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| Young Spectator, Altai Eagle Festival |
It’s been a while since I blogged. Have you missed me? My distractions are not at
all interesting; moving and escrow. In a
remarkable feat of timing, my husband and I were halfway to Mongolia before the
house sale closed. Despite being in
South Korea, we were (and still are) thrilled to have just one house, in
Yarnell Arizona. Never mind that we can’t
live in it yet.
Yes, Mongolia. Now I
have something to blog about.
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| Dave, with his image on the Eagle Festival pass |
I’ll share a little background, if you’ll indulge me. I met the legendary Dave Edwards when he was
trip leader on a Grand Canyon raft trip perhaps 25 years ago. That was the first time I gave Mongolia much
thought. I saw some prints that he was
carrying with him, and I suppose that planted a seed. Dave started going to Mongolia in the early 1990s,
when the country had just broken away from the Soviets. He says that hotels and
restaurants were scarce and tells harrowing stories about having been arrested,
for example.
And some of you think I’m adventurous.
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| Eagle Hunter, Altai Mountains (Dave Edwards Photo) |
Dave had a spread in National Geographic Magazine in September
1999, and one of those photos (above) was honored as one of the top 100 Nat Geo
images. He founded the Flagstaff
International Relief Effort (F.I.R.E.), a non-profit organization dedicated
(at that time) to the collection and distribution of winter clothing and
medical supplies to the impoverished population of Mongolia.
That’s where the circle connects. I’d been to Mongolia in 2006 on a medical
trip, so when I heard about a Rotary Grant for disease prevention and treatment
in Mongolia, I popped my head out of my figurative cubicle. I got involved in fundraising for the grant
among Rotary Clubs in Arizona and Mexico.
Eventually I realized that the nonprofit partner for the project was F.I.R.E.,
the very same organization that Edwards founded in the 1990s.
This trip was organized by F.I.R.E. Small world.
The opportunity to travel with Dave, now 78 years old, dissolved the
last bits of resistance I had to signing up.
We spent some time in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, but the real
story is in the west, in Bayan-Olgii Aimag (Provence). My favorite way to convey the remoteness of Olgii
is to point out that the airport, 2 hour’s flight from the capital, has an
outhouse.
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| Marco with head guide Nurka and driver Semser |
Our host in the west was Kobesh
Travel, headed by Agii Makhsum.
I’ve got only great things to say about Agii and his folks. They anticipated our every need, from stoking
the stoves in our gers in the morning to heating water for our bucket
baths. Nurbakhyt (Nurka) Marat, our head guide,
even invited us to tea with her family during our nine days on the road.
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| Ger interior |
We made three camps, and that’s where the stories are.
“Horse Camp”
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| Janibek bringing in horses for us to ride |
Auez is a champion racehorse trainer. Our first stop was his family’s summer
camp. Eventually we learned that his
charming 12-year-old son Janibek was the star of an independent film called Boy Nomad when he was nine.
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| Riders on the steppe, Western Mongolia |
There were some serious equestrians in our small group, but that’s not
me. After the first day riding (I lost sensation in my feet from the cold) I
decided that I’d enjoy (and photograph) better hiking and riding in the 4WD
van. For two days I did just that. The
scenery was stunning and mostly unique, although we were sometimes reminded of
Death Valley National Park at home.
“Eagle Camp”
Hunting
with eagles on horseback is an ancient tradition among Kazakh Mongolians. Typically practiced with Golden Eagles in the
winter pursuit of foxes, it is a source of great regional pride and has spawned
several festivals. More on that later.
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| Tabai with his grandson |
Tabai is a gregarious grandfather, and recently retired (highly
decorated) Eagle hunter. His son Chokan is actively hunting and is training
three young eagles. Chokan was our model.
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| Technically, it was still summer |
The second place we stayed was at his family’s summer camp. It’s notable that the day of our arrival,
they all moved out of the family Ger and into a wooden building. It had gotten too cold, he said. I can’t disagree, as we woke to gloriously
photogenic snow one morning.
Their camp was fascinating, with a full spectrum of livestock (including
a camel) and an opportunity to see the slaughter of a sheep and the training of the young eagles.
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| Chokan with his young eagle |
We went twice to photograph Chokan with one of the eagles in the
mountains.
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| Full moon rise in Tabai's Camp |
The full moon rise was a real bonus.
“Lake Tolbo”
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| Sunrise from Lake Tolbo camp |
Finally, we re-positioned to be near the Altai Eagle Festival. Camp was at lake shore, ten minutes drive
from the festival and was ideal for morning walks and photography.
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| Young hunter with her eagle at the festival |
There are several festivals in the region, but this one is a bit
smaller, and (I’m told) less overrun by foreigners like us. Festival events include hunters calling
eagles while on horseback and running with a fox hide as bait. There were also traditional games including “Goat
Pulling” (a sort of mounted tug-of-war with a headless carcass), picking up
flags from the ground at full gallop, and an agility riding contest for women
which resembles barrel racing. There
were 68 participants. Imagine what a thrill
it was for us to see Golden Eagles (with wingspan as large as 7 ½ feet) everywhere
we turned!
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| The Lamb Kebab Guy |
There were vendors of food (we loved the lamb kebabs), souvenirs, and
local favorites like whole eagle wings and fur coats and hats from many animals.
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| Lakeside concert |
Agii arranged for an alfresco concert at camp after the last festival
day, which included a champion throat singer
accompanying himself of the Morin
Khuur (horsehead lute; the national instrument of Mongolia).
There’s more; shopping and museums and fancy restaurants (yes, really)
in Ulannbaatar before heading home. I’ll
leave you with these images of the Kazakh West though. That’s what stays in my mind.
