Move to the Tuwa

Shagai comes like usually only 10:30 a. m. and again with his friend. After the Russian truck comes back from the only one petrol station, obviously the petrol pump is repaired now, they shovel before the log cabin of Ayush soil on the loading area of the truck. We need the soil to compensate the uneven forest ground in the taiga, explains Shagai. A surface for the wooden floor of the ger?, I ask. “Yes”. “And in the taiga you find no soil for it?” The ground is frozen, he explains. Then there comes the driver with a friend and helps us to clear away the ger. Now everything goes very fast. Still while Tanja remaining objects of her kitchen the felt mats of the ger roof thin out and get packed. “Come out there before the wooden linkage fall on your head”, I warn her. Within one hour we have stowed away the complete ger and its extensive contents on the loading area. The men are working very well. In the end they heave Mogis heavy kennel on the felt mats. Then I lift Mogi. Shagai who is up on the load takes him from me. Mogi waves the tail and seems to be glad about the trip. Tanja and I run swiftly to Ayush and Tseden-ish, to thank for the hospitality of the last 7 ½ weeks. “You are welcome”, we hear him more muttering than talking. Then we squat on the only front passenger seat of the truck during Shagai, his friend and the friend of the driver find place on the loading area of the truck. It is beautiful sunshine and minus 25 °C we leave Tsagaan Nuur behind us. Once more we drive the distance we had taken with our first Tuwa visit. The big, coarse hoop of the truck work the way up through the snow, about the ice of the lake, ditches, icebound rivers, valleys, roots and rock. Already 1 ½ hours later we reach in the middle of the taiga the camp of the reindeer nomads who call them self the Tuwa. People gather in the camp and welcome us laughing. Without circumlocutions everybody helps together to unload the truck and built up our ger again. Meanwhile the sun sets and the temperatures are quickly on minus 30 °C. It is already dark as the ger, finally, ready built up and many boxes are carried inside. We are dog-tired and function by this hour only mechanically. Shagai comes in, settles some brought wood in the stove and before we can stop him he already tilted petrol from the canister for the power saw about the wood.
It stinks immediately unpleasantly. He lights the wet wood and leaves the new built up ger to go over to Tsayas home and eat something. It lasts only few minutes till the fire is over again. Then I get bark and some small wood to light the fire once more. It does not last long and it becomes warm. Tanja tries to find the boxes with kitchen equipment and I screw together the Wandan. The Tuwa seem to be still shy towards us. None of them shows up. They all left in their tepees. Then Shagai and team say goodbye to us. “I thought you remain overnight?”, I am surprised. “It is to much work to get going the truck tomorrow”, explains Shagai. “Understand”, I say, and give his wage to him also to his friend who helped for the day. (“Many thanks”) he says and squeezes the notes joyfully laughing to the forehead. Then there roars the engine of the truck. The big wheels crunch in the icy snow. Only few seconds later the big vehicle disappears behind the larches without needle and the engine noise is swallowed by the taiga.

Silence we have not heard for a long time any more lies down about the small clearing. In the light of our forehead lamps we clear up and settle still till 00:30 a. m. Then we sit down exhausted on our high-level bed. By the smoke deduction in the roof crown wink a few stars and ice crystals shimmer by the sky.