Yay! We got here. Өгии нуур. There was dust and petrol fumes. The roads were rough, there was mud, a bus was stuck in the soggy ground. There were animals on the road, the track got muddy.
It rained, and as we arrived, a double rainbow.
The bikes needed to be unloaded, put together, and our luggage put in the ger tents.
Erik was keen to go exploring on his bike, and you can read about that here.
Erik's cycle explore of Lake Ugii. I wandered down to the lake edge and explored this part of Өгии нуур.
Өгии нуур / Ugii Lake is a freshwater lake in eastern Arkhangai province, in central Mongolia. The lake, designated as a Ramsar Site of International Importance, is known for its fish and for birdlife.
I could hear the squeaks of lots of small animals, and lots of holes in the ground, but I never saw what was making the noise. (Discovered later that they were mice).
As I walked through the grass, a fragrance from this plant perfumed the air. It was apple/citrus kind of smell. This happened for the rest of the trip, this plant was everywhere.
An ovoo at the lakes edge. The Ugii Lake is 8km long and 5 km wide
Horses had gone swimming in the lake. I had a chat with a mother and her 6 year old boy. It was good to practise my Mongolian, and she enjoyed practising her English. Her son told me that he understood what I was saying, so I was pleased that I had taken the opportunity to learn some Mongolian in the past months prior to the cycle tour.
This ger camp had about 25 tents.
There was a restaurant and bar. The ger next to the building was the food prep area.
This building housed the showers and toilets.
The showers were hot and the facilities were reasonably clean.
The ger smelt a little bit musty and damp, I suspect because it was close to the lake. The bed was hard as, and the blankets and pillow thin.
We didn't know to ask the staff to light the fire, as we didn't have any matches.
Erik's bike also got to spend the night with us in the ger.
Dinner was a simple affair of salad, soup, bread, and meat.
The sunset was spectacular.
Tomorrow, the real adventure begins, cycling for the next five days in the Mongolian steepes.
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