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Tuesday 2004-06-22 - Susamyr, Kyrgyzstan
Bzzzz!
Along the way to our camping spot in the valley of the Susamyr, we make a short stop at a particularly beautiful and interesting cemetery. In Kyrgyz tradition, it’s far from habitation, located at a beautiful spot. Most tombs here are made of mud brick: built once, sometimes with an intricate design, but then left to slowly dissolve back into the landscape again. The tombs here have an extra dimension though: when you enter the cemetery, the constant loud buzzing is unmistakable. A large colony of wasps lives here, having made their nests inside the bud-brick walls (thus helping to dissolve them). They fly on and off in large numbers but don’t mind or bother the humans visiting here at all; they fly by so fast in fact, it’s hard to really get to see them, let alone get them on a picture (though I try, of course).
Our camping spot is a kilometer further on, a nice shaded spot under the trees, and most of us walk there from the cemetery. My foot feels OK, so I walk as well, but when I arrive I discover I have to cross a little brook to reach the camping site: there are stepping stones which I would normally easily hop over — but with my wounded foot I can’t manage (an my monopod-walking stick is in the truck: already at the camp site). I can’t find a sturdy enough branch to serve as walking stick either; I’m stuck! Ultimately Thom finds me and helps me across. Our cook Tatiana cooks us a lovely dinner of soup and macaroni.
