As fossilized

Today on the day of departure we get up early. It is warm. Who would think this after the cold last night. Ulzii goes well again luckily. Because we did spent a long time here it takes long to put down and pack everything away in the horse carriage. Now personal property from Bilgee comes on top of that like a gun, clothes and a lot of other small stuff which also has to come on the trip and must be packed anyhow, somewhere.

After the long break our horse Sharga causes big difficulties. Under no circumstances he would like to be stretched before the carriage. With combined forces we try to bring him between the shafts. He bites and kicks.

Finally, around 3 p.m. we get away. „Look at the ger over here. They also work with solar modules!“, I call Tanja. „You should take photos!“, she answers because we like the idea of sun energy and work with it since many years. Hardly I have risen from the horse I see in some distance how Ulzii turns itself with his horse continually around his own axis. He leads our horse Tenger.„ Does not look well“, I think still as Ulzii suddenly lets go the horse with Bilgees luggage and it gallops above the steppe like an oiled flash. Ulzii stays as fossilized on his horse and does not make the slightest arrangements to follow the runaway horse. In bewilderment about his idleness I swing myself into the saddle around the pursuit to take up. Already after few hundred metre my horse is spitting out his bridle. Then I rise again from the saddle to put the bridle back on. Because we have brought it from Germany it does not fit for the small Mongolian horses. Cursing because of the delay. I can recognize Tenger only as a small point in the distance. Now Bilgee appears behind me. „ Take the saddlebags and decrease to the horse carriage, I try to catch him again“, he explains and gives me his saddlebags to be able to ride faster. Because of the extra two saddlebags on my horses back there is no more space to ride so I have to walk back the horse carriage. Till I reach Tanja and Ulzii, Bilgee is already back with Tenger. „He is not used to carry load on his back, so he has shied“, explains Bilgee. Ulzii loses no tone about the incident. We ride further as nothing was happening. Big storm clouds follow us and threaten the small horse train. Tanja and I put out our ponchos for safety’s sake. As we reach the asphalt road a motorcyclist stops to us. „He is a policeman and would like to see your papers“, translates Ulzii. „The papers are stowed away in the horse carriage there in front“, I say to the man. Because he would have to wait longer to see the papers he says: „Go on. I wish you a good afternoon.“ Then he goes back on his motorbike again and rattles of. We follow for a while the asphalted subsoil. A minibus convoy overtakes us and holds in the street edge. These are tourists who photograph our horse train. In silence they stand before the coaches and let their cameras hum. „Hello!“ we shout. They answer waving, rise again in the cars and drive away. On a height Bilgee leaves at 5:00 p.m. the street to look around for a camp. The first priority is good grass for the animals. Behind a ger we find a suitable and wonderful place. We establish the tents so that we can observe the horses at night from the entrances. To the relief of all of us Tanja did have the idea to watch the horses at night from the tent.