Bearded men in Mongolia

Two young men pointed at Ulysses’ thick beard, the braver one reached out and touched it.  Since the first days in Mongolia, Ulysses’ beard has become somewhat of an attraction.

Eric recently got given a book called Chinggis’s Mongolia, printed for the 800^th anniversary of the Great Mongolian State.  A chapter lists the rules of having facial hair in Mongolia. 

The book reads:

-         - The man has to have a grandson.   

-          -The man has to be over 40 years.

-          -It’s forbidden to have even a single tiny hair on the face when the father is still alive.

-          -If a man desires to grow a beard, he would bow down before the oldest person and ask for permission. 

Ulysses’ beard breaks almost all of the above rules. 

Sarah McNair-Landry

Where have all the fish gone?

In Ulaanbaatar, Ulyssee, proudly wearing a hat that read serious fish, showed me his two fishing rods, exclaiming “we will eat fish every night”.  In preparation for the many fish we imagined we would catch, we brought along with us all the ingredients required to make sushi.

The Eg and the Selenge rivers are known as world class fishing rivers.  Home to the taimen, one of the largest fresh water fish in the world, it can grow up to 1.5 meters in length and can weigh up to 50KG. 

As we started our journey on Lake Khovsgol, fish jumped all around us, but they were uninterested in our bait. We left the lake disappointed but still hopeful; the Eg continued to show promising signs for fish, we could even see them through the clear water, but our skills proved inadequate. In desperation, Eric constructed a spear out of wood, and took a stab at catching a fish.  

Weeks went by, and still no fish.  We resorted to buying canned fish in the towns.  The Eg River came and went, still no fish.  We had been told that the confluence of the Eg and Selenge rivers was a hot spot for fishing, and so we took the rod out and Elsa threw first, catching a fish which unfortunately broke free.  Eric tried his luck, within no time he reeled in three fish, setting the two smallest ones back.

    

With our 8 inch catch of the day, we continued to proudly paddle down the river. Shortly after we met a family, and showed them our catch. They laughed and opened one of their many canvas bags to reveal 3 pike and 3 large perch. Out of kindness or possibly pity they gifted us their fish. With a little soya sauce and fried onions, together we eat them for a late morning snack.

Sarah McNair-Landry

Il était un petit radeau / From canoes to a catamaran

De forts vents nous poussent. Eric, enthousiaste, lance l'idée de transformer nos deux canots en un catamaran afin de profiter de la force des vents. Il n'en faut pas plus pour que nous nous mettions à ramasser de vieilles planches qui traînent sur une rive et à improviser une sorte de radeau. Après deux heures de travail, nos embarcations sont officiellement mutées en bateau à voile. La transformation en photos.

The strong tail winds picked up early in the morning. We came ashore and started to search for drift wood. Eric enthusiastically led the mission: to turn our two canoes into a homemade catamaran. After two hours of sawing and lashing wood together, we fixed our tarp are set sail.

Par Ulysse Bergeron

Searching for black currents

The underbrush of the forest was dense yet the old stallion I was riding put his head down and plowed through. Ulysse and Eric followed within ear shot behind on foot, and in front leading the way were a local family whom had invited us to spend the day berry picking. We were headed to their favorite spot.


Once up in the mountains the father dismounted from his horse. We tied the animals to a nearby tree, and the search for black currents began. The large black berries grew on bushes in a small ravine. We were instructed by the family: pick the ripe black ones to eat; the green berries had other uses. The berries themselves had a particular and somewhat bitter taste, similar to a slice of turkey lathered with cranberry sauce.

Another big bucket was brought out “you can pick both the ripe and unripe berries for this bucket”, exclaimed the oldest son, who leant his English working in the tourism industry, and now studies in the capital city Ulaanbaatar. Hey explained that they would ferment the berries to make a strong wine to be consumed during winter.

Once back at their modest summer log cabin, we got to try a sample of a previous batch of wine made with red currents, a delicious experience. Afterwards we played a game of Frisbee, before enjoying a dinner of rice and pre-dried beef.

By Sarah McNair-Landry

Location:
Latitude:49.50139
Longitude:104.32087
GPS location Date/Time:07/29/2010 11:56:28 ULAT

Click the link below to see where we are located.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=49.50139,104.32087&ll=49.50139,104.32087&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Ferry Service

The obnoxious sound of a Russian vans horn could be heard echoing through the valley as we rounded a bend in the river. Believing that the racket was intended for us, which is often the case, we stopped to exchange greetings with three locals. While doing so a congregation of Mongolians amassed on the far bank apparently waiting. The driver of the van and his two friends seemed especially interested in our canoes, and it soon became apparent that he wanted us to act as a ferry service. We obliged and upon crossing realized that we were not the only ones with a formidable watercraft; and theirs was something indeed. It was made from two hollowed out logs, the cavity spacious enough to sit between the gunnels, leaving 2 inches of wood to act as the hull. Each hull was separated in such a way that they formed a v-shape. With its heavy wood construction the craft was sturdy, it could carry 5 people and a motorbike per crossing, and it was captained by a single man who stood at the back and propelled the craft with a long pine pole. Despite being crude, the craft was decorated with colorful ribbons and the front of both logs were carved to resemble two horse heads.

After helping several locals cross the river, and many hand gestures later we were able to piece together the following story. The driver had brought two doctors to a small village, and there they had diagnosed their patient, an older man with abdominal pain and had decided that his situation would be better dealt with back at the nearest hospital, hence why himself, his family and the two doctors needed to be ferried across the river, with the help of our canoes and their ferry craft. We wished him good health as they drove off towards the nearest town.

By Eric McNair-Landry

Map check!
Latitude:49.45894

Longitude:103.99268
GPS location Date/Time:07/27/2010 22:40:58 ULAT

Click the link below to see where we are located.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=49.45894,103.99268&ll=49.45894,103.99268&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1