I wake up at 3:30am but I don’t want to make the long trek to the outhouse as there’s a steep staircase and a wood plank bridge to navigate. I fall back asleep and wake just after 5am feeling refreshed. I grab my camera bag and head out to explore. The rain has stopped and it’s warmed up a bit, so it’s pleasant to be walking the countryside. I find a small community of gers, A-frames and corrals. I have to go back to the road to cross the creek and come upon an abandoned baby goat. He’s soaking wet, shivering and bleating loudly. I look around and don’t see a nearby herd and I’m not sure what to do as I don’t want to leave him. He looks so forlorn. None of the residents are awake yet so I decide to take him with me in the hopes of finding his flock. He continues to bleat loudly but lets me pick him up and snuggles into my jacket with his eyes closed. He’s breakin’ my heart. It’s difficult to determine which gers are occupied so I continue walking until I see a corral on the other side of the stream with goats and sheep. There’s a spot where I can cross without getting my feet wet and I leave him in the corral, hoping that either a mama goat will take care of him or the herder will find him. As I walk away I look back and see him stumble to his feet standing just inside the corral. I hope he’ll be ok.
I continue on my walk and find a mare and a young foal who was either recently born or has something wrong with it’s legs as it attempts to stand several times but just can’t get his legs underneath him. The mare kicks her rear legs at any other horses that come close and then lays down beside the foal. It’s survival of the fittest out here.
Walking on the shoulder of the road, a truck slowly passes me and then stops. The reverse lights come on and the driver pulls up beside me. He opens his door, points at me and and then to the inside of his truck. I’m guessing he thinks I might need a ride, so I shake my head and motion that I’m walking and ok. He gives a nod and drives off. I make it back to our accommodation in time to help Unuruu with breakfast. I’m in charge of making the “pancakes”. The dough is biscuit consistency, but then is cut into rounds and rolled out flat. The “pancakes” are then fried in oil until they bubble up. Very tasty with jam!
Ganbaa eats with us and when I ask him if he would like a second helping he says a surprisingly loud “No!”. I put my hands up in surrender and say, “Ok, ok.” He gives a little giggle and Unuruu says that he thinks we’re funny. He sees me spreading jam on my “pancake” and carefully spreads jam to the edges of his and then presents it to Unuruu who is making sandwiches for our lunch. We clap and tell him he’s so thoughtful and he does a little pirouette with a big smile on his face.
As a goodbye gift to Byra I pin a Canada button on his chest and we’re off to Murun. Today is another long day of driving but then we have the rest of the day for the market and our first shower in a few days.
We stop for a picnic lunch in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a herd of horses. The vastness of the space swallows us up. We have a collapsible picnic table and short stools, and the food Unuruu prepared this morning is set out. We eat our fill, clean up and continue on. I spot two-humped camels in the distance and Ganbaa stops so that I can take some photos. I slowly walk towards the camels in hopes they don’t get scared off but other than looking at me once in awhile, they don’t seem to care that I’m there. I manage to get quite close and see that their second humps are flopped over which is a sign that they’re not as healthy as they should be. I’ve noticed a lot of the animals are quite thin and Unuruu explains it’s due to the harsh winter and spring Mongolia has experienced.
We arrive in Murun and it reminds me of a frontier town. The buildings are ramshackle and haphazard, and a lot of the locals are wearing the traditional dress. Men on small motorbikes wearing red plastic helmets and aviator sunglasses are parked on the side of the street. Children with chubby cheeks stare at us with big eyes. The men gawk until I smile and nod, and then I get a nod in return. Behind Grey Beast are four young men on horses with the traditional Russian saddles and they gallop past us as we drive slowly down the road looking for a market.
It’s shower time so everyone packs their bag with fresh clothes, shampoo and soap and we head to the communal bath house. There are separate shower rooms with a bench and hooks. It feels so good to scrub off the dirt and wash my greasy hair. Clients even have the option to have their hair done in the attached salon. Now that we’re all cleaned up, it’s grocery shopping time and we walk to a local butcher. This butcher shop is nothing like home. The frozen meat isn’t wrapped and is cut into large hunks with fat and bone included. We have our choice of yak or mutton meat and John, a former butcher, assists Unuruu pick out the choicest options. Next stop is the main supermarket.
I walk in and am amazed at how big it is and the range of products. It’s warehouse style, like Costco that we have at home. Unuruu has a big list and we are each given an item to find. Our grocery cart is stuffed full of breads, rice, granola, yoghurt, potatoes, various salami, cookies and cheeses – enough food to last us the six days that we’ll be spending with the herding families. We have to go to a different market for the packages of cigarettes I want to buy as gifts for the men and Ganbaa purchases a bottle of vodka to share with the local families.
Our accommodation for the night is the upstairs of a house and we’re separated into two rooms with cots. Within the fenced compound there are several A-frame houses that are also for guests, an outhouse and a dining hall. Our host provides tea with lemon and orange slices. A puppy is chained in the yard and he gets excited when he sees us – new people to play with! The neighbour’s dog barks menacingly whenever someone goes to the toilet and I’m hoping the fence between the properties will hold.
The sun is out so I soak up some rays and relax after Unuruu insists that she doesn’t need help cooking dinner. Even though we only drove 250km today, it took us all day what with photo and bathroom stops and the Grey Beast averaging 60km/hr on the flats and 20-30km/hr on the hills. I feel exhausted for some reason but I can’t head off to bed quite yet. I can hear children playing in their fenced yards and dogs barking. A small herd of horses walk down the deserted street.
I’ve learned the Mongolian word for “Let’s go!” and it’s the only one that I actually seem to be able to remember – “Yowee!”
