Holiday in Central Asia (5) a strange lake in Kazakhstan
It was an odd night in the Alban guesthouse and many of the group did not sleep so well because of the regular barking of local dogs, the early crowing of the village cocks, and some members taking nighttime showers. I pride myself on being able to sleep anywhere at anytime but a combination of jet-lag and animal noises had me awake for a while.
Today’s excursion (Day 4) was to a very particular location called Kaindy Lake. This is so remote that it could only be accessed by four-wheeled drive vehicles, so the group split into two Toyota 4WD land cruisers in which we swerved around ruts and rocks, splashed through streams, and ploughed up hills for a fun drive of 45 minutes.
Once out of the vehicles, things became even more challenging. The paths down to the lake are very steep and very gravelly and several of the group took a tumble. But what a sight: both at water level and from the hillside above.
Kaindy Lake was formed by nature after an earthquake in 1911 dislodged a huge block of mountain which blocked the river and created the lake in which earlier trees still make a ghostly appearance. Located around 2,000 metres above sea level, surrounded by huge spruce trees, and with the silver trucks of dead spruce risking above the water surface like the masts of sunken ships, this is truly a magical experience.
We were at Kiandy Lake for an hour and a half, following which we returned to our guesthouse for a quick lunch, before leaving Saty village to return to Almaty. It was a journey of almost four and a half hours, but we stopped briefly to view the Black Canyon and to have a comfort break.
Some of us wanted to take the opportunity to have a sleep or read a book, but our guide Svetlana appealed to us to ask her anything about Kazakhstan and our Scottish member requested information on the country’s experience of ice hockey. His other questions kept us going till Almaty where we are staying at the same place as previously: the luxurious Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Dinner was also at a familiar location: “Navat” restaurant. This time we had salmon as the main course (the Kazaks do love their meat) and three members of staff put on a short dance show.