Petroglyphs, part IV	Playing Chess by the Fire	Sunset Through an Old Russian Home
Tomb Photograph, part I	Tomb Photograph, part II	Tomb Photograph, part III	Tomb Photograph, part IV
Tomb Photograph, part V	Tomb Photograph, part VI	Valentyn and His Ride	White-breasted Dipper

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