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The National Park was our first stop on the tour prepared by Blue Wolf Travel. We ultimately spent two months in country but touring Western Mongolia with Canat was the highlight for us and I do not think anyone could have done a better job of showing us the true culture and character of this region; a once in a lifetime journey.
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As I approached the herd, all the camels watched me with indifference. I was definitely more excited about seeing them than they were me.
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The snowcapped Altai Mountains reflected in Hoton Nuur (Lake). Just on the other side of those peaks is China.
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An ancient Trukic stone face statue. It is also a marker for a grave. Its poor head fell off and it took three of us to lift it and put it back in place.
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These kind gentelman were nice enough to catch us lunch. They were pulling arm-length fish out of the lake by the half-dozen.
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During lunch, this absolutely amazing and wizened character just appeared on horseback, asked us for our fish guts, put them in a plastic bottle, tasting them first, and then rode off into the distance. Surreal.
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The wildlife was also interested in our leftovers. This Kite dove for a piece of fish lying in the water. For this one shot, there are 1,000 great attempts of just grass and water.
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An ancient petroglyph of a horse and hunter that might very well have been a portrait of the man we just encountered.
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Since trees are a finite resource, dung is the fuel of preference for cooking. The only problem is that everything cooked with it is left with a very peculiar aftertaste. Let’s put it this way, Rasa could’t finish her tea.
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Entering the park was just the beginning of our amazing encounters. The real highlights for us are coming next week, especially helping the nomads move from their winter home to summer camp.
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