Day 27

The team slipped easily into the morning ritual, breakfast appeared and disappeared fluidly as tents were emptied and dismantled. Andy P, Elanor & Ben all braved the icy waters of the lake for an invigorating wash. Andy F dived into the water with such gusto that his shorts came apart at the seams (to much hilarity).

We took the kit out of the vehicles and sorted it ready for the inventory, half of us re-loaded the vehicles and half washed them with clean lake water. They tend to dust up during the day so we have a mix of photos of sparklingly clean cars,half dusty cars and cars so dusty you can write amusing phrases on(although of course we are too sophisticated to do that!).

We're all sorry to leave the peaceful scene with it's wild flowers and snow capped mountains. Elanor in particular was not relishing the return journey down the mountain with seemingly never ending tight s-bends winding down to the next valley. Laid back Andy P made a good traveling companion, he sacrificed the opportunity to take more stunning pictures with Bertha(his digital SLR camera + zoom) and drove whilst Elanor bit her fingernails!

There was no need to worry. Tom and Chris took the Defenders down first, the Discoveries followed,keeping a bend in between each vehicle. The Discovery feels so solid, armed with hill descent control and the option of manual gear shift and engine braking the serpentine descent was seamless.

We saw what appeared to be a line of ants trailing vertically up the mountain. As we approach we realise it is herd of nimble sheep.

A local shepherd watched us from above on his horse, seemingly bemused by the convoy, he responded to our cheery wave with a teethy grin.

The river that cut this gully is at the bottom of the descent, we gather to take stock & share elated grins. The radio traffic is similarly jubilant as we acknowledge that we've had yet another once in a lifetime experience.

The countryside changes from crags to velvety green hills then plateaux. We pass some of the familiar scenes from the past few days. Groups of cattle, horses, sheep or cows gather by the side of the road (or in it!). Occasionally accompanied by their solitary herders on rangy looking horses with a single dog trailing behind. Yurts and their colourfully dressed inhabitants. Children & adults wave without reservation and we are often beckoned inside as we roll by. The schedule doesn't allow for many stops so we decline this time.

We head back to Kochkor to pick up groceries for the next few days. Having previously mistaken cucumbers for courgettes we didn't buy anything green. Even the yurtsman at Song Kol refused to let us feed his horse with our excess cucumbers. The heat of midday tires us all, when we find a blissfully cool cafe it doesn't take much persuasion for everyone together there and look hopefully for a menu with pictures. No such luck & it's all in Kyrg, however there is someone there who speaks some English so we muddle through with help from Joe. The options revolve heavily around soup, noodles, potatoes and meat. We all order a combination of the above and the local round bread appears with salad and tea in round cups with no handles that reminds us how far east we have travelled.

As we spend most of each day driving mealtimes are when the team relax and plan the next few days.

The route onwards is broken firstly by a fuel stop and then a comfort break by the beautiful blue Orto-Tokoy reservoir. We are making good progress when we come across what appears to be a toll booth. The barrier is lowered ominously, the attendants are friendly enough but point us towards the most expensive category on their toll list. Several Kyrg plated vehicles sail through while we wait frustratedly to see if this is a genuine charge. A phone call to the community based tourism representative at Bishek confirms that the fee is accurate at 500 (som) per vehicle. Chris sorts out the thankless task of the receipt (thank-you!) and we continue onwards to Lake Issyk-Kul.

The scenery changes as we skirt the Terskey Ala-Too mountain range, part of the Tien Shan system. As we round one bend in particular we are greeted by red sandy hills to the left, a lush green valley in front containing colourfully tiled dwellings and soft green hills to the right rising up to the deep blue of jagged mountains in the distance topped by snow and cloud.

A little past Bokonbaevo, we see a sign for a yurt camp to the right. We make contact with our host and take him to the local shop to buy supplies for 10 hungry Europeans. I note on his return that he has bought 25 eggs (a good test for the Disco air suspension) and a bag of cucumbers!!

Half of the team have gone for a sunset swim in Lake Issyk-Kul so the successful delivery of the whole eggs (it wasn't really a challenge) goes without note.

It's a night in a yurt tonight for the whole team as we split into two groups of 5 for the two yurts. Tomorrow's blogger will have to let you know how we get on as it's time for dinner!