This extended journey provided stupendous weather as we traveled through the high pasture lands in the eastern region of Tajikistan. The pasture lands - called ailoq in Tajik and jailu in Kyrgyz - are nestled up in the mountains anywhere from 2,500 to 4000 meters (8,200 to 13,000 feet). In this district it is the women that are the primary occupants, mostly living in yurts and caring for the livestock of their village. A young man will take the flocks of sheep and goats during the day to graze, but the cows and their calves are driven away from the homestead in separate directions, only to return in the evening on their own. That is the advantage of bovines - the mothers and their young will return to each other in the evenings, whereas the pesky goats will lead the sheep over hill and dale and never return, if they had their way.
On this particular day Quvatbek and I enjoyed a leisurely walk, past all of the yurts and up to the 4,600 meter-high peaks (> 15,000 feet). Tajikistan lays geographical claim to one half of those peaks, while Kyrgyzstan claims the other half. I wanted to walk up to this (seemingly theoretical) borderline and put my toe over it, claiming proudly (if not tongue-in-cheek) that I walked to Kyrgyzstan. Granted, I did make the climb (or most of it), but it was not treacherous and exhausting (like last year's three-day trek over snow-ladden mountains); however a gala, or herd of horses with one jealous stallion prevented our final claim to fame by protecting his mares aggressively. Our young stallion would have been no match for him, so while Quvatbek and his horse kept their distance, I took up a place on a rock closer to the herd, sitting very still with my camera taking photos and videos of them. True to their nature, they slowly and curiously came in close, interested in me and the camera, and then, curiosity satisfied, meandered off to continue grazing. I felt so blessed to be surrounded by these semi-wild, spirited creatures in this wondrously and palpably spiritual landscape. To be here by yourself is not to be alone. If you look, listen, and hear - not with your tactile senses, but with your heart, you surely understand that you are not alone.
