This week has been pretty slow. 3 of the 5 days I showed up at work to discover the projects that were planned were postponed and I was left with nothing to do. This happens a lot in PC- at least for those of us who aren't teachers. It's a little frustrating but I learned in RO that fighting it doesn't do anything but cause you stress- you may as well enjoy the free day and trust that in time the work will get done (somehow it always does). So yesterday I decided to head up to Lake Shaitankol. The hike is nice. However, you wouldn't believe the mosquitoes. They were the size of yellow-jackets and were actually yellow in color. When I swayed my arms while walking, you felt yourself hitting hundreds of mosquitoes. A less motivated nature enthusiast would have turned back. I stayed the course and was rewarded with a mosquito free lake, though I had to make it through 5km of misery to get there.
The trail is a nice walk. The last 800 meters however are straight uphill. It's a bit much and something I want to talk to the park about. This is the most popular destination for tourist in the park, but the trail would prohibit older people and young kids from doing it- especially when its hot.
Shaitankol is Kazakh for "Devil's Lake". I know I posted the legend before (Nov), but I've since learned a new legend. Here is the new on, and how lake was named:
Long ago a holy man named Zhirensakal wandered the forests in the Karkaraly Mountains. He lived on the great mountain peak Komsomol (what is now known as Zhirensakal Peak). One morning Zhirensakal went to Lake Shaitankol. When he arrived he saw human like creatures in the lake. They were yellow in color. He did not approach, but watched from the forest. He then saw all the beings begin to turn into one form, in the shape of a man. It said the words, "Aplite, Aplite". Zhirensakal left unnoticed. He returned the next day and saw the same thing, but this time the creatures turned into a woman. It said the words, "Zhaplit, Zhaplit. The holy man said, "So the devils are breeding!" Apparently Aplite was the father and Zhaplit was the mother. He read a prayer and shouted at them and the devils went away. After that incident, the holy man did not just come back to the lake, but spent the night there. The devils never returned. That's why the lake is called Shaitankol (Shaitan- devil; kol- lake).
I know suspect that the "yellow devils" were just a horde of those nasty yellow mosquitoes!
Nobody knows how deep the lake is. I asked today if it was really deep and the person shrugged. I like the idea of an endless abyss below the lake, but most likely they just haven't had a long enough rope to really measure it-ha. Who knows. But the lake, along with Lake Baceen, is fed from underground so it may go on for some time.
I avoided the piles of trash with my photos. I mentioned today that I wanted to go clean it up and was told that a couple of years ago they hauled 8 trucks full of trash away from the lake. I don't understand why people insist on trashing the prettiest locations. The solution is education and fines. The current fine for littering in the park is only $10 however. Even in Kazakh terms that isn't much and I'm afraid the park has a long way to go in solving this.
They are small, but I shared the lake with a group of tourism students visiting the area.
Somebody told me when I first got here that these mountains were old volcanoes and this is the reason for the "cow patty" shaped rocks. I've since been told by the park that this is not true, that the mountains formed when two granite plates pushed against each other. The rocks have simply been formed over millions of years of rain and wind erosion. I think they are pretty fascinating.
No big plans for the weekend. If the weather holds, I am thinking I'll go out to "big lake" and take in a swim. Its a nice 2.5 km walk south of town. I've had the apartment to myself since arriving back in town and its been nice. I'm making the pasta I like, eaten more salads than I've had in the past 3 months, and last night I made wonderful french fries seasoned with Montreal chicken seasoning. Life isn't bad. I wish work would pick up, but we can't have everything.
