Not far today. I’d done the hard work yesterday to get to the great little camping spot by the river. I wanted to get almost out of the narrow valley, as the clouds seemed to stay there.
It worked out perfectly. No rain overnight but it was cold and I could see fresh snow on the surrounding mountains. I had a lazy breakfast and headed off with a tailwind that built throughout the day.
I was expecting Balykchy to be a bit touristy as it would be an easy drive from Bishkek and it’s right on Lake Issy Kul. Nothing could prepare me for my entry to the place.
Firstly, Komoot sent me down a one way street the wrong way. The street was newly paved and so were a few of the surrounding streets. So I took one going in the right direction and continued to look for a touristy cafe. I went past the old market area and the streets were really run down. Still I looked for the nice part of town.
I tried another street and discovered that they had ripped up the footpaths of most of the place. Apart from those few paved streets, the rest looked like a bomb site. It went on for kilometres.
I finally decided to go to the guesthouse which turned out to be pretty nice and friendly, but the surroundy streets were rocky and dilapidated. Any thoughts of retracing my steps were quashed by the now horrendous wind.
I was too early to check in so I asked about a nearby restore cafe. I left my bags there and headed off.
The restaurant was attached to an even centre. These seem really popular here and in Kazakhstan, so my hopes weren’t high.
I went in and found an absolutely fantastic restaurant – an oasis in Balykchy. The first thing I noticed was espresso on the menu, so this place wasn’t bad. I went Italian with Spaghetti Bolognaise and a double espresso – yum.
Back to the guesthouse to clean me and a few clothes and check that I was prepared for getting into rural Kyrgyzstan. I took a shortcut on the way back and went past some long disused machinery from days gone by. Must have been quite an industry around here. The area, beside a beautiful lake, could do with some major TLC. It’s a little depressing seeing it all.
I discovered later, that of the passes I was expecting to use, some of them were closed – panic stations ! I worked out a few bail out options if my preferred routes weren’t possible.
There were three young Danes on their gap year who were driving to Song Kul the next day. They agreed to send me a text about road conditions.
I went back to the restaurant for dinner then to back home for an uneasy sleep.
