Waiting for Bilgee and the horses

Day: 69

Sunrise:
07:18

Sunset:
18:59

Total kilometers:
777

Soil condition:
Dust/gravel

Temperature – Day (maximum):
20°C

Temperature – day (minimum):
18°C

Temperature – Night:
minus 5°

Latitude:
49°38’671”

Longitude:
100°11’496”

Maximum height:
1220 m above sea level

“What’s that?” Tanja pulls up. “I don’t know,” I whisper. “Someone’s stealing our horses,” she scares me. Bilgee and I shoot out of the yurt. Nothing to see. Tenger scrapes excitedly in the dust. He obviously has. Hunger. I go back into the yurt while Bilgee chops wood for us and Saraa. While eating breakfast, Bilgee suggests riding the horses out of Mörön to let them graze in the steppe. “They will starve to death here,” he says. As we have run out of hay, this is a fantastic suggestion. “Isn’t it too hard to ride out of town as a single man with six horses?” asks Tanja. “Ha, ha, ha,” Bilgee laughs amiably. “So not difficult,” I understand his laughter.

After breakfast, we take our mounts to the water station to give them a good drink. Bilgee then ties them together, saddles Tenger, swings himself onto his back and rides out of the town, leading the other five. The horses immediately fall into a fast trot. Their hooves stir up the dust. People stop and look after them. “Looks incredibly powerful,” I say, looking after him. “Now your horses are gone,” says a Mongolian with a laugh. “They haven’t gone. That’s our friend there,” answers Tanja Bilgee confidently. Because a log house with around 400 square meters of land costs around seven million tugriks (€4,000) and our horses alone are worth almost three million tugriks (€1,714), they represent a small fortune in Mongolia. No wonder thieves want to get their hands on them.

After Bilgee has disappeared with our possessions behind the wooden fences and huts, we put our yurt in order. Then I repair my energy box again. Yesterday two 12-volt plugs came into contact with each other and blew a fuse. As I have now dismantled and reassembled the box several times, the damage is quickly repaired and we have the important power for the two laptops, flashlights, cameras etc. in our yurt again. Thank goodness the weather is still very nice. The intense rays of sunshine hit our solar panels on the yurt roof and provide enough electricity. Tanja goes into town to check the Internet. After many weeks, we now have the opportunity to check our e-mails.

It’s already dark and Bilgee isn’t back yet. We hope nothing has happened to him. Saraa is afraid he might have been attacked and his horses stolen. Because of our bad experiences, the thought also flashes through my mind as to whether he has made off with the horses? That is of course an absurd thought, but we have also experienced many absurd things here. Suddenly my cell phone rings. “Hello Denis. This is Taagi,” I hear the voice of our former translator. “Hello Taagi! Really nice to hear from you. How are you?” I ask. “Very good and you? I followed everything on facebook. Great pictures. Congratulations on your arrival in Mörön. Maybe I should have gone with you after all. How did Ulzii do? Has his English improved?” I tell him about our journey, about Ulzii, his task just outside his home town and about Bilgee, who we have to thank for reaching our destination. By now it’s 9pm and Bilgee is still not here. I ask Taagi for Bilgee’s second cell phone number. “I have to look in my address book. If I find it, I’ll send you a text message. Denis, you have to take good care of your horses around the Mörön region. There are many poor people who don’t have enough to eat. Your horses could easily end up in some cooking pot. I mean that seriously,” he warns us. “All right. We’ll be careful,” I say. Before we end the conversation, we promise to stay in touch.

At 9:10 p.m. we hear neighing at the gate. We immediately jump out of the yurt. “It’s so good to see you, Bilgee!” I shout. We open the gate and let him ride in with the horses. An equally impressive moment in the blackness of the night. As soon as Bilgee is in the yard with the horses, I lock the gate and block it with our chain construction. Then we help our guide to tie the horses to the wooden fence one by one. Before Bilgee enters the yurt, he washes his face and hands. When he enters the heated dwelling, he is delighted with the warmth. “The horses ate well and were also able to drink water,” he says with satisfaction. “They look really magnificent. Their bellies are full as tons. Baierlaa (thank you)”, she thanks Tanja for his good work. “Zugeer, zugeer” (you’re welcome, you’re welcome), he replies modestly as always. Tanja prepared a delicious soup with potatoes, onions and carrots from our sheep meat. We drink a few glasses of beer with it. “Oh, that’s delicious,” I say, feeling very comfortable in our Mongolian dwelling. “Ene ich sajchan amttaj bajlaa” (“That was very good”), Bilgee praises Tanja’s cooking skills, stroking his full belly with satisfaction.

After dinner, we talk to Bilgee with the help of a phrase book and gestures. From the looks of it, he also seems to feel very comfortable. Despite the language barrier, we laugh a lot and don’t get into our sleeping bags until midnight.

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