Today was supposed to be our third day riding. During the night it had rained a bit and drizzled most of the time, but the paths were still good. No rain was forecast until later that day. After another hearty porridge breakfast we packed the tents away and set out first to offload our saddle bags in Borat’s house which was a 40 min ride away. And as Esther’s horse had lost a shoe the day before we needed to get that fixed in the village too.
It took a bit longer than expected and so we decided to have lunch before heading out with the horses again. Our goal this time was a big grassy hill that overlooked the large reservoir dam and lake called Charvak lake. From up there we were supposed to see three countries. Uzbekistan, Kasachstan and Kirgisistan.
The climb up was very steep and the horses worked hard despite the lighter load to get to the top. But the view was totally worth it. Unfortunately it now started to rain, drizzling at first, but getting heavier by the minute. We put our rain gear on and headed down again as fast as we could.
All of a sudden a black young stallion appeared out of nowhere and galopped towards us whinnying as well. Three of our four stallions whinnied back and we tried to chase him away by shouting and waving. No chance. He kept appearing and unsettling our stallions. Only Esthers mount stayed calm, the others danced, pulled and whinnied around. The young stallion followed us around but did not display any agressive behaviour. Little by little it became clear that he did not protect any herd and did not have one or belong to one. He was probably cast out by an older stallion out of his original herd and was now a lonely young animal looking for some horse friends. He must have thought we could be his new horse friends.
He followed us nearly all the way back to te village and Borat had to chase him back otherwise he would have followed us even further. Poor little guy. We felt sorry for him.
The drizzle from the top of the mountain had changed into a steady stream of solid rain by now and when we arrived at the village we were soaking wet.
No one had any appetite to camp that night in the pouring rain and so we changed plans and rented a datcha for the night in the village.
However, this Datcha was far from the typical image one might have of a Dacha. Beyond the corrugated iron gates lay a stunning, verdant garden adorned with birch trees, leading to a charming villa.
Inside, we discovered a spacious living room, a well-equipped kitchen, four bedrooms, and even a sauna. What a luxurious upgrade from our humble tent!
Borat and Inom cooked Plov for us. What a treat! Plov is the most famous Uzbek dish. Meat, carrots, onions and spices simmer in a pot for at least two hours before rice is added on top. That rice is being steamed from below with all the juices and flavours of the dish it cooks in. In the end the rice is being turned under and the meat cut into little pieces and all served in a big heap on a central plate. We had it with Chicken (which is barely considered as meat here) and it was delicious.
Tired but happy in the datcha enjoying warm showers and a fantastic meal and soft! beds!! we went to sleep in no time.
