CENTRAL MONGOLIA - HORSE RIDING AT TERKHI WHITE LAKE

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Km travelled 12163

28.10.08

This morning at 6.00 Moogi came to our ger to light the fire. The night inside two sleeping bags and under a rug has been warm enough. We relax inside while the animals are taken out for the day. We have plenty of time until midday when we'll go for a horse ride around the lake. We read our books inside the ger with sunlight coming from the top ring. During the night the horses are let free and in the morning they come back to the house, so we have to wait for them. When the time comes we're offered to wear the traditional Mongolian coat on top of our clothes so that will keep us warm during the trip. Moogi will be our guide. We start our way towards the volcano Khorgo. At first the horses are quite slow but they know the way better than anyone else. The land is dotted with rocks from the past activity of the volcano. The horses know when is time to trot and they won't miss it. These horses don't wear shoes and prefer walking on soft ground or snow. Sometimes is hard to believe that we're doing this, that is so amazing. On the way I said to Mike “can you believe it, we're in Mongolia, we're riding horses, and look around!”. It's so beautiful you would forget about everything else in the world.
We got off the horses to enter a small cave where the floor was made of ice, then we went all the way up to the volcano and left the horses just to walk the last bit. Before getting on the way back we sat down to have some food on the mountain. Moogi is very funny and every time to call our attention he says “sorry”. The view from here is amazing and the sun is starting its way behind the mountains.
Back to the ger we're offered Mongolian tea and a slice of bread with fresh yak's milk butter. Delicious. Unfortunately we can barely sit. Our knees are sore but our bums are terribly afraid to touch anything. But now we can rest them! Michael is laying down reading his book at candle light and I finish to write this note. We'll wait for dinner listening to the yaks coming back home for the night.
As usual, before going to sleep after a game at ludo, we go for a walk to the “short drop”. Despite being very busy trying to avoid the yaks' poos dotting the ground, we can't avoid looking up at the sky. It's marvellous. It's so crowded. It's heart opening, and mind opening. Everyone should have the chance to look at something so beautiful once in life. On the way back to our ger we stop, staring at this great dome, and a shooting star falls in front of us.

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