Just another last short note, before leaving in and onto the Altai: Öskemen is a pleasant place with good facilities and we found easily an Internet-café. But one after the other. Two nights ago in Temirtau: Very late we found out, that this name means “Iron Mountain”, and, really, it is a crumbling city on a huge stinky scrap hill! But, climbing up a dark staircase, we found behind an iron door a friendly family to wellcome us. Unfortunately, the expected drink of applewine was served to the ground of the slag mound, the house was constructed on, by a bursting bottle before reaching the appartement, but there was some wodka to accompany the typical Russian food, and we slept some hours before starting again on the road. We had to go 200 km back for bad route conditions ahead, this excursion to the south was just for nothing (the detour is only highly recommended to maniacs of industrial ruins!). Between 05.30 and 06.30 am Victor led us through the heart of darkness and dense fogs to the main road. We could continue our way without difficulties over the day, passing the atomic test area at Semipalatisk, unfortunately without the time to visit the highlights in the local Anatomical Museum, and arrived in Öskemen at the foot of the Altai mountains: Perfect guest rooms in the local sanatorium, where at that moment all the participants of the “Miss Kasachstan” – contest were gathering. Only Ueli and Gerd had the permission from home to respond the fiery glances of the ladies, and only Ueli had the suitable age and a single room (for more details ask waldmaa@hotmail.com). The people from ECOSYSTEM, who will guide us through the Altai, seems to be quite competent, and we had a stressless day, changing the oil of the cars, washing underwear, testing the local beer, and visiting rock art. In a bizarre surrounding of rounded granite slabs we saw picked and painted drawings of stags and horses, and strange signs, which have even more strange interpretations among the local amateurs. At the moment, after a good Kasach dinner with horse meat, we sit in our room and write this report, accompanied by some bottles of the best beer to buy – the ladies are unfortunately already on their ways home to the villages.

Barbara, Clemens, Gerd, Moritz & Ueli