Aching limbs and heat

Day: 26

Sunrise:
06:02 a.m.

Sunset:
8:15 p.m.

As the crow flies:
25

Daily kilometers:
35

Total kilometers:
452

Soil condition:
Meadow

Temperature – Day (maximum):
36 °C

Temperature – day (minimum):
29 °C

Temperature – Night:
20 °C

Latitude:
48°55’401”

Longitude:
103°39’459”

Maximum height:
1379 m above sea level

Time of departure:
12:00

Arrival time:
20:00

I feel very tired in the morning. Because of the night shift, which took me out of my usual rhythm, I was only able to sleep for a few hours. Nevertheless, I greet the beautiful morning with a smile. Because of the adjustment and because everything is not yet stowed where it belongs, the assembly of the bearing takes quite a long time. Ulzii and Bilgee rode off an hour ago to fetch water for us all from a yurt. When they get back, it’s already just before 12:00. They eat their breakfast quickly, then we saddle the horses and harness Sharga. Once again, the route heads northeast over long grassy hills. The climbs become steeper and steeper. We are now increasingly forced to support Sharga in his hard work. Ulzii and I get out of the saddle to push the horse-drawn cart up the slopes. Suddenly the whole thing is hard work. To take the weight off the draught horse, Bilgee has been running ahead for hours to pull it. We climb the mountains in serpentines, overcoming them one after the other. Every now and then we take a short break. Temperatures today are around 35 degrees. It is humid and thunderclouds are gathering. Even though we are in good spirits and everything is running smoothly at the moment, it is a strenuous day. Every muscle and bone in our bodies is already aching. My knees also start to ache because of the unfamiliar position in the saddle. The Mongolians ride with very short stirrups and therefore sit in the saddle like jockeys. As Bilgee initially set our straps so short, we lengthened our stirrup leathers during the course of the day. Due to the surprise departure, we don’t have enough water with us and the water brought by Bilgee and Ulzii soon runs out. We are thirsty and look forward to reaching Bilgee’s yurt camp. “Behind this hill is my home,” says Bilgee, pointing over a green barrier. We push the car again. At the top, the view opens up into a lovely valley through which a narrow stream winds. Herds of animals of all kinds graze in groups in the lush greenery. Every few hundred meters, yurts stretch their white round roofs like mushrooms into the evening sky. Shepherds whistle or call for their animals or drive them to the stream. “It looks like paradise,” says Tanja. We reach a ford that we have to cross. Suddenly, one of the horse-drawn cart’s tires sinks into the deep mire. Getting any further is out of the question. Ulzii and I join forces to push the wagon while Bilgee drives Sharga to maximum performance. There is a jolt and the cart is free.

Tired and exhausted, we reach the two yurts at Bilgee’s camp at 20:00. His ten-year-old son Orgiltenger, Orgio for short, and nine-year-old Sarnai (translated as rose) wave to us from afar. We receive a friendly welcome from the family. None of the attendees will miss the opportunity to help us set up camp. Because we didn’t have time to test our tents at home due to the extensive expedition preparations, we set them up here for the first time. A mistake you should never make under any circumstances. Especially not as a professional. But as is often the case, beginners and professionals sometimes make unforgivable mistakes. Although no assembly instructions are included, we manage to erect both dwellings together. “Come and eat in the yurt,” Bilgee’s sister Baatar invites us. We follow her friendly invitation and go into the large yurt. A fire crackles in the small oven. There is a Mongolian national dish Bantan which we cannot define in terms of taste and consistency. It is a thick, whitish sauce in which fatty pieces of meat float. To put it mildly, it takes some getting used to for our palate. Tanja, who is a relaxed vegetarian, fishes out the meat. “Will you help me eat the rest?” she asks. ‘If you absolutely have to’, I reply, as this dish is not exactly my favorite. Orgio and his cousin Sarnai jump around happily. Our visit is something special for them. At the end we get tea. The water for this comes from the nearby streams from which all the animals in the valley drink, in which many of these animals relieve themselves and in which people wash themselves or their laundry. Thank goodness the tea water is boiled. However, as we are at an altitude of almost 1,400 meters, it is important to boil the water for a correspondingly long time to kill germs and bacteria. We don’t know how long it stood here on the stove. But I’m far too tired at the moment to worry too much about food, water or hygiene.

Even though today was another long day for all of us, we must not neglect the guard shifts. We have received far too many warnings for that so far. So I struggle out of the tent to watch over our horses from 2:00 am to 4:00 am. And yet it’s another wonderful night that I wouldn’t have experienced like this without this watch.

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