Finally getting around to adding some more pictures. Flying at night at a very high altitude doesn't provide for a lot of pictures opportunities :) This is looking outside our perimeter fence at a leftover mine field from the Russian days. Every day there are groups of men out there slowly going through the field with little hand shovels. They stack the dirt up in mounds with painted rocks on top. The white painted side of the rock faces the cleared area and if the other side is red that means it is uncleared. So if you are walking around and you see red rocks you are in the wrong place.
Here is a better picture of the piles. This area is all cleared - I missed getting a picture of the red rocks. They don't clear a lot of ground each day but every day they are out there and before I knew it all the rocks were white.
This is about as close as I get to the locals. We just started seeing our first herds of goats and sheep. From what I hear in a few weeks the camel herds will start to show up. Off in the distance you can faintly see 3 Mile Mountain. So named because if you can see it then the visibility is at least three miles and there are no flight restrictions.
Just got around to the 1/12 Nat. Geo & had an article on land mines - mostly focused on Cambodia. Seems you are in the area of most deaths from mines 99-2012 (14m+) - twice as many as Cambodia. There is even a beauty contest for women mine survivors - go figure! Stay! Stay in you camp! This is your father speaking (~:} Cheers!! DAD
ReplyDeleteI certainly don't plan on being anywhere there are mines :). It is a real tragedy the way the Russians scattered mines everywhere on their way out. It certainly has left a lasting legacy - I just heard about one of our soldiers in a convoy that pulled over to do some maintenance on a vehicle and when he stepped out he landed right on a mine. The locals are the ones who really suffer with all the herding and farming they do.
DeleteLand mine clearing...what a rotten job! Are these still armed? I read of kids losing arms and legs..I know next to nothing about land mines. If you can dig them up..are they manually disarmed? Like un-springing a mouse trap?..(which I have never had nerve to do.)
ReplyDeleteThey are armed and I don't know how they disarm them. These guys were all in local dress and they had some body armor with them (not like a bomb suit, just chest protection) but most of the time I saw them sitting on the armor as they leaned forward and dug around in the dirt. A bit more fatalistic than we tend to be :)
DeleteI don't suppose you have time to hang around and check on the camels going by. That is what I would be doing.....if I had the time. (:
ReplyDeleteI would have to make the time and whenever I go by that area I am either going to work or returning from work and neither time do I feel like stopping :). Plus I am usually with others and they are less interested in camels. A couple of days ago we did see a bunch of baby camels and Mariko wanted to stop but I don't think even small camels are that cute :).
DeleteOh well....we have other shared interests so I can let the camels slide. Thanks anyway. (:
ReplyDelete