Finally the end of seven grueling days. God rested on the seventh day but we didn't. The name of the section was Mountains and Meadows but it could have been Mosquitoes and Manure, but that wouldn't attract so many tourists.
Most of the cycling was on dirt roads and lots of climbing in soaring temperatures. In the distance the snow capped mountains teased us while we were sweating it out in 35 degrees Celsius.
We travelled from Karakol to Osh which is the 3000 year old capital of Southern Kyrgyzstan. Some of the days we followed a lake called Issyk-Kul which is the second largest saline lake after The Caspian Sea. The water is quite hot and never freezes and the name translates to Hot Sea. Just when I wanted to jump in to wash my hair I saw a snake swimming. But I jumped in anyway a few meters away because my fear of dirty hair is bigger as my fear of snakes. The camping place was wonderful except for the locals having a dusk to dawn party on the beach.
After two days we left the shores of the lake to tackle three mountain passes over 3000m. This was rather challenging to say the least especially the fact that two of them was on gravel roads. But the views were stunning if you had the energy to wipe the sweat from your eyes.
The atmosphere is getting more and more Islamic so no more nude bathing in rivers. We camped near a stream almost every night so I could wash my hair daily so that it can look stunning underneath my helmet. In the one river we saw the leg of a dead cow but luckily my shampoo clouded the water so I couldn't see it properly.
I didn't roll anything in my tent this time except mosquitoes, ants and flies. Also cow, goat, sheep and horse manure. My father would use another word to describe it. After all these months I have collected enough to fertilize a small African country.
The last night we stayed in Jalal-Abad in private people's homes. I ended up with four guys who had to share rooms but I was pushed into my own room because I wasn't married to one of them. In the morning a cacophony broke loose from all the nearby mosques. From now on we won't need alarm clocks anymore.
We are starting The Pamir Highway in the next few days.It is one of the most dangerous roads in the world and is not for the faint hearted. At times It will take us to almost 5000m. It follows the Pamir Mountains and the road is bad from erosion, landslides, earthquakes and avalanches. I hope to live to tell the tale.
I have another minor problem The president of Turkmenistan doesn't like South Africans so my visa has been denied. This means that I will have to fly over the country and miss out on 9 days of cycling. An alternative is to ride through Afghanistan if I can find a bodyguard. Vacancy available.
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