The next day we said goodbye to the people who were looking after us. Incredible There was no obligation, but an honest desire to make us happy. Moreover, everything was so simple, created with so much love. I was delighted.
I admit that the last day seemed to be the most difficult for me. Everything hurts, and I made such bends, unbelievable! Even the change with a more experienced and calm horse did not help – I was very tired … And Miloslava is smiling! It was a machine, I told you!
I cannot explain the smile on our faces, when we saw Almaz’s car. We smiled smugly- he did not think we would make it, but we did more than make it! Our yurt was waiting for us, so was Karakol. It was simply called- a civilization.
After trying to come back from the dead for about an hour in our old yurt, we managed to get back on our feet- while I was lying down in a “He is alive, Alive he is”(a line from a Bulgarian poem) style, Miloslava and Assya, were more full of valour than I. We managed to kick our butts and to show our faces in Karakol for half a day, which we had. And we immediately felt like reborn.
The so-called civilization was not REALLY a civilization… I still cannot define well Kyrgyzstan- Karakol in particular. I have no analogy, nothing to compare it with. Messy and unorganised streets with differently styled houses, some closer looking to yurts- others to post-communist architecture. Asian chaos combined with European sensibility. There was an extremely beautiful wooden church, that anywhere else would be worshiped to attract people like us; the weirdest mosque I have ever seen- a Chinese temple twin (not that they did not cover us in scarfs), the perfect Balkans-tourist type of a restaurant, with the tastiest possible meals and staff with the biggest smiles on their faces
As we were insanely hungry, we visited it once again, this time with reservations. We were extremely satisfied and well fed.
The prices in this diner were above the average for Kyrgyzstan- expensive (for their standard), but for us it was worth every penny.
We were going to take the flight to Osh the next morning- one small detail- we had to go back to Bishkek first, which was 400 km away. We arranged the taxi, a tough looking guy for a driver, the route- this time we drove through the south tangent of the lake. Tough looking but, so calm, he would pull over the car, anywhere we wanted, so ideal :).
The road was actually so picturesque. The Tian Shan Mountain in all its glory- even from distance. I am afraid, this cannot be seen, but you can trust me, Miloslava and Assya. It was not just a mountain, it was a pile of strange wonders- there was a lake- their Black sea, motorways, and all the bells and whistles. A real Kyrgyz style Hakuna Matata.
There is one particular thing about Hakuna Matata- it does not care about time, but planes have their own weird peculiarity to fly on the schedule. In addition, after an unplanned stop- Mr. Strong went to pray, he left us to eat and me myself and I started to freak out.
Reality show: The heroine is staring at her phone slowly starting to lose faith in catching the flight from Bishkek…. The driver listens to his client’s cackling. “Do not worry.” He says. How not to, mate… I showed him the details on maps.me… It is now his turn to be surprised. The Kyrgyz man- “How many kilometres to destination according to your gadget” The heroine: 120… So, according to you? The Kyrgyz man (eyes wide open) – Oh, I don’t know. I just drive to arrive”, Cadence philosophy.
Actually, the data was showing that we should arrive half an hour before our flight departs, and we needed time to check in our luggage. I am not going into explanation mode. Only that Hakuna Matata was slightly grumpy, but not a lot. I knew that there were two more flights afterwards, which was comforting enough, the prices, were not dramatic either, but who needs this. What if there were no tickets?
At one point, the Kyrgyz man realised that the situation got critical and started to drive in a fast and furious style (respecting the road police secret spots). Stoichkovisms (Hristo Stoichkov is a famous Bulgarian football player who curses a lot) were constantly heard… we caught the plane last minute. It has been a long time since the last time I have raced through the airport…
P.S. Maps.me turned out to be very accurate. So cadence is the perfect definition of this philosophy.
Osh welcomed us with the hospitality of its holder, who was waiting for us with his car outside the airport (he charged us for it of course, but the comfort was well worth it). Our host, a doctor, full of enthusiasm was telling us how Kyrgyzstan has been progressing- with such pride and hope, that I felt nostalgic- felt like back in the 90s. … I hope they have a better experience than us as a nation.
This is our first guest house- with our private bathrooms and toilets. How generous of me 😄 – as I booked the stay. I will not show them, as I believe you have seen beds and baths
I was completely aware that we challenge our daily habits and routines with this whole journey, so I wanted to get at least some of the normality here in Osh. As for the rest of our stay, these options were unavailable. The ladies never complained about it, for what they earned my respect.
The three of us, despite our “balls”, after going through hell, went to diner in a decent diner 10 metres distance from us, and then just died. Oh yes- HEEEEEEEAAAAAAAATTTTTTT! 😳
The next day, our guides for the next 5 days Turat and his son will pick us up directly from the house. They will seal in stone our perception of the Kyrgyz mountaineers.
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