It’s a beautiful day with sunny skies and warm temperatures so a perfect morning for a hike up Small Chimgan. It’ll be an 8km hike with about 600m of elevation so a little more strenuous than yesterday. After a massive breakfast cooked up by Fildous, Ismat and Gulnoza of eggs, pancakes, yoghurt, porridge and tea (we’re definitely not going to go hungry on this trip), we set off. At the trail head, a dog joins us and immediately leans into Ewelyna for an extended head pat.
Fildous leads our group slowly uphill on the narrow, winding trail. The scrubby yellow grass covers the mountainside with prickly bushes dotting the edges of the trail. The dog has become part of our group and walks in between us panting in the heat. The craggy, soaring mountains change colour in the sunlight and shade from red to pink. We get to a portion of the trail that’s quite steep and challenging and I put my hiking poles away so that I can use my hands to pull myself up the rocks. My breath is coming in gasps and now I’m wondering how good of an idea the heavy camera bag was. Our pace is set to accommodate everyone in the group so I have time to catch my breath during the challenging portions. We make it to a plateau with a panoramic view of a bright turquoise lake and mountain tops for hundreds of miles. A quick water break and then Fildous pushes us onward to the peak. Everyone does really well with our first hike of significant elevation gain and although I was worried as to how I would fare carrying so much weight, I think I’ll be ok. We have a quick snack before heading back down as we’re a little behind schedule. Murat is waiting for us at the head of the trail to take us back to the chalet. Our boots are dusty, our arms scratched from the prickly bushes, our faces and arms sunburned from a day in the sun and our legs feeling wobbly, but it’s been a great morning in the fresh air of the mountains.
The ten of us have 30 minutes to each have a two minute shower and pack up our belongings before heading for lunch and then making our back to Tashkent. It’s a mad scramble as we yell out to each other as soon as the shower is free for the next person.
Lunch is at the base of a ski resort and cable car and consists of meat, and more meat. As always, our meal starts with a couple of fresh salads, then a giant piece of lamb swimming in a clear broth, followed by a skewer the size of a small sword of lamb and French fries. The meat is super tender and juicy and after sweating so much this morning, the salty fries hit the spot. We cleanse our palette with sweetened black tea. There’s a baby girl with her mom and dad at the table beside us who is fussing a bit, so I blow up one of the balloons I brought from home and give it to her. Her face lights up in a big smile and she keeps herself occupied, batting it around from her high chair. She gives me big smiles repeatedly and her dad nods a head in thanks.
My meat baby is making me drowsy but no time for a nap as we take the cable car up to the top of the ski hill for the views. After a brief wander around at the top, we clamber back into the cable cars and meet Murat at the bottom for our drive to Tashkent. The ride back into the city is quiet as people doze off or sit with their thoughts. Ismat suggests dinner but eating is the last thing I want to do right now as it feels like we just packed away 10lbs of food. I forgo dinner and have a fresh watermelon juice instead while everyone else eats.
We arrive at the train station and load our packs onto our backs to make our way through security. Now that I’ve got my packs balanced on my back and front, I don’t want to take them off to run them through the x-ray machine and offer to lay down and go through it with my packs on. Ismat laughs and says he doesn’t think the security guys would agree so off the packs come and then I load them back onto myself. Who needs weights at the gym when I’m lifting these bloody things onto my back?!
There’s an issue with compartment assignment as we have three single men in the group including Ismat and then Matthias who is with Lena. Ismat suggests that one of the women share a compartment with the three men and I flat out refuse. There is no bloody way I am sharing a small compartment with three men who snore loud enough to vibrate the walls. By the looks on the other women’s faces, they feel the same way as myself. Luckily for us, Matthias very graciously offers to forgo sharing a compartment with Lena and bunking with the men. We board the train and it’s stifling hot. We’re sweating profusely as we try to hoist our packs onto the upper storage shelf with me pulling up from the top bunk and Lena lifting from below. I’m bunking with Lena, Melissa and Rosa this time and we choose our bunks and get them made up for bedtime. With sweat dripping down my face I have to exit the train to get some fresh air before we depart the station. I’m hoping there’s air conditioning once the train gets moving as I stupidly picked the one compartment that doesn’t have a window. What an epic fail on my part.
While standing on the platform I see a little boy with two bright pink balloons watching me curiously and I wave hello. He runs back to his mother, burying his face in her stomach with one eye one me. I wave again and sit on the opposite bench. His grandmother pushes him towards me as if encouraging him to come say hello. I poke one of his balloons and give him the thumbs up on his choice of colour. His mother pulls out a cellphone and gives it to her brother who’s holding a baby, points at me and pats the seat beside her. I’ve been invited to have a photo taken with the family. She views the photo and shakes her head, pointing at her stomach. I guess she feels that she wasn’t positioned in a flattering way so we redo the shot. She then takes a photo of me with her brother and her baby. I run back to my compartment to grab my camera in hopes that they’ll allow me to take some photos of them. The grandmother has a beautiful face full of character which I’d love to capture. They acquiesce and I snap a couple photos. I’m doing some stretches and I see the little boy copying me so we have a little limbering up session on the platform. The brother speaks a little bit of English so between himself and my Google translate, we are able to have a conversation. He’s currently studying in Tashkent and his family came to visit before all of them return to where they live in Khiva, which is where we’re headed. He explains the family dynamic as I wasn’t sure if the grandmother was his mother or a grandma and if his sister was his mother. He asks how long I’ll be in Khiva as he would like to invite me to their home as their “most honoured guest”. I explain I’m with a small tour group and we’re only in Khiva for overnight, otherwise I would have loved to. The Uzbeks are such a friendly and generous people and I wish I was here on my own so I could take advantage of the invites.
It’s 9pm and time to leave so we board our train car. It’s still stifling so we stand in the aisle trying to get a bit of a breeze from the small open windows. Another tour group are in the remaining compartments. We’re situated in 2nd class which costs $45 US which is very expensive by Uzbek standards so unfortunately I won’t get the opportunity to mingle with any locals. That cost provides us with two sheets, a pillowcase and a hand towel along with a regular toilet (instead of a squat one) and toilet paper.
It’s getting late and everyone starts to get ready for bed and get as comfortable as we can for the night on the narrow bunks. I know that sleep will most likely evade me so I edit photos and write notes for my blog. The gentle rocking of the train and clacking of the wheels on the tracks lull me into closing my eyes.
