The day after our city tour of Bishkek our new guide Miko (and driver Serge) took us to our first destination of many across Kyrgyzstan. Check out the map of the country and a MIG 25 before arriving at Burana Tower. While its history goes back a thousand years, the site is even older. There is an ancient fortress, a cemetery, and a small museum with various artifacts representing various belief systems…

Next, we went to lunch at the home of a farming family. Check out the dried dung in the barn, the animals, one of many berries, a trophy Ibex, and our hosts – on the wall and in person…

After a long drive on the southern edge of Issyk-Kul lake (the second largest alpine lake in the world [First: Titicaca]), we stayed at a yurt camp. In addition to the dining yurt, a couple of shots of lunch. Some road pix, a poor cow who’d gotten stuck, and the sun coming up over the lake early the next morning. That’s Aussie coule Tim & Casey on the lifeguard tower, and a close up of the clear water.

Next, we drove to Fairy Tale Canyon (reminiscent of Bryce Canyon), and did some hiking. Note the legend! Amazing rock formations, and that’s me at the top of a hill in the last shot…

Our third hike of the day was to a water fall way up a beautiful gorge, after we had had a picnic lunch. Another drive eventually got us to a nice guest house in Karakol. Some pix of the Seven Bulls, a Soviet Lada and cows in the road, kids playing, and an amusing ad for chicken…

I reckon I should put more than two days in a post, but they’ve busy ones. Also, the wifi is occasionally sketchy, so ya gotta do what you can when you can (even at 2:30 in the morning!)…