Mangystau
Kazakhstan
October 17, 2018
My driver Vladimir must have a GPS embedded in his skull.
We drive across the desert floor.
No road signs.
No markers assist us along the multitude of dirt tracks that veer off in all directions.
Yet we find our way through the mountains and to Vladimir’s “secret locations.”
Southeast of Aktau
Mangystau Region
Kazakhstan
October 16, 2018
Hello,
What a day! What a beginning for my journey in Mangystau!
My driver Vladimir picks me up at my hotel and off we go, out of town. We detour for a bit of shopping at the “last stop” before the desert.
Always the desert!
But what a desert!
Almaty Region
Kazakhstan
October 14, 2018
Hello,
On the way to Charyn Canyon, the final site on my South Kazakhstan tour, I make two additional stops.
Ali, a local man and my considerate guide and driver, pulls off the road to find two unmarked canyons that are not visible from the roadway..
Moon Canyon is the first unscheduled stop. Black Canyon is next,
The Three Canyons are the perfect finale for an extraordinary journey in South Kazakhstan.
The Steppe
Southern Kazakhstan
October 12, 2018
Here's a "Pop Quiz."
A camel with one hump is known as a Dromedary camel. (Camelus dromedarius found in Africa, Arabia and South Asia)
What is the correct name for the camel with two humps? (Found on the Steppe of Central Asia)
Prize for the first correct answer:
One liter of verblyuzh'ye moloko.
Saty Village Guest House
Kungey Alatau Mountain Range
Near the Border of Kyrgyzstan
Saty, Kazakhstan
October 13, 2018
Hello Fellow Travelers,
The trip from the Guest House to Kolsai Lake is an easy thirty-minute drive over a lovely paved road.
Kolsai Lake lies about 1700m above sea level (5577 ft). It has an odd shape and the surrounding Kungey mountains provide a diversity of shadows and an attractive background.
Several young Kazakh visitors join me at the viewpoint above the lake. The more adventurous and energetic travelers hike up from the lakeshore below. (At 1700m - more than a mile high - I think I’ll just admire the view.)
Taldykorgan
Almaty Region
Kazakhstan
October 8, 2018
Hello,
The visit to the Buddha Petroglyphs at Tamgaly-Tas is a long somewhat bumpy and sometimes gentle ride across the Steppe and then down into the gorge for a leisurely stroll along the riverbank. The setting is peaceful and picturesque: rugged cliffs to the left and the river on the right. In the grasslands on the opposite shore, horses graze unperturbed and indifferent to our presence.
Legend has it that a caravan was moving to the river when an earthquake dislodged huge boulders that rolled into the water forming a river crossing. The pilgrims took it as a blessing from the gods.
