27/07/18, Day 6
We chilled in the sun for a while, before being invited back for chai and food, where we were treated to a delicious meal. There was the usual bread and cream, but followed by some ribs of lamb, hunks of fat (the delicacy it would seem) and a really tasty broth, rich in marrow juices. And no fermented milk!
Satisfied, we left to hike up for a high camp, with a quick wash in the river on the way. The river was an obstacle that we needed to cross. No problem however, we were transported across on horseback! Heading up the side valley, we had another warm welcome at the next home we passed. We turned down the chai but they insisted we took a fresh bread (#2 that day). It wasn't much further when we passed the next home and another warm welcome. These guys had a yurt though so we accepted the invite and finally got ourselves into a proper yurt! Lovely habitations and we were again treated to more delicious food, this time served up a thick soup with potatoes and barley (I think) with a little sour cheese which complemented it nicely. They'd seen us flying over and I got to see a video of myself up above! It was great to be able to show them an aerial shot of their yurt. We finished the day with 3 loaves of bread.
28/07/18, Day 7
Our last day in the mountains; our goal: get back to Osh. We didn't have too long a hike in the morning to work our way up and along the ridge to a decent, grassy slope to take off from. With good cycles coming through on the approach, it was surprisingly slow to climb out the valley and we had to patiently work our way upwards, eventually finding good climbs right above the huge rock face that disappeared into the ravine at the foot of the lost valley. Hunting for a climb, with the ground dropping away so suddenly and precipitously below was immensely intimidating and exhilarating; I was certainly happy when I was able to put some height between myself and the drop!
Another huge slab of rock awaited us on the other side of the next valley. A great summit of bare, yellow rock that we tentatively skirted our way around under the clouds enshrouding the top, feeling very very small. Storms were building deeper in the mountains, so we made good our escape, pointing our noses out into the plains for the long relaxed glide towards Osh. There were some enticing clouds set up over some small hills near the town we were heading towards and I connected nicely in a good climb, with visions of flying most of the way back to Osh (halfway was surely possible at least!). As I watched Seb disappear below and then start spiralling down to land however I followed suit. With rain starting to push out from the mountains it was either land or fly away. As tempting as it was to see how far I could get I didn't want to do it alone! So another long descent and I touched down with Seb, just outside the small town of Beyru, only 20km south of Osh.
The kids gathered around us as usual, but it was a different crowd; this group was dominated by giggling girls who took great delight in pulling contorted faces at us!
My flights:
