Karakol

We arrived in Karakol on Saturday night. The drive was one of the most frightening taxi rides I've ever taken. When I wasn't slamming on my backseat brake, I did have a chance to enjoy the view of Lake Issyk-Kul, a 185 Km long lake (I think). It is slightly saline and doesn't freeze in the winters. It also creates a more moderate climate for Karakol in the winters. The south side of the lake is flanked by the Tien Shan mountains, which were beautiful and immpressive, though only foothils of the actual range. The view was also partially obsured by a heavy smog which reeked of burt palstic and garbage. Turns out Saturdays are trash days, which entails, you guessed it, burning trash. Now that the snow is melting, there is a lot of spring cleaning to be done, so we experienced the brunt of it on our ride.
We are staying at Cameron's apartment. He has been an invaluable guide and a very gracious host to us. He has been living here a few months, along with several other PeaceCorps volunteers. Sunday night we were invited to a PeaceCorps potluck, where we ate well and got to share the company of some of the other volunteers. Kyrgyzstan can wear on a person it seems, as many of the volunteers had mixed feelings obout the area and the country. This is understandable, though. The poverty here is obvious, everything is dirty and it smells perpetually of burning trash. But at the same time, the people are friendly, you are surrounded by beautiful mountains and the volunteers seem to be doing some very valuable work in the community.
We have spent the last few days walking around town. Cam went to work yeaterday and Devin Sara and I were left to explore on our own. It is easy to become dependant on a guide when available and it was nice to be forced to fend for ourselves. Today I even bought a phone card and placed a call from a cell phone all by myself!
I've been spending a lot of time at an internet "cafe" (they don't serve coffee) that doubles as the base of the "Issykul Guide and Porter Association". The owner, Aigulu, is a very friendly woman and speaks English. I was able to talk to her and a couple of the guides who have gone through the local climbing school about trekking and climbing in the area. Thursday I hope to meet with a few more guides, along with Brian, a PeaceCorps volly, and go over some belay commands and techniques. I am looking forward to meeting soem of the local guides and learning about their education and standards.
Tomorrow Devin, Sara and I will head up to Atyn Arashan, a hot spring "resort" up a valley of the same name. This is the area that we had our ski trip planned for (then I blew out my ACL). The snow level is still pretty low and we are not equipped for snow or winter camping, so we will just head up, hike around, soak in the hot springs and enjoy the mountains from a distance.
That is all for now. I hope everyone is enjoying Spring back in the States!

-Dan