Trips

Another 45-minute drive over rough non-roads took us to see a reindeer herder. The ethnic group of Tsaatans lives in nomadic teepees and survives almost entirely on their reindeer herds. They keep their herds high in the mountains of the taiga. They speak a native Turan language and most don't speak Mongolian. There are only 250 to 300 Tsaatan people left in about 70 families in Mongolia. Inbreeding is threatening their ethnic group. To keep the 1,000 reindeer alive they move eight to twelve times a year to find cold weather and grazing. They use the milk and meat for food, the hide for clothes and shelter, and sell the antlers to afford to send their young to school or to buy necessities.

Teepee living structure of the Tsaatan reindeer herders

Reindeer with nice velvet on his antlers

Baby reindeer

Tsaatan family

Mother and son

Young tiger's pelt for sale

After our box lunch on the shore of Lake Khovsgol, we stopped at the supermarket in Khatgal village. There were more shelves of candy and snacks than of any healthy or filling food for meals.

Lake Khovsgol and the Horidol Saridag mountains

Village of Khatgal - Store

Village of Khatgal - Supermarket produce

Village of Khatgal - Fishing tackle store

Village of Khatgal - Pharmacy

Village of Khatgal - the latest gossip

Before returning to camp we stopped at the first port in Mongolia, on Lake Khovsgol. In 1910 a pier was extended into this huge lake and a Soviet cargo ship was docked here. How they got it, or the three Russian ships now mothballed here, onto the lake we don't know. A fourth small ship takes passengers for cruises on the lake.

First port on the lake

Sun., 6/30/13 - Lake Khovsgol
Today was another beautiful, blue-sky warm day. After breakfast we had some "leisure" time so I walked north along the lake about two miles round trip and Marge took photos. Then we all got into nine-passenger boats and were taken out to Wish Rock, a peninsula into the lake. We walked the short rocky trail up to the ovoo on the point. From there, the view of the lake and forest was spectacular. The Lake Khovsgol runs north to south for 136 kilometers and is 41 km wide at the widest and as much as 800 feet deep. It is so clear and clean it is beautiful. Russia is only 30 or 40 km from the north end of the lake.

Lake Khovsgol

Boating to Wish Rock

Posing at Wish Rock

Wish Rock on the peninsula

The snow covered mountains in the distance are in Russia

This afternoon we all got on horseback for a one-hour walk to the south. The horsemen and camp staff got each of us on a horse one at a time. We were not given a leg up or a stool but the old man grabbed the seat of our pants and lifted us into the weird, rather uncomfortable saddles. Mongolians ride these small horses by standing in the stirrups to trot and gallop. The stirrups were short and the metal frame of the "seat" was uncomfortable even with the cushion. We were then led at a walk. It was fun but more like a pony ride than anything adventurous.

Horses awaiting their burdens - note the saddles

Gale aboard her horse

Before dinner Lagshmi taught us how to play the ancient Mongolian ankle bone game. Each sheep ankle bone has four sides each of which represents a different animal: sheep, goat, horse, or camel. A quantity of bones is dropped to the table. The first player uses one finger to flick an animal into a similar animal without touching any other bone. He then uses the other hand to pick up one of the two that touched. Any mistake means it is the next player’s turn. The winner has the most bones. When every player has had one turn to earn bones, the remaining bones are dropped again.

Playing the ankle bone game

Mon., 7/1/13 - Lake Khovsgol to Moron to UB
       At 9 AM we left Khovsgol to drive overland to Moron and fly back to UB for one night. The flight was delayed in UB because of high winds so instead of a boxed lunch from a Moron hotel to eat in the airport, we had a sit-down meal and then spent time visiting the town square, the local theater, and later, after sitting awhile in the airport we got our drivers back and Lucky took eight of us to visit the local museum.
       Before lunch we also visited an English school in Moron. The teacher learned English at the university in UB and teaches boys and girls 8 to 16 during the summer and after school. We talked with the kids (there were about 10 in the room and I worked with two 9-year-old boys) and helped them read the simple books. My boys were good at pronouncing each word phonetically but had no idea of the story or even that the pictures illustrated the story words.
       Four hours later we got on the plane and flew to UB. We got to the hotel at 8:15. We got in bed at 10 PM with two alarm clocks set for 3:30 AM and the start of our next adventure to the Gobi Desert.