Oh my gosh, this was the best set of scout camp pictures ever! Jeff and Ellis joined other expat boyscouts (truly Boy Scouts of America troops) and dads and moms from around Asia for an nine day Mongolia adventure.
The mongol ponies are small, fast, and due to the crazy wooden saddles, leave their mark on the man for weeks! Jeff and Ellis didn't fare well after a few days in the saddle. I love this picture of Ellis, who is not a large boy, yet looks 6'5" in this picture!
I've added the Mongol Derby 600 mile race link (the video is short and gives views of the amazing landscape of Mongolia) that's called the toughest horse race in the world. The riders get to use their own saddles, it seems, which Ellis noted straight away.
Local co-ed scouts joined the boys for the week, which probably added a little motivation in the daily tasks, but not enough to get Ellis to a shower. Two times! He said he only showered two times in eight days. He came home and said three, but the third one was when they got to the capital, Ulaanbaatar, on the ninth day, just before flying home. I'm not sure why Jeff was even there.
So, these tent-like structures are not called Yurts in Mongolia. Gers are the Mongolian term for these structures. The boys didn't sleep in them, but they did get to construct it, and visit families living in them.
This little girl captured Jeff's attention. I love that face!
The boys said their food at camp was the best camp food ever! They ate traditional Mongolian meals all week, and then had a few extra fun snacks like horse milk and other things they opted to eat without knowing the origin - it's just better that way sometimes.
And, my favorite pictures - the wrestlers! These local guys did a little smack down for the boys. Sumo wrestling with more variety in the attire.
Ellis said this camel just showed up one day, so they tied him up to the tree. I'm guessing this was for safe-keeping until his owner arrived.
No comments:
Post a Comment