This weekend was full of outdoor adventures. I went on the Hash on Saturday afternoon and then on the day hike with Gulya's Outdoor Adventures today. I'm going to be a bit sore tomorrow!! But the scenery is amazing here, and the weather is too good not to enjoy it outside! It's been sunny and in the mid 70's during the day - and chilly at night. From what I've heard mid to late November it will get much colder although perhaps not below freezing until mid to late December. But the rains will begin around that time, too, at which time I don't think I'll be quite so interested in spending so much time outdoors!The first few pictures here are from Saturday's Hash. We drove toward the north of Dushanbe (further north than I had been so far) and then took a turn and as before, it got rural very quickly. This first picture is from where we started (where we parked the cars). This is looking down (yes we had already gone up a bit on very dusty roads). You can see cows grazing and an immese powerline.
This next picture is looking back towards "downtown" Dushanbe.
I still am amazed at these mountains all around. Coming from fairly "flat" northern Virginia (well, yes, I have been out to see the Shannandoah Mts), and New Jersey, I just don't see sights like this too often! In a way it reminds me of the brief time I spend in Tuscon, AZ, but it feels so much different!
I'm not sure if every Hash House has its own phrase or saying, but on the t-shirts for the Dushanbe Hash, it says "Hashing on the roof of the world". Granted, Dushanbe isn't quite the Pamirs in Tajikistan (which really is the roof of the world), but seeing all these mountains - and going up into the mountains is really amazing - and puts things into perspective!
Speaking of perspective, here is at neat shot (at least I thought so), showing the cars from where they were parked at the beginning of the Hash against the mountains, from where we were along the hash.
And, yes, for those of you wondering, I do now own my very own Dushanbe Hash House Harriers T-shirt. This year they were/are lime green (almost a neon green) - which is actually good...if I fall too far behind on one of the Hashes, I'm easy to find!! :)
I'm trying to be productive with my internet usage here (my internet plan is by the minute), so while my pictures are uploading (which is really quite slow!), I'm typing my text..... so pardon the non-sequitor!
As I look at this picture again, it almost looks like sand dunes in the foreground. But no, it's hard-packed, sun-baked dirt - very dry and extremely dusty. In a way, it will be great when the rains come, as the rain should get some of the dust out the air (and out of my clothes) and I won't be tracking so much into my apartment all the time.
For anyone who clicked on the picture and looked at it larger, and might have been wondering about the different color license plates (and for the rest of you, I'm telling you anyways): red=diplomatic plates, blue=UN, green = NGO (so far, I've seen OSCE, MercyCorp, Oxfam, RedCross/RedCrescent, Aga Khan Foundation (big presence - just opened a huge new facility and "His Higness" the Aga Khan was here for the opening)).
It's interesting that the best word for it is 'dust' - but it's not like the dust that would accumulate in my apt. in Arlington (ie grey, fluffy stuff). This is very fine reddish-brown dirt that gets in *everything*!!
Great - my next picture uploaded! Here is a view again of the cars (from further away and further along the Hash). You can also see to the right of the cars a huge electrical power plant - which is also totally dwarfed by the surrounding landscape.Okay, I think that's it for now! I'm also going to try to get some pictures up this evening from my Sunday Hike - but first I need to get dinner going.
As always, thanks for looking and listening (or rather, reading!) Please comment and stay in touch!!!
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