We started our morning at the yurt camp by going for a short hike up a giant mountain surrounded by lots of horses and even more horse poop.  The giant mountain didn’t look like much of a mountain at all.  It looked more like an easy hill, but at nearly 10,000 feet above sea level, it takes a bit more time. The lack of oxygen does slow things down a bit, but the horse pictures probably slow things down even more.  I am not sure about other people, but that’s how it is for thetwinsontour at least.  We started out in multiple layers with our coats, hoodies, long-sleeved shirts, and t-shirts. We also took our raincoats to use as a wind breaker in case the wind picked up since it had been super windy and freezing the day before.  I guess it’s better to be over prepared than under prepared.  By the time I made it to the top of the giant mountain, gasping for breath, I had three coats in my backpack and was considering stripping down to just my t-shirt. Sure glad I opted to take off my Cuddle Duds before leaving the yurt.  

What’s at the top of Mt Kilimanjaro of Kyrgyzstan? Well, there’s a really beautiful view of Son Kul Lake. All the horses ran away when we got too close, so there were no epic equine photos like I had anticipated. But there were a couple of 2,000 year old petroglyphs! That’s cool.  I saw them on three different rocks, but there may have been more. They were all drawings of Ibex, which is probably the only Ibex we will see on this trip.  My ultimate goal for this trip is to see a snow leopard hunting an Ibex.  Wouldn’t that be neat? I think I might have a better shot at winning the mega millions jackpot, but a girl needs to have dreams.

The colors of the lake, the mountains, and the clouds in the cerulean sky were just breathtaking and not due to the altitude. It was really a selfie-palooza, an Instagram Paradise. All too soon, our guide shouted at us that it was time to go. (He seems to do that a lot, actually– even if we aren’t late!) But, you know what? We had to walk down a steep hill! At least I wasn’t gasping for breath as I descended the mountain. And I got to take more selfies! Yeah!

Next up was lunch in the yurt. I have eaten a lot of meals since then (because I am behind as usual), and I don’t remember what it was exactly that I ate. I could go back to my camera roll, but nahhh. Now that I think about it, I think it was a chicken stuffed yellow pepper. And that it was quite tasty. We usually have beef with vegetables, so that was great for variety.

Then it was back to the vans for the 3 hour torture fest down the mountain. This time thetwinsontour took Dramamine and survived the trek without feeling like they were going to die. Oh, and we stopped at the yak stop again. This time there were no yaks in sight. But the outhouse with the squatty potty was there, so I decided to try it out. Guess what? I lived. Even if it was odorifous. And then, when I absqatulated (not sure I spelled that correctly, but there is no squiggly line…) from the outhouse, I looked up the hill, and oh what a sight to see! Yaks!! Yakkity Yak, don’t talk back! There was a whole herd of yaks being shepherded down the mountain by a man on horseback. There were also 3 dogs, but they were lagging behind and doing nothing to keep the yaks in line. I think they were tired. It was a sight to behold–even our guide was taking video! We all watched the yaks until they disappeared down the mountain.

Now, I am going to pontificate a moment. (Where are all these big words coming from today?!) Anyways, I am quite distraught that the collective noun for yaks is just a boring old herd. I mean, you get a flamboyance of flamingos or a dazzle of zebras. But yaks are just a herd? Quite frankly, I am deeply disappointed in the English language. But, on a different yak note, apparently they have the best meat–way better than black Angus beef or Waygu beef. The reason for this is that they live in the mountains and eat nothing but organic food. Plus, they aren’t forced to stand locked in place for 3 months to fatten up on grain and barley to get marbled meat we so enjoy. However, I just have to trust that this Intel is correct because yak is not on the menu. I would like to think that I would sample yak if given the opportunity.

Enough of this yak tangent. I got a bit distracted. As a reward for surviving the perilous journey, we got to meet with an eagle hunter! We drove to an empty field behind a gas station, following this old, multicolored sedan. Can you guess what was in the trunk? A freaking golden eagle! Like, who keeps an eagle in their trunk? Can’t you just seat belt it into the back seat? There are so many logistics of golden eagle travel that I have just never contemplated before. I mean, Artichoke would never countenance being shoved into the trunk. She much prefers to stand on the center console and lick my ear. I guess, though, that if an eagle tried to flap its wings in the back seat that it could knock you out. Or blind you. Hmm, I need to think on this some more.

Ok, so here are some eagle hunter facts:

-There are only about 50 eagle hunters left in Kyrgyzstan. It is a dying skill, but important to keep alive for the tradition of the nomadic people of Kyrgyzstan.

-They take baby eagles from the nest at 2 months of age. They only take females because they are larger.

-At 3 months, they begin to train the eagle how to hunt. While trying to be both mother and father to the golden eagle. (Our eagle hunter kept kissing his eagle during the demonstration.)

-The eagle eats every 3 days. They will only hunt if they are hungry. Evidently, at about age 20 (eagles live a long time, up to 60 years), they fatten them up and release them back into the wild. The eagles never try to come back to their eagle hunter. They just fly like an eagle and live wild and free.

-The eagle we saw was 6 years old and weighed like 4 and a half kilos– and she wasn’t even fully grown!

-I did ask, and, no, the golden eagle does not have free range of the house. Nor does she sit on the eagle hunter’s shoulder when he is lounging on the couch watching TV. Evidently, she is kept in a cage.

-This eagle was chirping the whole time we were there. I have never heard an eagle chirp before. Maybe this is why she doesn’t get to sit on the couch and watch TV. How would you ever hear anything without turning the volume up louder than my mother’s television? You would have to use the closed captioning. But then you would not be able to play on your phone and read the TV at the same time.

-The eagle wears a little tiny mask so that it can “rest.” An eagle can see up to 5km away, so it is always searching for prey if it’s eyes are open. Personally, I think it’s so the eagle doesn’t try to eat the tourists. 

-The eagle hunter and the eagle mostly hunt jackals in the mountains. He skins the jackal and let’s the eagle eat the carcass. The government pays $3,000 som per jackal pelt. Apparently, the jackal is an overpopulated/invasive/destructive/undesirable or something species.  That is a lot of work for a $35 bounty. Go up to the mountains, track a jackal, let the eagle catch the jackal, etc. Once the eagle eats that first jackal, it’s not going to be hungry enough to eat for a few days. I don’t know if they head back home after that, or if they stay up there reading Harry Potter and playing solitaire until the eagle is hungry again. 

-You train the golden eagle by running with a jackal pelt tied to a rope. The eagle will spy the pelt and pounce on it.  Then you have to reward the eagle for “capturing” the jackal by giving it a pigeon wing (served with feathers, not Buffalo sauce). Seems simple enough, right?

-All of the animal kingdom is scared of the golden eagle.  Even the mighty snow leopard will take cover if a golden eagle flies overhead. Golden eagles are huge and can take down very large prey. thetwinsontour are lucky to be alive.

I think that about covers it. I’m ready to become a real live eagle hunter any time now.  I just need to start lifting weights to get in shape for carrying my eagle around. She gets pretty heavy when you hold your arm out. How do I know this? Because I HELD AN EAGLE ON MY ARM! I just didn’t think about her razor-sharp beak, her massive talons, and her giant flapping wings and held that eagle on my arm.  How could you pass up an opportunity like that? But this does not mean that thetwinsontour will ever, ever, ever willingly step inside the aviary at the zoo.  Nope. Not doing it. 

Love,

thetwinsontour

ps I have been remiss in reminding you to follow thetwinsontour on Facebook and the_twins_on_tour on Instagram. So go do that!