We reached the checkpoint in the Barskoon valley on the way to the gold mine about 3 pm and were told its not a good idea to climb the pass because we won’t have time to get to the gold mine and back before nightfall. Which means spending the night at 4,200 metres on the icy plateau (“very cold” said the checkpoint man who was shivering in an exaggerted fashion) or coming down the pass in the dark with one and a half headlights. So we camped in the massive car park where the petrol tankers stop before ascending the pass.
The next day we climbed the spectacular pass and the road across the icy plateau had spindrift blowing across it. We reached the point where we had turned back on the previous occasion and looked forward to driving another 40 miles to the mine according to the map. After less than one mile we came to a checkpoint where we were told that the mine is just behind that hill, about 4 miles down the road, but we can’t go! A friendly discussion with a tough-looking security man with a mouthful of gold teeth was to no avail and we had to turn back.
We stopped in an official parking place at the side of the Balykchy-Bishkek road, and were awakened in the middle of the night by two massive blasts of gunfire. Followed by someone playing a tin whistle with only three notes which, in different order, made quite a pretty tune. The assumption is that a nearby shepherd was shooting at wolves. There was a moment of concern when we recalled that Bo (the Chinese soldier we picked up in Tibet) told us of three Chinese cyclists who were eaten by wolves while they slept in their tents. Only their heads and feet were left plus a few bones. We reckoned the wolves would need a can opener to get into our van, so we fell asleep again.
