With our time over with the Eagle Hunters, it was time for our group to return to Ulaanbatar. This would turn out to take an entire day.
This morning, Ira asked us to give him any pictures we had taken of the families and the hunters so that he could make prints and hand them out before we left. His little portable printer had wonderful color and was relatively fast. Everyone that received a photo genuinely appreciated them.
After a mid-morning brunch, we loaded up our gear and started our trip back to Ulgii to catch our plane back to the big city. This time we headed up into the hills instead of into the valley. I don't think we could have made this trip without the Russian vans that were able to crawl up the rough roads. Since we were sitting backwards, we could only judge what was coming by the looks on the faces of our fellow passengers. This was a little frightening when they couldn't hide their concern at the roads ahead.
Even though it was slow going we finally made it back to the paved road heading into Ulgii. We had our bags weighed and we checked in for our flight. While the flights are technically 'scheduled' that doesn't really mean that you'll leave on time. They also were considering a stop on our way back to pick up freight but decided not to since our departure time was pushed back. This airport is so small that the only bathroom available before going through security was an outhouse in front of the building!
We all looked a little ragged since there were no showers today and we were a little tired. We started noticing people were showing up wearing their Sunday best. Once we got through security, it became apparent that someone special was coming on the incoming flight. What we supposed was the mayor stopped by our little waiting room and asked how we enjoyed our visit to the region. More well dressed towns people gathered outside to greet the VIP. It turns out the visitor was a government Minister. People threw candy at her then picked it back up to take home. A beautiful coat was presented to her. While this was a little interesting to our group, it also meant our plane was going to be late departing.
The flight back was uneventful. We had some great views out our windows down onto the varied landscape. I got a good idea of how vast and uninhabited much of the area remains. You could see the excitement building among our group at the prospect of a hotel shower. Liza was practically giddy as we approached our destination. We grabbed our keys and hopped in the shower followed by several in our group heading for the bar for a bite to eat and a nightcap.
It had certainly been an amazing three days but we were all thankful to be back to the land of running water.
Tomorrow: Our last day together
This morning, Ira asked us to give him any pictures we had taken of the families and the hunters so that he could make prints and hand them out before we left. His little portable printer had wonderful color and was relatively fast. Everyone that received a photo genuinely appreciated them.
After a mid-morning brunch, we loaded up our gear and started our trip back to Ulgii to catch our plane back to the big city. This time we headed up into the hills instead of into the valley. I don't think we could have made this trip without the Russian vans that were able to crawl up the rough roads. Since we were sitting backwards, we could only judge what was coming by the looks on the faces of our fellow passengers. This was a little frightening when they couldn't hide their concern at the roads ahead.
Even though it was slow going we finally made it back to the paved road heading into Ulgii. We had our bags weighed and we checked in for our flight. While the flights are technically 'scheduled' that doesn't really mean that you'll leave on time. They also were considering a stop on our way back to pick up freight but decided not to since our departure time was pushed back. This airport is so small that the only bathroom available before going through security was an outhouse in front of the building!
We all looked a little ragged since there were no showers today and we were a little tired. We started noticing people were showing up wearing their Sunday best. Once we got through security, it became apparent that someone special was coming on the incoming flight. What we supposed was the mayor stopped by our little waiting room and asked how we enjoyed our visit to the region. More well dressed towns people gathered outside to greet the VIP. It turns out the visitor was a government Minister. People threw candy at her then picked it back up to take home. A beautiful coat was presented to her. While this was a little interesting to our group, it also meant our plane was going to be late departing.
The flight back was uneventful. We had some great views out our windows down onto the varied landscape. I got a good idea of how vast and uninhabited much of the area remains. You could see the excitement building among our group at the prospect of a hotel shower. Liza was practically giddy as we approached our destination. We grabbed our keys and hopped in the shower followed by several in our group heading for the bar for a bite to eat and a nightcap.
It had certainly been an amazing three days but we were all thankful to be back to the land of running water.
Tomorrow: Our last day together
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