Golden Eagle Hunting; The Hot Springs

It was late by the time everyone left Teligay's birthday party last night. Leon slept out under the stars again. With no light pollution, the "Milky Way" here is a broad ribbon across the sky. With a pair of simple binoculars, each of a million stars jumps into view. None of us had seen the stars this clearly since we were kids.

The next morning, we were still sleeping (around 8 a.m.) when Leon roused us, saying that the local falconer was here for a hunting demonstration. We got dressed and walked with the falconer up the mountainside. He had brought with him a golden eagle --- and a live rabbit. I had been looking forward to this demonstration of falconry, but I didn't enjoy it. The falconer climbed higher yet. When they released the rabbit down by us, it was so scared it didn't move at first. But when it did - the golden eagle saw it, dove, and sank its talons into it. Later, we were able to take our pictures with the golden eagle. (I could handle that!)

At our last breakfast in the yurt, we asked Askar if there was anything we could send him from America. The answer, "Tourists." The family wants to keep the farm as it is, but add to it a "nomadic life" tourism business. (Want to go?) We can attest that it is authentic!

We packed our gear, reluctantly said our good-byes, and started back on the trek to Bishkek. Our first stop was a welcome one. We stopped at a natural hot springs (and not a commercial production as we experienced in Turkey). We had the hot springs pool all to ourselves. The water was HOT! We learned later that the water was about 112 degrees Fahrenheit. Granted, the boiling point for water is higher in this altitude, but I felt a little cooked. Anara explained the procedure - first, you go into the hot water for as long as you could stand, then you are to cross the road and lay down in the mountain stream. (I don't know the temperature of the mountain stream, but Jim put his foot into it before the hot pool, and it quickly became numb.) We were to do this "hot-cold" routine twice. We all did. Along with a little shampoo, we were very refreshed!

We stopped at a few more small towns. My left eye was swollen shut from something, and we were looking for a doctor. But, it was Sunday, and those few we saw recommended that we go on to Bishkek. The ride back to Bishkek was slightly shorter in distance, as we had circumnavigated the huge lake and were now on the southern shore. Still, the trip took about 8 hours. It was a beautiful day, but riding in the back of the van in need of shocks, over a jagged road, the trip seemed longer.