оҳиста суст, жай жай...Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan- Alichur

---

Day 17

Rest Day in Alichur (3881m)

Aunty (Tamara) brings me rice with salty milk, 3 boiled eggs, bread, cherry jam and yoghurt for breakfast. M and B turn up later after farewelling Mohammed's Mum, who is a teacher, off to school. A decision is firmed up- we condense Days 16 and 17 into 1 in order to take a day off here in Alichur. I think it's a good plan:

1. Gives me another day at 3881m for acclimatisation

2. I can have a shower (!!) in the spotlessly clean bathroom and potentially wash my hair (joy), although I have been firmly instructed not to do so until after lunch when it will be a bit warmer "as I will catch a cold".

3. I can wash clothes.

4. I can catch up on writing this journal

5. I can read a book

6. I can have some time out, as can M- I still think it's a tough gig for a guide to spend 23 days with a solo traveller the same age as his mother. Got to say though, from my perspective, at Day 14 it has been a lot easier than I thought it would be- I think the fact the itinerary has been so varied has helped, plus I like to think I'm not high maintenance (although probably everyone thinks this of themself)

7. I get to have the yurt as my base to come and go ALONE as I please- they will meet me for lunch then I can "rest" some more- Perfect!

I decamp to the yurt. Tamara lights the stove with sparse brush-like vegetation to lift the chill. The yurt is fully carpeted and cushioned and elaborately decorated. it was Mohammed's grandparents before being passed on. I partially get up to speed on my journal before Tmara beckons me for a "shower"- serious luxury moment! The little shower room has a furnace that has been stoked up and it is hot inside. She shows me what to do- get scoops of boiling water from the furnace and mix it with the large bucket of icy river water to the desired temperature. Sheer luxury to be stripping off yet again and ladling HOT water over myself. I wash my hair with actual shampoo. I couldn't care that the water is murky, it is hot, it is just beautiful. T also gives me a tin tub to wash my clothes in. I end up standing in the tin tub and washing off the worst of the dust off my clothes in that water, then rinsing off with the murky water. It's a lengthy process but by the time i finish I feel very, very warm and clean.

Off to the sheep pen from here to wring the clothes and hang them up in the weak sun. Just finish when M rocks up- he wanted to go eat fish at his aunties restaurant but the fish season was finished- back to Aunt Tamara's for wanton soup with mutton- REALLY, REALLY good. I convince M that I will be fine for the afternoon- he should go "rest" back at his Mum's place. Phew- this allows me to wander all afternoon (my idea of "rest"). I head over the road to the cemetry- very old with many of the grave sites open. Then off into the wilderness to get up "not too close" and personal with the yaks grazing in the summer pasture. After a couple of kms I decide to follow the Alichur River, a snaking serpentine of river. Lots of bird life- tiny waders, medium waders, shell ducks, seagulls (!!!??), crows, little black and white birds and 1 dead one. The river is well utilized- an old woman and her son arrive on a motorbike with their laundry. She is in waders and completely hunched over (no doubt due to all this washing), I get coerced into helping with the wringing process!

On, on to more yaks of the baby variety. Closer to the town the trash in the river increases. From here a traverse around the town checking out the buildings- so many styles of architecture. I am beckoned into a homestay- "I must meet my friend- your friend from England!", OK, no amount of explaining that I'm alone without friends in this neck of the woods is going to be accepted. I am given tea and biscuits and introduced to Dave from Cardiff, we chat for an hour, he tells me of his accident in 2016 where he fractured multiple vertebrae after falling from a truck in Eritrea- he is one tough cookie. He's cycling the Pamir/Wakhan and planning on hiking the Overland Track in Tasmania in December- we exchange details. I like him. Say goodbye as the clouds descend - so spectacular, couple of raindrops and then it's over. I am well "rested".

M finds me 5 minutes after I get back to Tamara's- we must have coffee at the restaurant- instant with 3 sugars is the go (eek), I drink it graciously. I am then tasked with checking the entire family's pulse rates (not sure why- Uncle is the doctor). Then it is on to Mum's place for dinner. Dinner is yak yoghurt soup with noodles, bread, jam and tea... and nashi like pears (!!) Delicious, juicy. Sleeping plan is now the yurt. The yurt though is deemed unsuitable because it is freezing and smells weird- makes sense- it would be a waste of fuel to run the stove just for 1, so I'm back in my original room. Later when I'm tucked up 3 other tourists turn up- I will meet them in the morning.

Great, great day.

---