Hello! The past week was full of surprises. Both pleasant and not very pleasant. As I mentioned in my previous post the winter came to our mountains. A couple of days later, winter came to Tashkent too. And as always in Uzbekistan it happened very unexpectedly. Unexpectedly for utilities and city services, of course. And this is despite the fact that our Hydrometeorological Research Center warned about precipitation and cold about a week before. Despite the fact that back in the summer our President said that this year's winter in Uzbekistan will be colder than usual and it is necessary to prepare in advance. They even seem to have identified specific measures and responsible persons. And nevertheless, winter fell on communal services like snow on their head - literally and figuratively.
The whole city got stuck in 10-point traffic jams, which is a "anti-record" for Tashkent. And there was only a slight snowfall and frost of about 7-8 degrees Celsius. As a result, people freezing at bus stops, a crowded subway, crazy taxi prices and a bunch of wrecked cars. By the way, snow also became a "surprise" for the drivers - for a week none of them bothered to change tires from. One could justify the fact that Uzbekistan is a thermophilic country and such "terrible frosts" are rare for us. But I remember very well that we had snowfalls, lasting for few days and frosts below minus 15-20 degrees and there was no such disaster. The reason (alas!) is the most common - the sloppiness and lack of professionalism of the city administration and the relevant services ...
Actually, for me personally, there was no big tragedy - I go to work usually on foot. Waterproof shoes and clothing for winter hiking in the mountains perfectly protected from the prevailing weather problems. The main inconvenience was the icy sidewalks, which had to be walked slowly and carefully.
"Mysterious Uzbekistan" was about to open the winter season and we planned to go to the region called Kashkadarya to walk in the snow and visit the homeland of Tamerlane - the city of Shakhrisabz. Alas, due to the terrible road conditions and many accidents, the trip had to be canceled at the last moment, just a few hours before the departure - the organizers decided not to risk it. Frankly speaking, I have no luck with this Kashkadarya - the second trip in a row fails. However, the team of "Mysterious Uzbekistan" decided not to leave us and in just a couple of hours organized a trip to my beloved Boysun. Fortunately, we have to go there by train and the weather there was better than in Tashkent. And this unplanned, spontaneous trip turned out to be one of my most fun and interesting trips.
The group was small, but very cheerful. Moreover, I already knew all the participants from previous trips and therefore there were no problems with communication at all. In addition, as a consolation for the failed trip to Kashkadarya, Sharof (the leader and founder of "Mysterious Uzbekistan") came up with a track for us in completely new places. In anticipation of the adventure, we boarded the train and went to Boysun.
At 8 o'clock in the morning of the next day we came to Boysun. As always Choraka was already waiting for us at the station. We hugged him like an old friend, plunged into cars and went to his hospitable house to unload some of our things and have a little breakfast.
Late autumn made itself felt - it was already nine o'clock in the morning, and the sun was just rising ...
On the first day, we planned to visit the foothill of the mountain range with the interesting name of Ketmanchapty. If I remember correctly, the name can be translated as "chapping with ketmen". Ketmen is a Central Asian type of hoe for cultivating the land. Allegedly, at night, sounds are seen here, which usually happen when someone works as a ketmen.
Our path ran through a small gorge. Sharof invited us to look at the black waterfall and, leaving the trekking sticks , we went deep into a small gorge.
There really was black water flowing. It was black because the stream flowed past the old coal mine and the coal dust changed the color of the water.
As Sharof said, these coal mines are quite interesting and we should visit them. Well, we climbed up to the mine.
On the way up I met my old acquaintances - ladybirds. Wow, they are still alive and do not sleep.
We soon came to the mine. By the way, it is worth talking about these mines in more detail. First, most of them were explored back in the 30s of the last century and industrial coal production in them ended. But there is still coal left and local residents drive whole herds of donkeys there every day, on which they then take out coal in bags. Coal mining is a very dangerous business - there are often landslides and many people die in the mines, inhaling methane. Because, there is no mining equipment and no methane level sensors and other equipment. There is also no knowledge and experience on how to strengthen the vaults of mines - everything is done at random. But local residents have no other income, so every morning small groups of local miners reach out to the mines.
And in the evening, donkey caravans, loaded with sacks of coal, go back. This business, although dangerous, but profitable - in winter coal is worth its weight in gold, because all gas is sold either to Russia or to China ...
After passing the mine, we climbed further up to the natural wall. Seeing her, I set myself another note for the hundredth time to return to Boysun and climb Ketmanchapty.
From above there was a magnificent view of the surroundings. We were very lucky that the weather was sunny and clear.
Among the trees, I saw a concrete pillar. At first I thought it was someone's tombstone, but it turned out that it was some kind of geological sign left in the Soviet years.
One of the participants in the hike is a passionate coffee lover and at every halt he brewed Turkish coffee for us.
While the coffee was brewing. I went for a walk around the neighborhood and saw an interesting cloud resembling a heart.
The team got drunk on freshly brewed coffee and we went down to the car.
While we were walking, we did not notice how it was lunch time. And as people say war is war, but lunch should be on schedule. But we didn't want to have lunch anywhere, so we drove a little and stopped at the observation deck. Choraka built a couple of hearths and made fires. On one of them he put a pot filled by fried potatoes and meat, on the other a kettle. Soon food and tea were ready. It was a gorgeous lunch - delicious food, hot tea and amazing views!
After lunch, we got into the car and went to the Kyzyl canyon - or "Red Canyon". I've been there a couple of times already, but still glad to be back. Moreover, Sharof showed us this canyon from a new and unusual angle.
Kyzyl Canyon is beautiful and incredible. Every time I come here it takes my breath away. No matter how hard I tried, the camera lens cannot convey this majesty, depth and immensity of the canyon. It seems that you are transported to another planet ...
I usually say with regret that the sun sets early in the fall. However, this time I was glad that we waited for the sunset and were able to admire it. Sunsets (like sunrises) are always beautiful and especially in the "Red Canyon"!
We admired the sunset and I agreed with Sharof that we will return to Boysun for the hundred and first time and he will specially organize a separate tour dedicated to the passage of this canyon from beginning to end.
Satisfied and full of pleasant impressions, we went to the car that was waiting for us and went to the hospitable house of Choraka to taste delicious pilaf in linseed oil.
The next day we were expected by a trek along the Sauk-bulok (“Cold Spring”) tract and the Zaur-boshi canyon. By the way, there are traces of dinosaurs on the rocks of this canyon somewhere. This is the one hundred and second reason to return to Boysun again :)
!pinmapple 38.390357 lat 67.332264 long The foothill of the Ketmanchapty and the Kyzyl canyon. Unexpected trip to Boysun (Day one), Uzbekistan d3scr