This morning we were up for breakfast, and the a us ride through Bishkek to a nearby national park. On the way, we were given some information about the country. For instance, Kyrgyzstan means "land of forty tribes". Eventually we came to Ала-Арча (pronounced "ala-archa" and means Colorful Juniper Tree) National Park. The park was absolutely gorgeous, there's really no other way to describe it. We set off for a hike, but since I wanted to take a bunch of pictures and go a little farther than most of the others, I went off on my own for most of the hike. There were portions of the hike when I was with other folks on the trip, but for the most part it was just me and Adele (her album 21 is amazing, by the way). The leaves had just started changing colors on some of the trees, and the mountains were just amazing. Here are a few shots from the hike:
This was about a three-and-a-half hour hike, so it was pretty difficult to narrow the pics down to just five. And the sad thing is, the pictures truly do not do the views justice. After the hike, we had a late lunch, and then a bus ride back to town. Some went shopping at a crowded market after we got back, others just relaxed at the hotel. Before dinner we were told we and a surprise, which turned out to be a guest speaker. The speaker was from USAID and spoke for about thirty minutes about the region and the US presence here. After that he answered our questions, and then we had dinner. After dinner, it was time for bed! Tomorrow, we leave Kyrgyzstan and head for Uzbekistan. And it's also my birthday!!! Should be a great day!
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