16th  June 

Packed up from the campspot and had a procession of cattle pass by as they went to start their day grazing on the hills. 

We had a slow start as the roads were gravelly and rutted. An overlander truck with German plates put out a thumbs up as they passed.

We stopped for lunch around 15 km in, under a soviet era bus stop which offered shade, with a spring just by. As we were eating a kid, about 8, ran up to us and gave us a load of bread warm from the oven. After checking he wasn’t selling it to us, I gave him a kiwi from the shop. 

Then a group of kids, around 10 years old, gathered round, with one of them able to speak some English and communicate. the boy gave us a second kid of freshly baked bread and ran off — he was incredibly shy but also incredibly sweet.

We started climb late in afternoon which was mistake. Hard going. Stopped around 7:40 pm, a bit too late. Cooked lentils and had it with extra loaf of bread from boy.

There was a basin filling up with snow melt or spring water, so I stole a shower in the darkness, using our water pale to splash myself.