Since coming back to Kyrgyzstan we have joked with our friends that we came here to rest...the two months leading up to our departure with travel and packing, while maintaining the business were some of the most full and logistically challenging that my wife and I have ever had to navigate. Thankfully the trip went fairly smoothly and our children cooperated quite well. It was such a relief to finally arrive to our house in Kyrgyzstan and know that we will be rooted here in one place for an extended period of time. It is almost a tradition that the first day back from the States there will be a water or electric problem in one's house...sure enough the very first night I woke up to a flood of water in our kitchen as the heating system sprung a leak.
All that aside, we have truly enjoyed seeing our friends, hearing about what has gone with them this past year, and sharing with them about the development of June Cashmere. People smile and exhibit a sense of pride when they see the website and hear about the places around America where Kyrgyz cashmere is on display. I plan to head out to the mountains in about two weeks as I am busy working on a backlog of work at my office in the city due to my absence. I have heard that it has been a pretty harsh winter with 3-5 feet of standing snow out in the high valleys...below are some photos from my trip.
This is the approach to the high mountain pass that uses a serpentine path to zig-zag its way up the steep mountains that separate the lower Alai valley from the high valley of Chong Alai.
On a flight over northern Kyrgyzstan I had the chance to see one of the highest and most beautiful peaks in the country from the plane, Khan Tengri. The mountain’s massive pyramid shape is made from marble and glows red in the sunset which contributed to its local name that can translated as blood mountain.
For more photos and stories about my experiences back in Kyrgyzstan, be sure to follow June Cashmere on Facebook and Instagram.
–Sy