Рӯзи 4: Каракол, Қирғизистон - Чӣ савор!

On the fourth day of our journey, we started early again, as we wanted to be at the famous animal bazaar during prime time. This takes place every weekend in Karakol. The parking lot is already filled with cars and vans on Saturdays. Sellers and buyers sometimes travel long distances to do business here.

As soon as we walked through the entrance, we were immediately blocked by a number of cows, sheep, and horses. Pure frenzy! We pushed through the crowd and observed how sometimes 10 sheep were tied together with a rope, waiting to be sold by the roadside. If you turned your head to the other side, you had to be careful not to be run over by the runaway cow, which a panic-stricken Kyrgyz was chasing after.

Since we had planned a horseback ride into the mountains for this day with the help of Ibraim, the local guy we met through the Couchsurfing app, we made our way back to the hostel after about an hour. Here we were picked up by a taxi that took us to the farm where we started the tour. The American and the two Englishmen who also arrived at the hostel last night joined us.

Since we have little to no riding experience, we were quite curious how we would manage the trip. Without saying a word about riding, the guide put us on the horses and off we went. True to the motto - learning by doing.

We were lucky and the weather cooperated. The sun shone in our faces throughout the entire climb, making the scenery even more beautiful. We didn't talk much, as we were busy admiring the breathtaking nature.

Well, maybe also because the horses occasionally misbehaved.

With every meter of altitude, it got colder. In the beginning, when the sun was shining down on us, we briefly regretted wearing 3 pairs of pants and 4 sweaters, but we immediately changed our minds when we arrived at the summit (2500 meters above sea level). The view was incredibly impressive and beautiful. In front of us rose more massive mountains of the Tianshan Range.

When we looked back at the path we had taken, we could see the valley and Karakol.

After a short break, we quickly turned around and the somewhat bumpy descent took about another 1.5 hours. We paid the equivalent of only about €16 per person for the 3.5-hour ride with a guide.

Back at the hostel, we tried to warm up with tea, and after another power nap, we had shashlik for dinner at the Zarina restaurant. However, the waiter looked at us in surprise when we ordered a Radler. After we explained to him that he just had to mix beer and Fanta, he brought us the drink shaking his head but with a smile on his face. Apparently, the good old mixed drink is not one of the local specialties.

Exhausted and with many beautiful impressions in our minds, we are now planning the next days.