
The journey to the border from Samarkand took about 45 minutes. From Samarkand you can see the glacier cap mountains due east. Our journey was to take us closer across and up those mountains. Tajikistan is mountainous. With glacial lakes and narrow winding roads through the mountains scattered villages. There seemed to be traffic jams of goat herds blocking the way along with mules laden with firewood. It had an altogether different feel to Samarkand. It is a mineral rich country, and the people who live in the mountains adapt well to the rugged landscape, but it is a rugged landscape, and one can only imagine the winters here. Poplar trees were grown everywhere. They are fast to grow, and provide windbreak for the winter wind and firewood to keep the water hot. Streams and rivers are abundant because of the glacier drainage and provide a constant background of noise and fresh clear running water for the villages. Endangered species, such as the snow leopard, live up there in the mountains.


Once we had crossed the border, we took off in 4 x 4, and at some point, began the ascent on a seven-lake journey. The road at times seemed so narrow. It was impossible to imagine we could make the turn, especially when faced with an incoming vehicle, but we survived, just about, and the drivers were good. The roads were scary, and I would hate to have to drive that drive at night. We had one breakdown. We towed the car until the tow rope broke and then we left the car in a village to be retrieved another day. We had lunch in the village.



The hospitality was great. The food was fine and there is nothing I have quite experienced as primitive and as wonderful and welcoming as the people in that village. We made it to the seven lakes, took off our shoes and walked in the freezing water. We went for a long, long hike and eventually made it back at dark. We joined the queue of people in the custom hall, come shack, waiting for a stamp on their passports to cross the border and head back into Uzbekistan. Tajikistan is visa free if you’re American or European. Crossing the border and presenting my American passport the guy looked up, smiled as if trying to imagine this place that I come from and stamped my passport. I had just been to a country I did not know existed two weeks ago. Wow.