terelji national park
A more reasonable journey this time. Just 2 hours. The landscape along this part of my trip was almost lunar. Covered in a gentle sheet of virgin snow. The size of the mountains and valley's made one feel pretty insignificant against their scale.
We arrived at another nomad family who had located their ger(s) in a valley which was surrounded by high, rocky mountains. The snow was very deep. The choice of location was good for their ger as it protected it from the wind. But I was still tempted to ask whether those absolutely massive boulders on top of the ridges were a cause for concern. I kept my peace. Regardless of those concerns it was simply breathtaking to be in such a place.
Straight down to business. Where's the meat? What poor animal will I devour now? This is one of the great things about Mongolia. I'm an unshamed meat eater. I believe in the way of the carnivore! Fish! Yuck! Meat! Yes! And todays special is, wait for it, baby camel! I'm joking, I'm unsure whether it was a baby when it was slaughtered. Tasted good though. After the meal, I was told I would have a two hour wait until horse riding. I said I'd have a walk.
Figured it might be interesting to climb to the top of one of the ridges that overlook the ger. Sure it would make a nice photograph. It took an hour, slogging through thick snow, through thickets of forest, past big rocks and boulders. Had an occasional slide backwards. It seemed worth it when I reached the summit. Despite the cold, it was a beautiful bright sunny day. The view was superb. The ger was a tiny little spot below. Then I nearly died with shock.
I felt something sniff at the back of my leg. Holy God, I thought, what the f*ck is that. I knew it was an animal but the agony was not knowing which one. A wolf? They don't mess about, probably got all his mates with him too. A bear? They can outrun humans and some even climb trees. A yeti? I can sell the footage to the Americans. They love all that. Seriously though, I was scared. I turned around and I swear for a minute, I thought it was a wolf. It's colour was wrong though. Then another dog joined us and I knew for sure the other guy wasn't a wolf as no self respecting dog would ever willingly come near a wolf. I thought it best to get back to the ger.
I later discovered that my canine friends were part of the nomads family. My two campanions joined me on the journey down the mountain. One was very playful and kept biting my hand. Didn't hurt or anything but my nerves were on edge and I wanted to kick him. I was trying to figure out why these two dogs came up to me. Romantically, I would say they were trying to protect me. We, humans, provide food and heat. I'm another human so it best serves to keep me alive. On the other hand, I watched these dogs and they run about sniffing trails. These could be footprints of horses, sheep, whatever. They were probably curious to know what was on the end of my trail. When I got back to the ger, I promised myself that I would not climb mountains without knowing what creatures roam there. Oh, unless I have a large calibre shotgun! I decided to say nothing of my experience to the family, guide or driver.
I dressed up for the part of Mongolian horseman. A very heavy coat called a 'deel'. Must have been at least 6 kilo's. Mongolian boots. I was introduced to my horse. They're quite small. The size of a zebra but sturdy little fellows. He had substantial icicles originating from each nostril! I was told not to kick him on the right side as Mongolian horses don't like that. My little journey lasted 4 hours. It was very cold but really beautiful with the scenery and snow. My little horse was obiedient. Strange to think that it was such little horses who formed Genghis Khans formidable and all conquering cavalry. I could get used to the nomads lifestyle.
Once back at the ger I noticed an endless howling of what I assumed to be a dog. I thought the poor dog had gone mad as it seemed he was howling at his own echo not a distant dog. I told the family about this and they let me know it wasn't a dog but a wolf up in the mountains. I shuddered. They casually told me it was perfectly legal in Mongolia to kill one. I thought about the legality of a wolf killing me! Also, they mentioned that the wolf was howling as tonight would be a full moon.
Sure enough, when I left the ger, the dark was broken only by the light of the full moon. The wolf continued to howl.
We arrived at another nomad family who had located their ger(s) in a valley which was surrounded by high, rocky mountains. The snow was very deep. The choice of location was good for their ger as it protected it from the wind. But I was still tempted to ask whether those absolutely massive boulders on top of the ridges were a cause for concern. I kept my peace. Regardless of those concerns it was simply breathtaking to be in such a place.
Straight down to business. Where's the meat? What poor animal will I devour now? This is one of the great things about Mongolia. I'm an unshamed meat eater. I believe in the way of the carnivore! Fish! Yuck! Meat! Yes! And todays special is, wait for it, baby camel! I'm joking, I'm unsure whether it was a baby when it was slaughtered. Tasted good though. After the meal, I was told I would have a two hour wait until horse riding. I said I'd have a walk.
Figured it might be interesting to climb to the top of one of the ridges that overlook the ger. Sure it would make a nice photograph. It took an hour, slogging through thick snow, through thickets of forest, past big rocks and boulders. Had an occasional slide backwards. It seemed worth it when I reached the summit. Despite the cold, it was a beautiful bright sunny day. The view was superb. The ger was a tiny little spot below. Then I nearly died with shock.
I felt something sniff at the back of my leg. Holy God, I thought, what the f*ck is that. I knew it was an animal but the agony was not knowing which one. A wolf? They don't mess about, probably got all his mates with him too. A bear? They can outrun humans and some even climb trees. A yeti? I can sell the footage to the Americans. They love all that. Seriously though, I was scared. I turned around and I swear for a minute, I thought it was a wolf. It's colour was wrong though. Then another dog joined us and I knew for sure the other guy wasn't a wolf as no self respecting dog would ever willingly come near a wolf. I thought it best to get back to the ger.
I later discovered that my canine friends were part of the nomads family. My two campanions joined me on the journey down the mountain. One was very playful and kept biting my hand. Didn't hurt or anything but my nerves were on edge and I wanted to kick him. I was trying to figure out why these two dogs came up to me. Romantically, I would say they were trying to protect me. We, humans, provide food and heat. I'm another human so it best serves to keep me alive. On the other hand, I watched these dogs and they run about sniffing trails. These could be footprints of horses, sheep, whatever. They were probably curious to know what was on the end of my trail. When I got back to the ger, I promised myself that I would not climb mountains without knowing what creatures roam there. Oh, unless I have a large calibre shotgun! I decided to say nothing of my experience to the family, guide or driver.
I dressed up for the part of Mongolian horseman. A very heavy coat called a 'deel'. Must have been at least 6 kilo's. Mongolian boots. I was introduced to my horse. They're quite small. The size of a zebra but sturdy little fellows. He had substantial icicles originating from each nostril! I was told not to kick him on the right side as Mongolian horses don't like that. My little journey lasted 4 hours. It was very cold but really beautiful with the scenery and snow. My little horse was obiedient. Strange to think that it was such little horses who formed Genghis Khans formidable and all conquering cavalry. I could get used to the nomads lifestyle.
Once back at the ger I noticed an endless howling of what I assumed to be a dog. I thought the poor dog had gone mad as it seemed he was howling at his own echo not a distant dog. I told the family about this and they let me know it wasn't a dog but a wolf up in the mountains. I shuddered. They casually told me it was perfectly legal in Mongolia to kill one. I thought about the legality of a wolf killing me! Also, they mentioned that the wolf was howling as tonight would be a full moon.
Sure enough, when I left the ger, the dark was broken only by the light of the full moon. The wolf continued to howl.
posted by Ciarán at 6:37 p.m.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home