The last leg of our trip was pretty uneventful, so for lack
of something to tell I will just say that if I had to be reincarnated I would
not mind coming back as a Mongolian horse. We have seen herd after herd of
these magnificent animals running wild through the valleys, as if they were the
owners of this land without boundaries. To me they just look as tall and sleek
as any other horse I have seen, so I am not sure where the notion came that
Mongolian horses were shaggy little ponies.
Once we got to UB Zoe brought us with unerring precision to
the Best Western where we had stayed in our arrival, where we were received
like heroes. Truly it seems that driving independently through this fabulous
land is never done, and the reception people were so amazed at the extent of
our trip that they gave us the presidential suite for the price of a normal
room.
I had been stressing about our dusty car, because I didn’t
want the folks at Sixt to impose a steep cleaning fee, and because the dust was
proof irrefutable that we had been driving dirt roads (The lady with whom I
spoke with in corporate had warned me sternly that their cars were not to be
taken in dirt roads. In Mongolia ?
Really?). I was thus ready to spend the following 3 hours washing the car. What
was I thinking about? This is a civilized land with car wash outfits that for
mere US$ 20 offered full detailing. What a relief.
We spent the time going to downtown via “Uber”. It turns out
that for years now many drivers here take passengers that go in their general
direction, for the equivalent to US$ 0.40 per kilometer. Zoe is of course an
expert in this mode of transportation, so with the flick of a finger she
flagged down a driver, and a few minutes later we were in downtown, where I had
to return the tent I had rented, buy a couple of books for Ronnie’s
international library, and indulge in a tiny keyboard that I can use with my
iPhone.
We concluded the evening with a delicious Indian dinner.
Mongolian food is nourishing, and mutton fat is said to be good for your skin,
but in general it would have to be classified as not very flavorful. In
contrast, the Kashmiri rice (with raisins, cranberries, and pinion nuts),
eggplant, and spinach dishes we ordered were bursting with flavor and exotic
spices. It was a most satisfying end to a fabulous adventure!
We will all be a bit sad scattering tomorrow, but we are all
going to other exciting adventures, and will anyway see each other in Oregon to
watch the solar eclipse on August 21. Let’s see, Horacio will be heading to Ethiopia and is looking forward to seeing his old
friend Dr. Getachew Tikubet, and John will be heading out to field camp in
eastern Oregon
four days after he gets home. Zoe is the real adventurer here though: She will
be going to the northwest corner of Mongolia
for a week of hiking with a friend, followed by a few days at Lake Baikal
with another friend, and then a visit from Mom Anita and brother Leo and a few
days of dinosaur immersion in the Gobi
Desert Moscow
to join yet another friend, stay there a few days, and then travel together to Saint Petersburg for a week-long visit before flying back
to Oregon .
This young lady certainly gets around!
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