Kyrgyzstan Landscape with Lake
Kyrgyzstan 2012: On the road to Issyk Kul Lake from Bishkek.
Bishkek was as warm as Southern California on the day we arrived, but as soon as we left and headed into the mountains separating us from Lake Issyk Kul, autumn arrived and in no time at all it was snowing.
We threaded the Ala Too mountains through a pass known as shoe string pass: a long narrow cut in the craggy mountains. Alongside the road a blue/green stream flowed with great force crashing over boulders, rushing past foliage of bright orange and yellow. We stopped to get some landscape shots at Torie’s request.
I did get a few shots, but I was more interested in the piroshki, filled with cabbage or potato, being sold by local women. I’d never tasted piroshki filled with either vegetable. I’d seen the recipe in my Russian cookbook, but dismissed them as cucina povera. To my surprise, they were delicious. The women had kept them warm by wrapping them in cloth: almost as good as fresh from the oven.
The landscape above was shot from the roadside high above. We could see a Kyrgyz herder shepherding cattle and Bactrian camels. We saw very few Bactrian camels on our trip. They were once the mainstay of silk road caravans. Now they are probably meant for the stewpot. Sad. They are as beautiful as horses, unlike the dromedary which looks as if it had been created by a committee.
I’ve got my new computer with enough RAM to process the huge photos from my new camera. I spent all day yesterday installing my software and only have a little more to do. Then, I’ll begin downloading my photos from the Stans and of course, you will be the first to see!