Sitting by Ugii Lake

Tuesday, August 21st 5:30pm At Ugii Lake

I'm sun burned and wind swept after a full day outside by the lake. Instead of camping in the steppe last night, we decided to drive a little farther and stay two nights at the lake. We had to ditch some monastery ruins tht was on our itinerary because the river was running too high and we couldn't cross it. We had been warned by a local farmer who had tried to cross on his horse but couldn't. But our driver had to see for himself, and indeed, we couldn't cross it. So we gave up and drove to the lake earlier than scheduled for a bit of R&R.

Today I read, walked around, swam and took pictures of a horse drive. A few hundred horses camp through our camp on the way to the UB butchers. But what a beautiful scene to see so many horses running free. Speaking of horses...the local speciality at this time of year is fermented horse milk. It has a little alcohol in it from the fermentation process which involves a goat skin. But it won't get you drunk. It kind of tastes like buttermilk.

Sitting by this little lake, or the ocean, as the locals call it...life is calm! There is a light breeze that threatens to become a strong wind. There are a few ducks diving for fish. The sun is dipping lower and will soon be behind potential rain clods. There is a ger and homestead across the lake from where I sit and where the sun will soon set. I can smell the pasta concoction our cook and guide, Navcha, has created for us tonight. And JP is cooking it while she changes and sings "What a Wonderful World" in her tent. At her request, I wrote down the lyrics for her and she has listened over and over to it on JP's MP3 player. She is so funny!

She told me a story similar to that of the Weeping Camel (a great movie!). If a Mongolian mother doesn't accept her baby immediately, they will put it down on the ground in the way of a herd of horses. Seeing her child in danger she wil want to hold it and care for it. But in reality, the horses will never trample the baby. Never!