-> Yaks

There we have them - Yaks.

-> In the Djailoo

We, the others, went on downhill. We reached the Jai-Loo (a herdsmen station) at 6 p.m. and started to erect our tents. The shoes were dried on the oven inside the yurt - and after a brief diner, we all fell asleep really quickly, knowing that the next day might require more strength again. We were right. The next day was insane. Although Elke and I (the others had left to Osh so they didn't have to go back again) rode up the pass on one donkey and one horse, the weather soon became the worst I have seen so far. First it was raining, right into our faces, without mercy. Ascending further up, the rain turned into snow, not less uncomfortable. Some hundred meters below pass-level, we ended up being in a proper thunderstorm. Lightnings stroke some meters away, scaring the sh** out of us. At this point, and seeing the scared faces of one of our guides, I would have liked to be somewhere else, away from this climatic nightmare. However, our most experienced guide, a cattle-trader, remained calm. Taking into account that he has walked to the Pamirs three times already (500 km), where he bought some dozen yaks, there could not have been any more reinsuring sign that we didn't have to be afraid. He has seen worse, he told us. And it was true. Short before reaching the pass, the sky cleared up and gave sight of the adjacent mountains, beautifully snow-capped. We had reached the top. On the other side of the pass, we could spot one lonely horse on the next plain: Our horse.

-> Kyrgyz textiles..

..spinned the traditional way.

-> Back to the village,

the Pamir in sight.

> Carriage in Kyrgyz