Ovoos of Mongolia

From a distance it just looked like a large pile of rocks. But it was much more than that. It was an ovoo at the top of a pass in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia.

Ovoo's are a type of shamanistic cairn typically made of stones and wood. They are sacred and are also used for Buddhist ceremonies. You don't just drive or ride by an ovoo. You stop and as you walk three times around in a clockwise direction you may decide to say a prayer, wish for a safe journey or good hunting, or give thanks. By placing some type of offering, be it a stone, bottle, blue scarf, animal head, food or anything else that you may have, you complete the ritual.



Our first ovoo was quite interesting with bottles, crutches, scarves and a cow head on it. Within a few minutes of us stopping, a jeep pulled up and family emerged to walk around the ovoo. After everyone was done with their offerings, we all shared some vodka together. It was an amazing moment shared by all.












At another mountain pass we came upon this ovoo which was much more formal with steps and a framed entrance. It was fairly popular with quite a few people and much more colorful with red, blue and yellow scarves. There was even a small table with things that you could purchase.










On the side of an extinct volcano, our guide and interpreter, Badmaa, added to the beginnings of an ovoo.







As we neared Lake Khovsgol, in north Mongolia we came across this amazing tree ovoo (I guess you can tell I really like the sky-blue scarves).














On our way to the Gobi desert we saw this small cairn with a rams head on top of it. I'm not sure if this is a marker or a small ovoo.






I found it comforting to be able to make a wish or say a prayer or to ask for safe passage at every ovoo. It was also nice to get out of the vehicle and give my bones a rest from the bumpy ride.

Bayartai.

The Name Game

Fifteen of the 21 nights we spent in Mongolia, we camped. About mid way through our trip we realized that we had named our camp sites by some special association. By referring to the camp sites by a name, all of us immediately knew what camp we were talking about. This was really helpful since it was easy to lose track of what day it was and we didn't really know where exactly we were (other than in the west, north or central regions). So, here are some of our camp site names and how they came to be. I would love to hear about some of the names of your camp sites and the stories behind them.




Rainbow Camp: Okay, I bet you can guess how we got this one. This camp was in a beautiful glacial valley with a small river. As we were setting up camp it began to drizzle, then it stopped. When we looked across the river there was a colorful arch.



Brain Freeze Camp: Have you ever had a brain freeze from the outside in? After settling in but before sunset I decided it was time to wash my hair (it had been several days and we would have the sun for a few more hours). I took my big plastic mug over to the gently flowing creek, filled it with water and poured it over my head. The pain was instantaneous. That frigid water sent shocks of pain through my skull into my brain. After a few moments it subsided and I quickly decided that I would rather have very dirty hair than to go through that again.



Goat Camp: You guessed it. It ends up we were right in the middle of a goat herding path.









Spider Camp: After a very long day of traveling we decided to camp next to a lake. A couple of us went down to the lake's edge for a short walk and to sit. Within a few minutes we noticed that the smooth, flat, oval shaped rocks were moving. Looking a little closer we realized that those flat rocks were actually large spiders with very long legs. The spider's body was about 3/4 to 1 inch wide and their legs were an additional 2-3 inches. And there were hundreds of them. Needless to say, we moved our tents a few more feet further away from the rocky shore.





Sunset Camp: Although this may not have been my favorite camp, it was the most spectacular. We knew there was a storm approaching and we needed to get over a pass and into a safe valley. We made it and set up camp at the base of some lower hills. That evening, with the clouds rolling in, the sun put on a glorious show. When you looked east, it was dark and menacing, when you looked west, you saw that unbelievable sky filled with radiant colors, powerful clouds and rays of gold punching through.


I hope to hear from you soon.

Camel Crazy

I love the Bactrian camels of Mongolia. The combination of their quirky looks, loud bellowing and amazing physical capabilities just amaze me. Up until this trip, when I thought of camels I associated them to a desert climate. However, the first time I saw one of these camels it was in the glacial valleys of the Altai Mountains. Completely out of context. It's fairly rare to see them that far north, but there they were roaming around.


Camels are incredibly strong and can carry heavy and awkward loads which is why they are used to transport the gers of nomadic families when they need to move from one location to another. In addition, they supply food products such as milk and cheese. Milking a camel is no easy task as they are known to kick fast and hard. To assist in getting the flow going, they have their young calf suckle for a few minutes.




A critical step in milking is tying one of their rear legs back, as they are known to kick hard and fast.











Let's take a closer look at the camel. You have to admit, they look a little on the funny side.











The hooves are huge and designed perfectly for sand, and the butt end, well it's kind of cute, don't you think?

















Their faces are a interesting to look at. Large eyes with long eye lashes, a cute mouth (when it's not spitting at you) and soft ears that you want to rub.



They can also be quite talkative as this little one is displaying.












They are comfortable in a pack, comfortable to ride and ready to serve you. Without them, you would not be able to survive in the Gobi Desert.

Home Sweet Home

The typical home for Mongolians is a ger. They can be constructed and taken down rather quickly, and easily transported making them perfect for nomadic life. The felt keeps the ger cool in the summer months and warm in the brutal, cold winters.



Inside the ger you will find an alter, beds, stove/heater, storage cabinets, storage area for riding and hunting gear, barrels for mare's milk and a small table and chairs. The door, toono and uni are beautifully painted with delicate designs in bright colors.

















Here is a brief outline on how to build a ger:

1. Find a clean flat, rock free surface






2. Lay out the fabric and felt












3. Put together the toono, which is the center support and creates the upper smoke outlet and sky light







4. Set up the hana or the folding/lattice walls








5. Attach the door to the hana (always facing south)
6. Raise the toono

7. Attached the uni, or wooden sticks that extend from the toono to the top of the lattice walls. Tie them in place using horse hair.




















8. Place fabric over the entire structure.
9. Wrap the tuurga or felt around the entire structure
10. Place a canvas fabric on top of the felt.
11. Tie the canvas down using rope.
12. Install wood or vinyl flooring
12. Install the stove with pipe in the middle of the ger so that the pipe extends out the sky light
13. Install furnishings





They say "Home is where the heart is" and this holds very true to Mongolians.

Bayartai

A bend in the road

Sometimes getting somewhere is half the fun or is the adventure itself. If your choice is to drive a vehicle in Mongolia then be ready for an interesting journey. Mongolia only has about 1,500 miles of paved road, the rest is, well, natural. This is where those 4-wheel drive vans that I talked about in my last blog come in handy.

The first morning in Mongolia our group (Alana, Linda, Jim, and myself) boarded a plane and flew to Ulgii(Olgiy) in the northwest region of Mongolia. Our first leg of the trip was to be through the beautiful, glacial valleys of the Altai Mountains. We traveled this area in an old but dependable 4-wheel drive van owned by Bakitjan, our driver. In addition, our team included Boletbek,our guide/translator and Kuatai our fantastic cook. Occasionally we were able to drive on hard packed roads but more often than not we made our own paths. Not too surprising since we were between 8,000 and 11,000 feet in elevation and rain was common.

Sometimes the roads would get less like a road and more like something that sort of resembled a set of tracks. Some maneuvering was required or we might need to get our speed up in order to move through the muck, especially if there was some incline.

The roads we traveled included narrow bridges over rivers. And then there were the paths that literally went through the rivers such as the crossing of the Tsagan Gol. Due to the high level and fast movement of the water our driver felt that we might have some difficulty crossing. After camp was set up we found two Tuva riders who were in the area hunting marmots and they agreed to guide us across. At 9:00 am the next morning, when the water was at its lowest, our guides on horseback successfully found a way for us to get to the other side.

Then there were the roads that didn't even remotely look like a vehicle belonged there such as the rocky slope up a mountain.

Timing is everything and good negotiating skills are helpful when timing is bad. On a narrow dirt road as we were making our way up a large, steep hill we came face to face with another vehicle. After some discussion between the drivers, the other van made a hard right over the edge and went down the side of the hill creating his own path as he went.

The deep set tracked paths made it very clear where you should go but didn't give too much margin for slight swerves.

And finally, what would a road trip be like without asking for directions at least once?