Day 52 - Mongolia Tour. Khorgo Volcano

Day 13 on Tour.

Overnight the temperature continued to drop, Tom got up & enthusiastically added more wood to the fire during the night. As it turned out, he was overenthusiastic & within a few minutes the ger was so hot, lying in sleeping bags was unbearable. Despite the extreme fluctuating temperatures, I had a great sleep & woke up just after 8am. Of course by morning the coals lay dormant & required some assistance by Jordan before the new piece of wood would catch alight.

Outside the ger was a beautiful morning. The sun was warm & bright & yesterdays freexing wind had died off. The sky was a pale shade of blue, for the first time we noticed there wasn't a single cloud in sight. The ice on the lake was as white as snow & the water we could see was glistening and sparkling.
After breakfast Tom & I went for a walk up to the top of a mountain on the right side of the ger camp. At the top we could finally begin to grasp just how big the lake was. Winding it's way between mountains & eventually out of sight.

It was a beautiful view & if not for the sudden re-appearance of the fierce, cold wind we could of stood there for a long time. We decided to descend the hill on the opposite side & walk along the perimeter of the lake & then back up to the ger camp. A much longer walk, but well worth it, once next to the mountain it provided some shelter from the wind.

The rest of the morning consisted of free time. The boys started to upload, sort & edit go pro footage, while I spent my time sitting in the sun with the various animals. I made sure to visit my little goat friend with the grey ears from the day before. I even dragged Tom out of the ger to see him. He ran over to us again to say hello.

We noticed in one of the pastures near the ger camp a lone sheep that was very quiet & perhaps was showing some neurological symptoms. We guessed it was being kept away from the other sheep in case it was sick & contagious.

After lunch we went for a 5km walk to a nearby volcano that hasn't been active for nearly 9000 years.
When we were just over the first mountain after our ger camp, the big black Male dog from our ger camp appeared & proceeded to guide us. He's a very handsome dog with a thick double coat, intelligent brown eyes & a very friendly nature.

Although it's no longer active, walking through the lava field on a sea of unsteady ejectile material & up the side of the volcano to look down into the caldera was a memorable & challenging experience. It took us 3.5 hours to climb to the top & back down again, I spent most of that time feeling like an uncoordinated goat.

When we arrived back at our ger camp dinner was being prepared. A traditional Mongolian barbeque. A fire is built & then smooth rocks are put on to the hot coals. The rocks are then transferred into a big pot with water, meat, vegetables & spices. It takes about an hour to cook & despite not being big meat eaters, we appreciated the traditional meal.

After dinner it was still light, it was nice to watch the sun set & see the nomadic families herding the animals into their shelters. I spent some time patting the big black dog who reappeared back at camp. After we reached the top of the volcano crater & then began our descent he disappeared. I was relieved to see him again after his disappearance, hours later, still with plenty of energy & in good spirits.

Undra taught us a traditional Mongolian game using ankle bones that is played by children and adults. Each side of the bone represents a different animal, either a sheep, goat, horse or camel. You ask the bones a question before rolling the bones & then matching the sequence to a set of answers. We were then all gifted with our own set.

I again noticed the lone sheep from earlier on in the day, it was still standing in the same spot. I felt hopeless that I couldn't help it & I avoided going too close so as not to stress it. I hope it survives the night, I hate the thought of it dying alone in the cold of night.

- Alli