My tent is great. Spacious, comfortable and in my eyes – even pretty. That most things are realtive is a widely accepted fact, and one of those mountain nights I learned that this is also totally applicable as it comes to mobile homes.
My day had been sort of amazing. With ingredients like a clear blue sky, a stunning mountain pass, a whole lot of tailwind and a bicycle in a good mood I had enjoyed myself ever since I zipped my sleeping bag open in the morning. I appreciated all of these ingredients for sure, but as they were all familiar ones it wasn’t exactly like this day would qualify into the Memory For Life-category.
The evening of this particular day wasn’t neccesarily more spectacular, but definitely more memorable as it ended up including a whole bunch of something that I am head over heels in love with – Firsts.
I’ll keep this one short, but just imagine this:
– A grandmother.
– Her adorable granddaughter (who even knew a few words of English!)
– Their Kyrgyz – completely handmade – nomad yurt
– Bread, tea and absolutely delicious cream and kefir made of the milk from their animals
– And most importantly. Big smiles that not for one second would disappear from these ladies’ faces
I know that many parts of this trip is not for everyone. The cycling. The uncertainty. The feeling of endlessness.
This however.
Sitting in the warmth of the burning fire, zipping on a cup of tea and just letting your eyes wander along the walls of the yurt. Each time you blink you will find some detail you didn’t see before. Some detail telling you just a little bit more of the story of the people living there.
And when you finally look down you meet the eyes of this 8-year-old girl, looking at you with just the same curiosity with which you’re discovering her home. Her eyes glimmer with a peculiar blend of shyness and strenght. She smiles innocently, but will confidently keep the eye contact until you decide to break it.
She likes tea as well, but before drinking hers she will always make sure your cup is filled. Actually, she will make sure to do whatever an 8-year-old could possibly think of to make a guest comfortable. As the sun sets, she rides the donkeys under roof for the night like it’s the most natural thing in the world. But is then so, so proud to show you that she too has her own bicycle.
This girl is shining like the brightest star of the mountain sky.
At the same time her grandmother is silently and constantly working – just like the women always do here. She’s cooking. Fixing up one of the walls of the yurt. She keeps the fire steadily burning. Prepares the blankets on which we’ll sleep at night.
She…
–
Oh.
I said I’d keep it short, so I’ll just stop here.
All in all. The memories of some meetings you carry closer to your heart than others. This was one of those.
This really was my best night in a while. But of course – what goes up, must go down. And the inevitable goodbye is always waiting just behind the corner. The more you connect with people, the harder it is to leave. I guess I’m used to them by now, but that sure doesn’t make these Goodbyes any better.
Photos make me happy though. These small digital memories proving to myself that those moments I cherish actually took place in reality. They’re all dreams, of course. But with these I know for sure that I experienced them with my eyes open.
Two girls and their bicycles
All the best,
Fredrika