Madness of Marmots Part 2: The Wakhan Valley

Day 6: Dushanbe- Hulbuk Palace- Darvoz
"Be happy for this moment, for this moment is your life." - Omar Khayyam

We spend most of our day in the car admiring our first views of the Afghanistan boarder, and wishing we could hop over just for a little while. The views were constantly changing and we had to keep awake in order to constantly be taking pictures. Since we were so ridiculously hot we could not imagine how it could possibly be cold in the mountains when we arrived there. Hinta and I kept turning around to air out our soaked through bums. We even had to turn on the AC for a bit.

Around lunchtime we stopped at a palace that was part of the original silk road and our tour guide gave us a very hysterical tour. He started by showing us artifacts and making us stand with strange poses. It was a good laugh and a good break from the car. Afterwards we had a quick cheap lunch and some watermelon, but it was too hot to be truly enjoyable.

I listened to some music for the rest of the journey and it reminded me about how in love I am with my life and the world around me at the current moment. All in all it was a good day even though we were in the car.

When we arrived in Darvoz we were thoroughly greeted by the people in charge of our guesthouse. Standing on the balcony overlooking the river I was able to look down and see to Afghanistan. We went for a walk in the village and took our cameras to take photos. We were greeted by kids running along shouting "Hello!" and we watched them play in muddy water. For one brief second I thought about how I would really like my own children to grow up with this simplicity, and I stopped to admire the local school.  I guess I will just have to try my best to expose them to this life as best as I can.

After a very filling dinner of soup, the best plov I've had, fruit, vodka, and tea we were ready for an early bed and most of us decided to skip the shower.

Day 7: Darvoz- Jizeu Valley 
/I officially don't know how I am going to do with settled life. I have a lot of other dreams I still need to live out./

After coffee and breakfast we left decently early knowing we had a long drive followed by a hike to our homestay. However Laura had forgotten her phone, and lucky for us, because when we returned the man informed us that the boarder market was open. This meant that we would be going to "no man's land" to shop between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The Afghani people walk across a bridge and are allowed to enter to sell goods to the Tajik people and tourists. We were nervous about taking pictures, but we did manage to buy a scarf each, and Laura got a pair of earrings. The women were very adamant about her wearing them right away.

After some time admiring the Afghan road on the other side and pointing out people on motor bikes or others walking and wondering where they were going, we arrived at a lunch spot and ate....you guessed it, more plov!

When we finally arrive in Jizeu valley we were a bit worried about hiking to the village before dark and before the rain hit, but we set off anyway. A few kilometers in we met a couple and they said "It just keeps getting more beautiful," which we decided should become the slogan of Tajikistan. Elka was having some tummy issues and fell behind for awhile, but a nice man offered us some ginger cookies and sweets.

We were relieved when we finally made it to the village, but it turns out that we were stating in the second village which was another 2 kilometers away. As we started on our way again it started to rain, so we stopped to put on our rain gear. It was still beautiful, and Hinta and I decided to sing to make the time pass more quickly.

When we finally did arrive it was a bit difficult because they did not know we were coming, but we had a simple meal of rice milk, porridge, and bread with amazing homemade winter berry jam. We quickly fell in love with our favorite chocolate treat: Step bars (which are similar to a snickers). After being stuffed full and finishing several pots of tea we headed to sleep on some mats on the floor.  Elka joked that we had forgotten to ask for the wifi.

/ Trajectories of life in no particular order
#1: The Traveler- We are madly in love. We live a simple life out of our backpacks. We travel around in between odd jobs working on farms and teaching english. We roam together forever.
#2: The Teacher- We both teach and move together every 3-4 years exploring different countries and regions of the world. We have some lovely children that we raise to be global explorers.
#3: The American- I legit move my ass home. I meet a guitar player, we live a simple life out west and spend as much time as we can camping and hiking.
#4: The Ritchie- I meet a rich man, we travel the world extensively on his dime and eventually I settle as a stay at home mom.

And then there is this, and I am so happy that life never works out any of the thousands of ways I plan it to./

Day 8: Jizeu Valley- Khorog
We had an excellent night of sleep and woke up to a beautiful sunny morning. We wandered around the village and saw the animals that they kept. After our breakfast of rice milk and porridge we began our hike to the lake. Luckily, because we had hiked further the previous day this was a shorter hike, however our path was very wet due to the rain from the previous night. Arriving at the lake, we decided this would be a good opportunity to skinny dip, however, it was too cold to really dive in and so we ended up having some snacks instead.

When we arrived back in the village we were greeted with a delicious lunch of potatoes, and what they referred to as salad. It was really just blended up whatever vegetables they could find with some garlic, but it was delicious on top of the buttery potatoes.

Same Same, but Different

The man from the guest house hiked us back out, and it seemed like a long journey, but we were greeted by our driver and a fairly short car ride to Khorog. We took a brief walk through the city, but their wasn't much to see. For dinner we had more potatoes with carrots and chicken, and I indulged in a beer. 

Day 8- Khorog
We woke up early for a busy day of postal service, grocery shopping, seeing Lenny, visits to a hot spring, and driving to Langar, however we were quickly backtracked and stuck.

postcards

We started with the postcards. The ladies at the post office kindly asked us where each one was heading and wrote the translation of the countries into Russian and sorted them into piles of continents. Then they were trying to explain something about the cost, so thinking I owed more money I ran back to the car to get my wallet. When I tried to hand over more som, they explained to me that actually I had "Menshe". I'd paid too much. "No problem," we explained, hoping this would ensure our postcards would arrive safely anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months later.

Essentials: Chocolate and Vodka!

Then we grabbed more chocolate and vodka from the shop and stopped in to get some amazing photos of my good friend Lenny.

Lenny!

After our morning of errands we reached a check point and the police made us go to the police station in Khorog to double check all our paperwork. We didn't really think we had a problem and they released us quickly, however they would not let our driver go. Sitting in the car, we munched on chips and chocolate and eventually got out our pocket knives to make cheese and salami sandwiches. One officer was even nice enough to go and get us some freshly baked bread. They came over and tried to explain to us what was happening. "Bad Driver," they kept saying.

"Whats the problem?" I would ask in return. and they kept responding with, "No problem. Everything is fine, but there is a problem with the driver." Okay...."But what is the problem with the driver?" We couldn't get any answers. They tried to get us to pack our items into another car and go with a different driver who spoke Russian, but we were adamant: We would not leave without Omarbek. Eventually the tourist police showed up and this made us feel slightly better. After some discussion, we agreed to go back to the guesthouse and hope that Omar could sort it out that evening.

Trying to make the most of the day we set off for the market and did some stress shopping. Tea cups, bracelets, clothes, and a Tajik hat. Then we walked to a park to cool off with some beer, cool beverages and tea.

He returned later and told us it was not fixed, but that the owner of our guesthouse would be coming to take us to Langar the next morning and he would follow behind us later in the evening. This plan didn't make us the happiest, but we felt like maybe if Omar wasn't stressing about us it would be better. So we agreed, and went to sleep.

Day 9- Khorog- Langar
In the morning we met the owner of our guesthouse and his super duper red-headed son.  They didn't speak hardly any English, so we knew we were in for a treat. It was a bit squished and uncomfortable,  and the man kept stopping to check and change the tires, but we made it in one piece and were grateful to be out of the disgusting city and back into village life.

We made a brief stop at Bibi Fatima, the nicest hot spring in the area. Women make pilgrimages here in order to ensure fertility in the future. I have to admit that I wasn't very impressed and after 30 minutes of soaking we were reading for a large lunch and a continued journey.

See that mountain in the distance? Yep...that's Pakistan!

We continued our drive to the Wakhan corridor, where we were able to see from Tajikistan, through Afghanistan, and clear through to Pakistan. It quickly became a dream of mine to travel to both of these countries. Upon arriving in Langar we decided to go for a walk around the village and were pleased with the amazing views of the mountains. Then we had some afternoon tea and relaxation, hoping our driver was a few hours behind us.

Langar

After stuffing our faces at dinner, we were told our driver would not be coming this night, but that he would meet us part way through our journey at the meeting of the Pamir Highway and the Afghan border road the following day. We continued to be skeptical of the police, and still felt unsure about the constant change of plans. But, nonetheless we carried on!

Madness of Marmots part 1- Tajikistan, Fann Mountains

I have been putting off sitting down to write this blog for some time now because I'm not sure how I can possibly wrap up the emotions I felt and dealt with on this trip, nor the beauty of the landscapes and people of this truly enchanting country. But it's now been an entire month and I know that in order to maintain the memories I need to write something. ANYTHING! So I'm going to try to combine the notes about what we did each day from my journal with my random emotional bittersweetness of the journey, and add in a few major pictures to hopefully get any of you attached enough to consider visiting what easily jumped to the top of my list of favorite countries.

Kaulikalon Lake

Day 1: Dushanbe 

/I do not know what I have gotten myself into, but maybe some time without anything to worry about but travel with be good for me. I already miss my friends and my city./

After checking in I wandered around town and stopped for some Indian cuisine. As my tummy was already not feeling top notch, I'm not sure this was the greatest choice, but it sure was delicious. Funnily enough, on my way out of the restaurant I ran into 2 of the 3 other girls I would be spending the next 2 weeks traveling with. Then I wandered to the city garden to look at some monuments and a really strange man kept following me and trying to talk to me. After saying "I don't understand you, I only speak English" several times in both English and Russian I finally resorted to some very loud, "Please leave me alone," and "Go away!" in a very public area. When he finally started going away he still hid behind a tree for about 10 minutes while I took pictures. I felt weirded out, because this type of thing doesn't usually happen to me, and normally I enjoy being friendly with locals, but the way he was looking at me felt off, and I felt naked to the world even though I was fairly well covered in long pants and a t-shirt. 

Eventually I walked back to the hostel and stopped to get a Powerade as my tummy still wasn't feeling great. I went to bed at about 8pm in preparation for the start of our epic travels. 

Day 2: Dushanbe- Iskanderkul Lake- Sarytag Village 

/My stomach is in utter pain, but I am still having the time of my life. This is a good cleanse from what has become an unhealthy life of eating out, drinking beer, staying up too late, and spending all my time on Netflix and Facebook. I want to travel more this way./

We woke up to eat some breakfast and then met the last member of our group as we packed up the car. We spoke briefly with our driver who quickly took our US dollars to gas up the car and dropped us to the grocery store to stock up on hiking snacks, water, and any only essentials for the next few days.  

A little way down the road we got into our snacks and started our daily routine of sharing some morning chocolate. After some hours in the car admiring the views and taking photos we stopped to look at the lake, but were slightly underwhelmed because it was a cloudy day at the lake looked average with a slightly gross grey tinge. We tried to find a hiking trail, but Laura and I were both dealing with tummy issues at this time, and we just wanted to sit and attempt to drink water and eat some snacks. 

Our drive continued to Sarytag Village where we were quickly given a private room and some tea. After our quick tea break we had a wander around the nature, and were met with more beautiful views and our first marmot sighting. Turning around we walked through the village and were greeted with many "Hello!"s and children waving. We were allowed to take pictures of the women working in the garden and a few children stopped and posed for us with animals or on their bicycles. Some even offered us a ride!

We ended our evening with a dinner of plov, a small shot of vodka each (for medicinal purposes), and more tea. It was an early bedtime with high hopes of more beautiful sights and improved tummies. 

Day 3: Sraytag Village- Artush, Hike to Koulikalon Lake 

After a really good night of sleep we woke up feeling slightly better tummy-wise and were up for a bigger, better hike. Throughout the drive I became more aquatinted with the "Vodka Drinking Girls" crew and the views continued to be more spectacular. However I still missed my friends and wished they were with me.

Iskanderkul Lake

We drove back across the lake and were met with a far more beautiful view because the sun was out. We continued to several little villages where we were met with children running out to the side of the road to wave and scream "hello!" at us. The Almaty Girls game of calling out animals we saw for points was reinstated, but very quickly the point system seemed wrong because there were far too many donkeys and far fewer horses.

After Arriving in Artush we began our ascent to Kaulikalon Lake, however the usual road was a bit washed out, so our initial trail was unclear. Eventually we caught up with the real gravel and rocky trail, which was the first true test of our ability to gain vertical meters. When we reached the first major viewpoint we stopped to filter some water, take some photos, and have a quick snack. Then we continued on an easier, but still difficult path, before reaching the lake, where we dipped our toes (or whole bodies for some of us) in, and then began our descent. Soon after beginning the more difficult portion of the trail I slipped and injured my already injured knee a bit more. After a short break I was able to continue through the minor pain. We were constantly coaxed in for tea, and one lovely woman gladly  traded scarves with Laura. Arriving back to our starting point we were quickly offered a dinner of the local dish (meat, potatoes, and carrots), sank our shots of vodka, and passed out. By this point my tummy was feeling much more normal.

Day 4: Artush Village- Seven Lakes- Penjikent
/I heard a song that I know belongs to us, but I grew quickly angry because this trip is supposed to belong to me./

We woke up to a cool morning, and headed outside to do yoga while admiring the mountains. Our trip took us backward, through similar but different looking views, and we finally saw some bikers along the road. We drove through the Seven Lakes, admiring the views of each one's different aquamarine color, while trying to take pictures from whichever side of the car had the best view at that particular moment.

The first of the Seven Lakes

After some splendid driving by Omerbek(our driver) we reached the top where we had a watermelon and chip picnic while wandering around and having a look at village life. We found that the people in this area were less inviting and the women remained fully covered and did not want their pictures taken. Many cute children and donkeys were seen, but there was one little girls I was particularly interested in. I gave her a slice of watermelon and followed her back to her mom who was working in a field.

On the way back down we took few pictures and had some low key time to ourselves. The hashtag #relievednottobebiking was born as we watched a couple of bikers struggle even at the start of the hill.

Penjikent was a hot "surprise" in comparison to the coolness of the mountain. We grabbed some fruit and veggies from the market and left with more scarves than we came with. On the way back I grabbed an ice cream knowing it might be my last chance to enjoy one for awhile. After completing some sink laundry we sat on the balcony and sipped vodka while watching the sunset.

Day 5: Penjikent- Dushanbe (Sioma Valley Hike?) 

We started out the morning with some eggs and then began the long journey back to Dushanbe. We stopped in Sioma Valley for a hike along a rushing river. It was gorgeous, but my legs were just not up to the gravel covered downhill after the previous day's slip, so after about 45 minutes most of us turned around to find a nice tree to relax under, while Elka continued the journey.

Pretty soon after we stopped a shepard came and offered us tea. We debated whether this was a safe move, but after being offered so many times we decided that this was a cultural experience 3 girls together could enjoy. Before long he was leading us to a tent in the middle of the mountains, surrounded by goats and a few dogs. The man kept trying to speak Russian to me, and then when I would pretend to understand and say something back he would laugh and make a comment about how terrible I was at the language. This joke went on, over and over again. While enjoying our tea I admired the simplicity of the life these 2 men lived.

Tea Break

We continued our hike out, and had some snacks while waiting for Elka. I was also able to sit on a donkey!

Once back in Dushanbe we stopped for more groceries and went to the Hyatt to get some beautiful postcards and stamps. I bought the group matching friendship bracelets. Arriving at the hotel we all soaked in the Wifi, showers, and opportunity to do more laundry before our trip along the Pamir Highway began.

Vodka Drinking Girls!