Kayaking The Ili River

     Mike had talked to Viktor about floating the Ili River last Spring, but Viktor said it's better in the Fall. When we heard mention of it then, we made sure that our names were on the list. When we arrived back in Almaty this Fall, we made sure to check in with Mike about plans. Mike and Viktor worked out the details, and Viktor made arrangements for the whole trip. All we had to do was get in the car early, bring lots of food (as we hiked last weekend, Viktor was very conscious to remind us to bring lots of food for this float trip. He put it something like, we will need lots of mental concentration, so we must have plenty of food) and prepare for an adventure. We weren't sure what to expect regarding what the river would be like, what the boats would be like, what our day's schedule was, or even what the weather would do that day (predicted thunder showers). But this is the way most good adventures begin. So, we got in the car. 

 Fruits stands along the road, just opening for the day. 

 Viktor and Viktor at the meeting spot. To differentiate we called one Viktor balshoy, "big Viktor". 

 At the put-in, a cozy residence. Notice the fish drying on the line? 

 Another view. The inside looked quite nice, remodled with wood paneling. 

 Viktor told us he arranged canoes for this trip. We'd never seen a canoe in Kazakhstan. When we arrived at the put-in and saw these canvass kayaks, we weren't sure what to think, but we were prepared for that. We strapped on the neon orange, flimsy life jackets and loaded in. 

 But, they were great (of course)! After crossing some small rapids right at the put-in, we were on smooth water. It was a cloudy morning with cool weather, just right for a river trip. 

 My photos of Nic will be slightly crooked, as I couldn't quite turn all the way around and see through the view finder on the camera without risk of tipping us. 

 Down the river we passed a few smal houses that appeared to be abandoned  This litte house was painted with the kazakh designs that are on the Kazakhstani flag. 

 Allen and Cassandra built up quite a thirst. 

 Floatilla!

 Before long the clouds began to clear and the sun come out. 

 We passed some great rock formations...

 ...and broad, sweeping valleys....

 ...even some sand dunes. 

 A river. A lada. A man and his tent. 

 About half way down we stopped and stretched our legs. 

 Turns out we stopped right at an army training base. There were tons of old things used for rescue training: cars, trucks, buses, vans, a few train cars...

 ...even helicopters!

 This young soldier met us at the bank. He said he's been there for almost a year, and will go home in November. He was a cordial guy, patient with our questions (that Viktor translated). He said there are 30 soldiers living at the base, plus a cook and nurse. He said their housing is converted passenger train cars. We asked him if we could go up and see the helicopters, but he said the boss was expected that day. Too bad. He did, however, invite us for Saturday lunch and then to the weekly banya (Russian sauna). We politely declined, thanked him for the chat and started down river again. 

 See the black spot on the bank? My zoom doesn't give it justice, but that is a massive Steppe Eagle taking a few swigs from the river. 

 Not a bad way to pass a Saturday in Kazakhstan. 

 Mike, Viktor and Beth. Mike and Viktor are munching on giant local apples. 

Lovely, clear water. 

 Our next stop is in the distance on the left: a castle!

 Approaching the castle from the shore. 

 Okay, so it's not a real castle. It's the set to a movie filmed here called "Nomad". It is supposed to be set in ancient Turkistan. 

 We paid a guy 200 tenge ($1.25) and he let us wander around the dilapidating set. 

 It's all facades and falling apart, but it was fun to play around in for a while. 

 John is showing off with the ancient bar bell. 

 Another kilometer down the river there is something that really is old, and unusual for this part of the world: a rock carving of Buddha overlooking the river. The petroglyphs here are known as Tamgaly Tas, and there are actually many buddhas carved in this area, these are just the most well preserved. The one in the middle is pretty large, probably around 2 meters high or more. Beneath these images are words written in Sanskrit. They are from around the 12th century, and although these may be well preserved, many others were not. There was one image, closer to the river, where Viktor pointed out bullet peck-marks, and enough of them to totally destroy the face of the image. 

 Looking up river from Tamgaly Tas. 

 At the end of a lovely 21 kilometers, Viktor bolshoy and his trusty side-kick (and fashion companion) were waiting at the take-out. They helped us unload the boats and then Viktor's wife invited us to have some tea in the picnic spot they already had set up in the shade. 

 Mike brought his bucket of shashlyk along for the picnic at the take-out. While we gathered scraps of paper and dry grass from the area to start a fire with matches to cook the shashlyk, this guy (I never did catch his name) got out his blow torch and finished the job in seconds. Well done, sir. 

The post-float picnic. 

Not a bad Saturday.