| |
 oday we arrived at Dalanzadgad, a dull, dry, dusty town with a few bored dogs wandering about the sparse streets. This is where tourists fly to and travel to a nearby national park and briefly experience a very tiny piece of the Gobi.
For the last few days we've traveled a more northerly course. This put in nomad territory and we have met and stayed with several nomad families who welcomed us into their gers. They always serve tea with lots of milk and salt added. The food is often hard curds made from goat or camel milk. We were also given yogurt made from these animals milk. Some of the yogurt tasted good to our western taste buds. Camel milk is thicker and sourer than cows milk. Mares milk is so acidic that it has a tremendous impact on our stomachs as we try to be polite and drink a reasonable bowl of it. The nomads eat an extremely high fat diet but we are gradually adjusting to the new foods.
These people are very kind and gentle. They treat their animals with great respect. They are not a cruel or excitable race of people. We continually marvel at the way they survive this hot, terribly dry, most difficult of deserts. We have been privileged to learn and share these people's lifestyle and customs that they have lived by for centuries just as their ancestors did. To trek across this desert is a test of our endurance and determination, but it is also an opportunity to learn desert ways.
A hot wind sends miniature tornadoes of sand and dust that hiss and swirl around us if we are caught in their path. Sometimes one will approach us directly along our path only to turn aside at the last minute. They twist and turn as if alive, picking up sand and rocks to finally disappear over the horizon. The man at the last ger told us these dust devils are spirits of the desert that try to lead unwary travelers astray. We only experience them on hot, still days. The blowing dust is a trial to our throats. We have to wear our masks and goggles much of the time. Sometimes the hot wind that not only brings heat but fine dust with it is very tiresome and adds to our fatigue burden each day.
We are still traveling for at least 15 hours a day. The temperature is rising steadily with the season. We now see 100 degrees by noon. When we stop at night it's wonderful to take our hot boots off and rest weary bodies. Our eyes are suffering greatly from a steady barrage of sand and dust.
|
