Head towards Huvsgul

Head towards Huvsgul

We continue our journey towards Huvsgul under a sun that occasionally hides behind a thin veil of clouds, but this is enough to immediately raise the temperature. Andy points out how Genghis Khan always tried to keep the Mongols away from alcohol to avoid its negative consequences. Paradoxically, and almost outrageously, there is even a vodka brand named after and featuring the image of the valiant medieval commander. From the very first days, we are amazed by the Mongolian people's lack of ecological awareness in leaving trash around. They are simply abandoned where they are no longer needed. This means that along the roads you can find all kinds of garbage, with a strong prevalence of alcoholic beverages. We will continue to be surprised in the coming days as such a beautiful environment is defiled by waste left everywhere. It's not so much the poor hygiene inside the ger, which is not very different from how our mountain dwellers live: it would indeed be impossible to keep everything clean in such an environment, and it wouldn't make sense either. Rather, it's the indifference with which they leave all kinds of waste on public land, without even bothering to pile them up somewhere. This gets worse in the cities and their outskirts.

Wake up at 7 am. and departure around 9:30 after having breakfast consisting of cured meats, puree, fried onions, and packing up the tents.

Some shepherds are leading a goat to the slaughterhouse. It seems like a procession; one pulls the goat, while another follows with a container for the blood. We have been informed that goats are very intelligent animals, so they understand and become restless when their final moment has arrived, unlike sheep who maintain their docility until the end of their lives. The scenery that unfolds before us. Nearby, it seems Austrian, a high plateau at around 1300 meters, full of pine forests and lush green pastures A cowboy is lying on the ground just a few meters from the road while his horse waits for its owner to wake up. Some children are trying to stop the few cars to sell the freshly picked berries. They keep them in jars, and as soon as they manage to sell one, they put it in a bag. Empty space is valuable.

Traditions and spirituality

Stopped for a water break at Ih Uul, where we could see from outside. a Buddhist temple The day becomes grayer as we gain altitude, while the surrounding greenery remains lush. The runway occasionally runs along the bed of the dry riverbed. As before, here too, one finds a variety of trees that adorn the streams, which only fill up during the spring thaw.

Before arriving in Mörön, we also catch some rain. When we arrive in town, the sky tends to clear up. Today is Sunday and many people visit the market, which is usually called the container market, given its extensive use for setting up shops. A couple of drunk people are standing and talking to each other, while other well-dressed people are showing off their… part of Sunday. Given the uncertain weather and the late hour, we decided to

immediately focus on Khatgal

and so we moved our ger on Lake Huvsgul, skipping the tent pitched for the night. We take a runway. which after some time becomes increasingly thin until it disappears, in search of new, more scenic experiences. Indeed, what we see fills the view and makes the harshness of the terrain seem less daunting. Many animals graze in the meadow, including The first yaks stand out., animals that require cool temperatures even in summer, and the Hainek, a hybrid between the yak and the cow, with slightly shorter fur than the bovine with long fringes. On these high plateaus at an altitude of 1900 meters, we can still see some ger, which will be useful to us for finding a track when we thought we had lost it definitively. Being a country without road signs, with little traffic, but with an extensive network of unpaved tracks, the information at the hotel They are of vital importance. In fact, more than half of the Mongolian population lives in this type of house. We stopped at a kind lady's home, who welcomed us and offered... ewe wool and yak, as well as the tsuivan, hand-cut pasta with minced lamb and fried onions. Everything is served in a bowl, which is then rinsed thoroughly to pour tea with milk into it. The taste is very good, despite the rustic nature of everything around us. I admit that it wasn't easy to swallow the first mouthfuls, but one can't and especially shouldn't refuse what is offered with such kindness. Before offering us food, the lady put some tsuivan in a bowl and placed it on a shelf for the gods, even before she had put some crumbs in the fire as a reminder of the dead. Once we got used to the taste, which combines wild and sweet flavors from the lamb, there were no more problems for the rest of the trip. The family owns 400 animals, mainly goats and yak I am of the Dharkad ethnic group, who live mainly in northern Khuvsgul, in conditions that few could endure (they tell us that temperatures reach -40/45°C). They make 4 migrations per year. They are waiting for their daughter to return from studying at U.B. for the autumn migration. The warm welcome is also due, in addition to the legendary generosity of this people, to the fact that we were the first foreigners to enter their ger. When we leave, we see a 2-liter plastic bottle hanging upside down with the bottom cut out. It's a "sink" that fills and slightly opens the cap to allow the water to drain in the desired amount. The fee for the 2,000 meters altitude. makes the weather crisp, but as if by magic, the sun reappears and we also find a path that roughly leads in the desired direction. We finally connect to... on the main road which leads to Khatgal, while also allowing us to increase the cruising speed, given the constant jolts. We leave Khatgal behind as we... The sun is setting. We follow the shores of Lake Huvsgul, passing on the western side. Here too, the road is notorious due to the construction of a new road that will eventually provide easy access. the fields of Ger, spread out along the lake We arrive at our campsite when it's already 9 PM and the surrounding forests are shrouded in darkness, while the moon rises to illuminate the lake like a scene from a movie. Dinner was served as if we were in an upscale restaurant, but fortunately, the dishes weren't quite as refined. There is no electricity in the our trip and we read a few lines about tomorrow's schedule by the dim light of a candle before falling asleep.