Ludmila, my host mom, has lived in Karkaraly for most of her life. She had never been to Lake Baceen. A friend of hers, whom she hadn't seen in nearly 30 years, came to visit her yesterday. Ludmila wanted to show off the local area, so she decided this was a good opportunity to see the lake herself.
July 6th is also a holiday here in Kazakhstan. It marks two events: the founding of the capital city, Astana; and President Nazerbayev's birthday. He turns 70 today. Astana turns 13. Today is officially called "capital day". A little piece of history before we get back to the hike: Almaty was the old capital of Kazakhstan. In 1994, Nazerbayev decided to move the capital to Akmola (which was later renamed Astana). He did this for geopolitical reasons. They made the move in 1997 and soon after declared this a holiday. Because I work for a national park, I had yesterday and today off work. :)
Shopan and Ludmila. I'm afraid it is going to be the same old pictures of Baceen that you've seen before.
Angry man in the rock. Can you see him?? I actually didn't until I looked at the picture on my computer! ha.
A sick plant. Thought it was interesting.
That is it. Have a good capital day!
