The 7 Lakes Of The Fann Mountains

After a bit of a stressful travel day, it wound down with a cold beer and a near picture perfect mountain sunset over the Marguzor Lake. The Fann Mountains came to life with color  with hues or deep red and orange, making it appear as if the mountains were bleeding. The various people in the hostel were friendly and in the end I became friendly with a couple from Czechia, Iiona and Umi, and we shared travel stories while watching the day brilliantly fade away.

Lake and Mountain view from my room's patio

The next morning it was "go time". We all got up early and prepared for the 12 - 15 KM day. Kiori had the bum ankle that was not getting any better but was ready to give it a go. The quest? Heading out of the hostel we were to walk to the opposite end then through a little village. From there we were to steadily hike up towards lake number 7, with another village that we could explore, then off to lake 7. Well that was the plan. The trail was easy enough, a bumpy roadway which meant we had to keep an eye and ear for oncoming vehicles. They could not go over 20 KM so we were going to be fine, unless I tripped over a rock and bounced down the 10 feet to the lakes edge. I stayed on the inside track because.

Setting off..

Kaori started strong, but found a car to give her a ride back

We covered the first half of the hike, to the opposite side in about an hour and a half. Hikers were blowing past us as if they were going to win a cookie to reach Lake 7 before us. Aside from Kaori's bum ankle, going slow and taking it all in is what was appealing to me. Sure, taking excess photos is fun but there was no reason to go fast. We had all day to enjoy ourselves. As we wound around the lake we started to separate. Thomas was a bit of a speed walker, I was doing my thing and Kaori started to lag. We stopped, slowed down, met up, took photos and I was really enjoying myself. Next to diving in clear water, going for a long scenic hike really puts me in my happy place.

We passed through a small village of about 5 houses on the road with plenty more tucked back in and on the mountains. There were two guys watching us until I waved, then with big smiles they came over and offered to give us a ride, for a fee of course. No worries, they see a tourist and figure there is a few coins to be made. We declined, and after a bit of a rest we continued on our way.

A funny kid collecting spring water

This kid was fighting with a very stubborn donkey

A small village home

For whatever reason, we were told that there would be a small market at one of the villages where we could buy some food. Well that did not happen. He did find a tap that the locals were using to get cold glacier water and so without hesitation I filled up my bottle, and drank deeply. It was delicious and if there were parasites waiting to invade my colon, well I would have to wait to see how that went. There were a few fishermen and a group of about 8 guys that were having a BBQ, who paid us no nevermind. We crossed a small bridge where a kids was having a hell of time with a donkey and headed to the next village, where the trail/road started to ascent. Kaori tapped out and I put her under a tree. When someone came by she was going to try and catch a ride back (she did). Thomas and I continued onto the next village in the hopes of finding a bit of food for dinner. (We didn't).

A 15 minute hike up a steep winding trail led us to a fork in the road. To go left, and way up was the way to the 7th lake. To the right was a large village to explore. There was a car parked at the entrance and after a chat he said he had picked up a few tourists from the border crossing who had come to the lakes for a day, and paid $100 each to do it. I met them in the village, along with about 8 others who were hiking and these two could not compute that all of us had walked around the lake. Of the 6 others 4 had come from lake 5, and 2 from lake 4. We done indeed. The village offered nothing but a few photos and a very animated lady who was waving for us to leave. I was not going to argue with an angry local villagers. There were plenty of kids around, and quite a few ladies doing chores, but there were no signs of any men. Later I learned that the men head out into the countryside to farm, fish and do whatever it is they do.

The journey back begins

Photo taken from the hostel of us heading back

The intrepid others headed out of the village and onwards, up the very long inclined trail towards the 7th lake. I did not have the ambition and decided to head back. We set off at 8:30 AM and it was now around 2:30. With a 90 minute hike back I did not want to add another 2 hours. It was a good choice. When we reached the picnic area and filled up with water again, I had an idea. The picnic crew were now fast asleep under the shade of a tree. I figured I could buy some food from them. I walked over and was spotted by one of the guys who sat up. I pointed at the tomatoes, cucumbers and bread, them showed him my money. He just waved it off and made the jester to take some of the food. I again offered money and he smiled and declined. Just like that, I found our food.

food and vodka with fellow travelers

In the end we were greeted by Kaori, who was sitting with Umi and Iiona and we joined them immediately. There was cold beer, warm vodka and Umi had prepared kebabs. I pulled out the break, tomatoes and cucumbers and the feast was on. It turned out Umi was from Afghanistan and he shared some crazy stories about his life and we bonded a bit since I had spent two weeks there. Later on we were invited into the camping area where a local family was having a picnic and asked us to join. There was so much food along with the mandatory vodka and they were incredibly hospitable. The sun went down and I hung around as long as I could. I was tired and dirty from a long day and the 20KM I walked was having a battle with the vodka and beer. I said a small thank you speech to the family (many of whom spoke English) and headed off to bed. An excellent ending to an excellent day.

Clear clean glacier water