My Fab Fifties Life - Intrepid Travel Archives

South & Central America Travel

Beautiful Cuba An Amazing Ten Days

January 23, 2026

Location: Cuba

Why Cuba? Why not! We spent ten days in this surprising country, learning about and loving on the people and culture. This was our third time using Intrepid Travel, and I am sure it won’t be our last. Cuba has long been on our bucket list. Many Americans have trepidation about visiting Cuba, generally based on media reports. But guess what? I felt safer in Cuba than I have in any part of Mexico, or in any of the African countries I have visited. Frankly I felt safer than in many American cities, especially lately. Let me tell you about Beautiful Cuba An Amazing Ten Days.

Support for the Cuban People

As an American, visiting Cuba means declaring your intention for your trip is for Support for the Cuban People. What does this mean? This is an American requirement – one of four reasons you, as a US citizen, can visit Cuba. The others are family visits, educational activities or professional research which includes media. Over the years I have considered using the professional research category as a writer, but decided we would rather do a group tour with a Cuban guide. So that is how we came to book once again with Intrepid Travel. We were not disappointed. Through Intrepid we supported the Cuban people by only staying in privately owned Cuban Guesthouses and only eating at privately owned Cuban restaurants and shopping at privately owned Cuban stores and working with Cuban guides. Beautiful Cuba An Amazing Ten Days

Colonialism, Revolution and Today’s Cuba

The history of this island nation is vast and complicated – difficult to cover in a few paragraphs. But here is my synopsis;

Colonialism

From the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, Cuba became a key colony in the Spanish Empire, valued for its strategic location and fertile land. Spanish rule reshaped the island through the near-destruction of Indigenous Taíno populations and the development of plantation agriculture of primarily sugar cane and tobacco. Large numbers of Africans were brought to the island as slaves to work these plantations. Havana grew into a major port linking the Americas and Europe, while wealth and power remained concentrated among colonial elites loyal to Spain. By the nineteenth century, economic dependence on sugar and slavery fueled social tensions and inspired independence movements. Finally formal independence from Spain came in 1898—though only after U.S. military intervention in the Spanish-American War.

Colonial era buildings are crumbling in Havana

Revolution

In the twentieth century, Cuba’s political trajectory was marked by strong U.S. influence, economic inequality, and authoritarian rule under leaders such as Fulgencio Batista. Although Batista began as a revolutionary, he quickly betrayed the people and became a dictator creating hardships for average Cubans, while creating wealth for the Spanish-descended elite and the US Mafia. These conditions led to the Cuban Revolution of 1959, which brought Fidel Castro to power.

Today

Castro transformed Cuba into a socialist state aligned with the Soviet Union. The revolution dramatically altered Cuban society through land reform, nationalization, and expanded education and healthcare. Though Castro curtailed political freedoms of average Cubans, most Cubans believe his policies of education and healthcare were good for the country. After the Soviet collapse, Cuba endured severe economic hardship yet maintained its socialist system, and today it continues to navigate gradual economic reforms (see below), strained relations with the United States, and ongoing debates about political change and national identity.

Revolution Square and the Presidential Offices

Western Cuba

During my ten day visit we covered a large portion of the western half of the island of Cuba. We did not venture east of Trinidad. See map. Cuba is about the same size of Switzerland and is the largest Caribbean island. Roughly 42,800 square miles, it is comparable in size to U.S. states like Virginia, slightly larger than Tennessee, and a bit bigger than Maine.

Things to Know

We traveled in a nice bus (Chinese made) on mostly comfortable roads, although some of the mountain roads were a bit rough. We have seen much worse though in other countries. Four major issues we noticed as visitors;

1. Blackouts due to an aging infrastructure and lack of fuel due to embargoes. Some cities are completely left in the dark, and businesses, including guesthouses we stayed at, must resort to generators and solar but these are expensive and difficult to acquire.

2. Gas shortages – most people don’t own cars, but trucks, buses and cars are all facing a gas shortage which will get much worse with the situation in Venezuela. Cuba relies heavily on oil from Venezuela.

3. Lack of internet in much of the island. Even major cities like Havana have internet service that is plagued with outages and the country has no solutions currently in the works.

4. Finally and the most difficult is all transactions need to be made in cash. No American credit cards are accepted in Cuba. And your American ATM card will not work in Cuba, even if you can find a working ATM. You must bring US Dollars and exchange them in the country for Cuban Pesos. US dollars are accepted in Cuba, but they must be clean bills in perfect condition.

You must be prepared for these issues if you visit this island nation. It was all worth it though to experience Beautiful Cuba An Amazing Ten Days.

One of our favorite guesthouses in Vinales

Barack Obama and the Cuban Thaw

President Barack Obama made a historic visit to Cuba from March 20-22, 2016, becoming the first sitting U.S. president in 88 years to do so. His visit signaled a new era of normalized relations after decades of hostility. Obama’s visit included a visit with Cuban leader like Raul Castro, a televised address to the Cuban people, and a focus on human rights and ending the U.S. embargo. The trip marked the peak of the “Cuban thaw,” leading to increased travel, trade, and diplomatic engagement, though significant differences on human rights persisted. The Cubans have a great fondness for Obama.

Raul Castro and Barack Obama (Wikipedia)

Unfortunately this era did not last, embargoes have been reinstated and relationship between the current US Administration and Cuba are at one of the lowest points in decades. However, since Covid, more Cubans have been allowed to own private small businesses such as guesthouses and restaurants. These businesses are the ones American visitors are allowed to use as part of the Support of the Cuban People program.

Beautiful Cuba An Amazing Ten Days

My husband and I arrived in La Habana (the actual Cuban name of Havana) one day early just as a precaution for any unforeseen travel delays. We were able to book an extra night at the same privately owned guest house that the group would be staying. We enjoyed an amazing dinner with beer that evening for $8 USD.

Meeting our Intrepid guide the next day (Yummet) and the 12 other Americans on our tour, we knew we were in for a great tour. Our fellow intrepid travelers were fabulous, and as has been our experience with Intrepid in the past, our guide was fun, knowledgeable and on-point.

Most of our amazing group and our guide Yummet

Excellent Travel Partners on our third Intrepid tour

Havana

Highlights of Havana included UNESCO Old Town walking tour, four important squares of the colonial period including the Cathedral Square, Entertainment Square, San Francisco Square and Revolutionary Square. You can’t visit Havana without a driving tour in the beautiful and historic old cars of Havana (learn about these cars here). We toured the Callejon de Hamel where we learned about the local Afro Cuban community and the sub-culture of Santeria. Lunch was incredible at Rum Rum Restaurant – we skipped dinner because we were so full!

Enjoyed our tour in the ’48 Chevy Convertible. Here we are in Revolution Square

Heading West

Into our comfortable bus with guide-extraordinaire Yummet and our incredible driver Marcos we go. Today we head west towards the darling town of Vinales, but first two stops along the way.

Fusterlandia is a tiny bit reminiscent of Park Guell in Barcelona, but not as artistically stunning

We made a brief stop at Fusterlandia just outside of Havana. This neighborhood is completely covered in mosaics, a passion project of artist Jose Fuster. Quirky but also fun. Next we drove several hours west to visit Las Terrasas, a UNESCO Biosphere village, built by the Cuban government as a reforestation project, inhabited by local Cubans caring for the land. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch here with a beautiful view.

Vinales

Arriving in Vinales we were enchanted by this cute, sparkling clean and colorful little village. Two nights here. Before dark we took a quick walking tour of the village then headed to Paradise Farm, a privately-owned farm-to-table restaurant where we enjoyed a spectacular dinner with a view.

Sunset at Paradise Farm overlooking the fields of beautiful fresh grown produce

Next day was a busy and fun one. Starting with a beautiful walk into the astonishing Valle de Vinales National Park with a local guide. Our walk took us to a privately owned coffee plantation where we learned about Cuban coffee then on to a privately owned Tobacco farm where we learned about growing and producing tobacco and the famous Cuban cigars.

Of course the coffee was my favorite part

Getting a lesson on local coffee culture

Back on the bus to Mirador Balcon del Valle where we continued our agricultural theme of this beautiful valley with a cooking class using locally grown produce of sweet potatoes, yucca,cassava, papaya, guava, onion, garlic, and more. It was fresh, healthy and delicious, as was all the food we ate in Cuba. After that big meal we ended our visit to beautiful Vinales learning how to Salsa dance! Hot and sweaty and fun!

Loved our cooking class at Mirador Balcon de Valle

A first for us, Arne and I Salsa together.

Cienfuegos

From Vinales to Cienfuegos was our longest bus ride day. We were kept entertained onboard the bus with an incredible documentary series from Netflix about Cuban history. Fascinating and helpful. In the late afternoon we arrived the famous Bay of Pigs, site of the 1961 failed US invasion. Here we had an opportunity to swim in the Caribbean or just lounge on the beautiful beach before arriving in Cienfuegos and our lovely guest house for one night. In the morning before departing we had a walking tour of the beautiful colonial town of Cienfuegos with free time to shop, see the museum and have some fabulous coffee before departing on to Trinidad.

Bay of Pigs was stunning. I had never imaged it so beautiful.

Bay of Pigs – Beautiful Cuba An Amazing Ten Days

Cienfuegos town square and Cathedral. Beautiful Spanish Colonial town

Trinidad

Driving from Cienfuegos to Trinidad meant going over the Topes de Coyantes mountains, where we encountered the only poor road conditions of our tour. Our driver Marcos was amazing and we barely noticed. High in the mountains we stopped at a tiny privately-owned coffee growing roadside restaurant called Mileidy’s. Here we learned more about how the locals grow and process the local Arabica beans. We also enjoyed possibly the best, yet simple and locally sourced lunch. Adios to our new friends and then on to Trinidad.

We loved our beautiful privately-owned guesthouse in Trinidad, where we had the best WiFi of the entire trip. Right in the old town area of the beautiful Spanish Colonial town of Trinidad. We took a sunset stroll of the old town before enjoying the famous local drink of Canchanchara (yum) followed by dinner at Los Conspiradores.

Loved the rooftop terraces at our Trinidad Guesthouse

Sunset walk on our first night in Trinidad

Beautiful presentation of drinks and food in Trinidad

Famous Cuban cocktail called Canchanchara

Trinidad Day Two

Next morning our guide took us to two museums where we learned more Spanish Colonial history – the Architecture Museum and the Romantic Museum. We had some free time to shop for the beautiful local traditional Trinidad embroidery. I fell in love with it and bought several items. In the afternoon we headed for swim and sun at Ancon beach which included an incredible catered picnic lunch. That evening we were not hungry, so we watched the sunset from a rooftop bar and then enjoyed an early to bed.

Learning the Spanish Colonial Architecture history

The Cuban people are talented and resourceful. This embroidery style began when Sugar Cane plantations were abandoned and slaves needed to earn money

The water was warm and the sun was a nice break from touring

Enjoying Sunset on the terrace of Rin Tin Tin Bar

Santa Clara

It’s our last full day in Cuba as we make our way back west towards Havana. We stop in Santa Clara to learn about Che Guevera. Ernesto “Che” Guevera is revered by many Cubans as a true Marxist revolutionary whose life was dedicated to overturning colonial and US intervention in Latin American countries. He was a brilliant but complicated man who is both revered and reviled depending on which camp you sit in. Because he died young at the hands of CIA-sponsored action in Bolivia, he has become a martyr and the Cuban government has built a small museum, which includes a mausoleum and statue in his memory. We visited this place in Santa Clara before continuing on to Havana.

Farewell

Back in Havana our final night. We have become good friends with the group and our leaders and we are sad to say goodbye. Tonight though we celebrate with a show and dinner with the famous Buena Vista Social Club. Dinner was amazing but the show was the highlight – lively and interesting with lots of audience participation. Unfortunately not many photos of us actually on stage, you will have to take my word for it. 🙂

These two were incredible. I got to dance with this man and he was so amazing. But in case you are wondering…that’s not me dancing in this photo. LOL

Lobster is very common in Cuba, this one I had on our final night.

It was midnight before we went to bed, and my alarm went off at 4:30am for our flight to Cancun. It was all worth it though. A remarkable ten days, learning about this country and removing some of the mystery and misconceptions. I loved its colorful culture, began to understand it’s difficult history and most of all learned to respect it’s resilient people. Beautiful Cuba An Amazing Ten Days.

As usual Intrepid Travel only hires the best – our guide Yummet and our Driver Marcos

Yes You Should

Step out of your box and come to Cuba. Intrepid Travel is a great way to experience a place unlike anywhere else I have ever been. And that is saying something. Put aside your fears and preconceived notions, because I can tell you, you will be pleasantly surprised. Educational, entertaining and safe. Delicious, colorful and enlightening. The culture is musical and bright. The people are talented and patriotic. Cuba is welcoming and fascinating. I have absolutely no regrets. Muchos Gracias Cuba. Viva la Cuba!

See last week’s post, our Ninth Annual World Travel Awards 2025 here. I hope you will continue to follow us as we enjoy a month in Mexico with lots more travel blog posts on the way.

We are always grateful when you pin, share and comment on our posts to help us find even more of a audience of travel enthusiasts. Gracias.

Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan

December 27, 2024

Laureen

Location: Kyrgyzstan

Welcome to the eighth and final installment of a series of eight weekly posts covering the eight countries I visited this fall. My journey was epic and I chose not to write posts while traveling, in an effort to be engaged and present on this amazing odyssey. This is my honest opinion of my personal experience. I hope you will enjoy reading my posts covering all that happened over the two months of travel – The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful. Today I share about Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan.

Adjectives

I can’t come up with enough adjectives to describe the beauty of Kyrgyzstan; resplendent, alluring, breathtaking, glorious, exquisite. Go ahead. Pick one. They all work to describe this tiny country and the scenery and culture.

The Good

Kyrgyzstan’s history, like all the countries we have visited on this tour, has spanned many cultures and empires due to its place on the Silk Road. However, its nearly impenetrable mountains often protected Kyrgyzstan from invasion and kept it isolated. Kyrgyzstan declared independence from the USSR and a democratic government was established. Kyrgyzstan attained sovereignty as a nation state. The Kyrgyzstan gradually developed an executive president and was governed as a semi-presidential republic before reverting to a presidential system in 2021.

Everyone we met was kind and seemed pleased to meet visitors to their country. We were very lucky to enjoy cold but clear days giving us outstanding views of the Central Tian Shin mountains – Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan.

The average monthly salary in Kyrgyzstan is about $250 USD. Gas is about $2.00 USD per gallon. Much of the country is rural and rugged and the capital city of Bishkek is home to more than 1 million of the countries 7 million people.

The Bad

Despite Kyrgyzstan being rich in metals, minerals and petroleum the people are still generally poor. Kyrgyzstan’s major exports include gold, cotton, wool, garments, meat, mercury, uranium, electricity, machinery, and shoes. There is corruption and ethnic racism issues. Lack of healthcare and terrorism threats are major problems for Kyrgyzstan’s population.

Where Are We?

After four weeks traveling together with Intrepid Travel and our group, arriving in our final country of Kyrgyzstan gave us mixed emotions. It was now late October and fall was definitely turning to winter; snow was visible on the mountains throughout our visit.

As mentioned in last week’s post (see it here), the border crossing between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan was a freezing cold scramble. But I tried to remind myself – as I stood in the bitter wind waiting to be processed by the custom agent – I would never be here again. Walking across a remote border, pummeled by wind, pulling my suitcase through gravel…not something everyone gets to do. Memorable for sure.

Kyrgyzstan is a small uniquely shaped country surrounded by mountains. To the north is Kazakhstan. To the east and south, China. Also to the south Tajikistan, and to the west Uzbekistan. We spent our visit along the northern border between Karakol and Bishkek. The topography keeps Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan rural.

Karakol

After crossing the border we arrived in the small former Soviet Military Post town of Karakol. Today Karakol is known for its proximity to ski areas, and receives visitors from many countries in the ski season. We even found a sticker from the Pacific Northwest in a small coffee shop.

On arrival in Karakol we had lunch and then had some time to wander around the small town. We enjoyed some beautiful and strange architecture, picked up some treats at the grocery store, and bought some lovely souvenirs at a small shop featuring local hand-made goods. Felting is a popular local handicraft and a perfect gift to take home.

We checked into our family run hotel which was really lovely, and after a long day Arne and I chose to skip dinner and have an early night. Next morning a delicious breakfast was served before we loaded up the van again and were off.

Before leaving the Karakol area we made a brief stop to visit the historic Dungan Mosque built in 1910. It has a unique Chinese style and was built without any nails – using a special cut and groove technique.

We then made another quick stop to visit the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, a beautiful Russian Orthodox Church made from wood and still in operation today.

On our way out of town we stopped at a small park overlooking Issy Kul Lake that honors Nickolay Przhevalskiy who died in Karakol. Przhevalskiy was an explorer who traveled widely in Central Asia and Mongolia and documented and mapped the region.

Jeti Orghus Canyon

Now we settled in for a long drive into the gorgeous mountainous region surrounding the Issyk Kul Lake area. First we stopped to admire the picturesque geological feature roadside called the Seven Bulls. As amazing as that was, we soon learned there was much more in store.

Driving a short while further we arrived at a hiking location in the Jeti Orghus Canyon. It was a beautiful sunny and cool day, and we hiked up into the hills passing summer cabins and yurts. The views were amazing. Some went even further to a waterfall. Such a great hike and we worked up an appetite.

Oopsy!

We headed back to the van to have a picnic lunch but we discovered our van had gotten into a soft spot and was really stuck. Our wonderful driver was trying so hard to solve the issue before we returned. It took about an hour but with the strong backs of some of our fellow travelers (as well as some of the engineer types putting their heads together) we were freed from the mud and eventually on our way. Luckily the weather was good and we all enjoyed another unexpected adventure.

Onward

As much as I enjoyed this beautiful location and hike, our next stop was mind blowing. Skazka, in English Fairy Tale Canyon, was so unexpected. Literally appearing like a red mirage out in the middle of the mountains, this geological formation was very reminiscent of Arches or Bryce Canyon National Park in the USA. We had some time to walk around in the maze of trails here, both with our guide Svetlana and on our own. I loved it so much and once again we were lucky with the cold dry weather. Such a treat.

Almaluu Yurt Camp

After this wonderful day we continued along the somewhat desolate road that runs along Issyk Kul Lake. This lake is one of the largest in the world at 178km long and 60 km wide. It definitely feels more like an ocean. We arrived at the wonderful Almaluu Yurt Camp just a short walk from the lake. Although in October the camp had only our group and one other, it has dozens of yurts for groups and individuals. The yurts were huge, with coal burning stoves, shared toilet and shower facilities, and a spectacular giant yurt for meals. We would spend two cozy nights here and we really enjoyed it, including the gorgeous views.

Adventure and Education

We woke up to chilly temperatures and after a delicious hot breakfast we headed out for an unexpectedly amazing day. When reading the days itinerary before hand, I would never have expected this day to turn out to be one of my favorites from the entire trip.

Eagles

Our driver took us off road out to a large open space, where we met a local man and his Golden Eagle. We learned the importance of eagle hunting in Kyrgyzstan, and still today there is a small group of 50 expert Master Eagle Trainers and hunters. Most have learned the art from their fathers. In addition to hunting and showing the tourists, an annual gathering called the Nomad Games takes place with competition for traditional cultural skills including eagle hunting, yurt building and more.

Such an interesting lesson in local culture – Master Eagle Hunters

We learned that the ancient art of eagle hunting is a UNESCO recognized cultural heritage activity and goes back thousands of years. Eagles that are used are always female. They begin their training about three months old. They are not pets. When they are twenty years old they are released back into the wild and assimilate well and will reproduce until they die – usually around 45 years old. This eagle we had the opportunity to get to know is three years old. She was beautiful and smart.

I had some trouble – this bird was heavier than I expected!

Make Your Own Yurt

Well I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, but what a fun we had learning how to make a yurt. Honestly it wasn’t all that hard…like putting up a tent with a few more details to take care of. We visited the home of a family of yurt-making professionals. Our hosts make yurts for people all over the world, and man now I want one. Each yurt is made in several parts that can easily be taken up and down and moved from location to location…just as the nomads used to do. The yurts are sturdy and warm. We learned the process from cutting the wood to weaving the decorative elements and then how it all goes together in a matter of about 30 minutes.

Look at the carpet and walls – functional and beautiful

Yurts were a important part of nomad life in Kyrgyzstan and surrounding regions. They are still used today for lodging and guest houses but rarely as a full home in Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan. It was a full and fabulous day. Back to our own Yurt Camp for a special relaxing dinner, including some local alcoholic specialties Svetlana acquired for us. We slept very well.

Final Day

It was our final full day in Krygyzstan and our final day on this amazing four week tour. When we signed up for this tour I was worried four weeks would be too much. It wasn’t. We were continually stimulated, inspired and entertained. It had been a marvelous experience.

We had a very early morning departure for the long drive to the capital city of Bishkek. After checking into our older but comfortable hotel we headed out for a walking tour of the city. Bishkek is a fairly modern city in the Chu River Valley. It is the capital of Krygyzstan. Our walking tour took us to several monuments and important buildings as well as parks. The best part was the changing of the guard which takes place every hour.

Farewell

Kyrgyzstan was authentic, beautiful and so worth it

Our final night on the tour, we all gathered together for a farewell dinner. I have not shared images of the entire group in any of my blog posts, because I forgot to ask permission from my fellow travelers. And I know one person in particular wasn’t keen on photos. I take that seriously. But I will say we felt very blessed to have such an amiable group, and especially to have such an outstanding guide. Intrepid Travel has my loyalty and I am sure we will travel with them again in the future.

The Five Stans; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were better than I imagined. As I’ve said in the past, it’s always our goal to travel with low expectations and then be pleasantly enchanted. I’ve been asked which of the five were my favorites? It’s a very difficult question; Uzbekistan had amazing architecture. Kazakhstan had amazing food and mountains. And Kyrgyzstan had spectacular scenery. My gratitude cup runneth over. Yes I am one lucky girl.

I hope you have enjoyed this 8 part series. I have enjoyed writing it. Thank you for your continued support, all your comments and questions. You are a great audience to My Fab Fifties Life adventures.

Thank you for reading Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan. Please see last week’s post about Incredible Kazakhstan here. Stay tuned for more! Our next departure day is January 16th! I wish you all the happiest of New Years. I hope 2025 brings you good health and many travel adventures.

We love it when you comment, pin and share our blog posts. Happy New Year.

Incredible Kazakhstan – The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful

December 20, 2024

Laureen

Location: Kazakhstan

Welcome to the seventh of a series of eight weekly posts covering the eight countries I visited this fall. My journey was epic and I chose not to write posts while traveling, in an effort to be engaged and present on this amazing odyssey. This is my honest opinion of my personal experience. I hope you will enjoy reading my posts covering all that happened over the two months of travel – The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful. Today I share about Incredible Kazakhstan The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful.

It’s Huge

Kazakhstan is a land locked country in Central Asia. Most people don’t know much about it, or realize it is the ninth largest country in the world! It is the largest landlocked country and has a population of 20 million and one of the lowest population densities in the world, at fewer than 6 people per square kilometer. Kazakhstan was the fourth of the five Stan countries we visited on our tour with Intrepid Travel. We spent our time in the Southeast part of the country. We would have needed a few more weeks to see the rest of this diverse and beautiful nation. A remarkable place Incredible Kazakhstan The Good The Bad and the Beautiful.

Kazakhstan borders Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

A Little History

The word Kazakh derives from Russian, meaning “to wander” and refers to the nomadic people of the region.

Kazakhstan has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era. In antiquity, it was dominated by multiple nomadic tribes. In the 13th century, Genghis Khan plundered and subjugated the people. Kazakh Khanate was established over an area roughly corresponding with modern Kazakhstan in the 15th century. By the 18th century, the Kazakh Khanate tribes were absorbed and conquered by the Russian Empire; by the mid-19th century, all of Kazakhstan was nominally under Russian rule. In 1936, its modern borders were established with the formation of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan was the last constituent republic of the Soviet Union to declare independence in 1991 during its dissolution. (Wikipedia)

The Bad

Almaty was the capital of Kazakhstan when the USSR fell in 1991. But in 1998 Aqmola in the north became the capital of Kazakhstan for its more central location and was renamed Astana, which means “capital city” in Kazakh. In 2019, the name was changed to Nur-Sultan in honor of the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazabyev however is described as a dictator for his long, brutal autocratic rule. The Kazakh people protested the naming of the capital city honoring a man not admired and In September 2022, the name was changed back to Astana. This grassroots protest was highly unusual and marked a change in policies for the country. During this violent period protesters also demanded the return of cap on gas prices. Dissatisfaction with the government and poverty fueled the demonstrations.

During our visit, we did not travel to Astana or beyond the Almaty region. I’d like to perhaps in the future.

Kazakhstan is rich with oil, natural gas and many minerals including uranium but the average monthly salary for the people of this country is about $500 USD. Gas prices currently are about $2 a gallon – some of the lowest in the world. We only ate in a couple restaurants but a meal for two was about $15 USD.

The Good

We loved our time in the Almaty region. Some of the friendliest people on our tour we met here. We arrived in Almaty via a flight from Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Our arrival was late at night, and entering the country was easy and well organized. We had a nice modern hotel in Almaty and headed straight to bed after the late flight.

Almaty

Our lovely guide Svetlana let us sleep in a little, but after a quick breakfast we were off for a full day. First stop was the Issyk Cultural Historical Museum about 60km east of Almaty. Here we learned about the Golden Man – Kazakhstan’s National Symbol. This warrior was uncovered in a Saka Tomb and dates to the 5th Century. This indeed in itself is a great story…BUT this is not a man. DNA shows 100% the remains are a female, likely a Princess. However, the government has chosen to continue to present the symbol as a male. The museum presents the story as male, but since we had such a marvelous guide, she shared the truth with us. So many male egos… it annoyed me.

The Golden Man (who is actually a woman)

Burial Mounds at the Cultural Historic Museum

Sunshine

It was a beautifully sunny fall day and so I put my annoyance away as we headed next to the Issyk Lake. This lake was a resort area for Almaty area people but in 1963 a landslide washed away the dam, resorts and summer camp and killed many people. Today the lake sits silent and blue and is a very easy hike from the parking lot below.

This amazing first day in Kazakhstan wasn’t over yet. In fact, we would end this day with one of my most favorite things of the entire trip. We arrived at the home of Slava, and the beautiful outdoor setting where we would be wined and dined into the evening. Slava Almaty is a family home and winery, creating gastronomic events for visitors. We enjoyed the wine, several courses including making our own pizza, lots of laughs and a perfect ending with fresh coffee and homemade grappa. An unforgettable day.

Quail, Pumpkin and Mushroom cooked in the outdoor oven

City Tour

Day two dawned a bit cold, and we could see the snow low on the Tien Shin Mountains around Almaty from our hotel room. We pulled out the outerwear and headed out for a full day walking around Almaty. Almaty has a good subway system and we used the metro to get around the city. We visited Republic Square and the Independence Monument while learning from Svetlana about Almaty and Kazakhstan recent past. We really enjoyed our tour of the Central State Museum of Kazakstan particular the wonderful textile and traditional costume displays.

Historic clothing at Central State Museum

Despite the chilly temperatures we road the gondola up Kok Tobe Hill for views overlooking the city. It would have been better on a clear day, but we still enjoyed it and used the free time to pick up some fun gifts to take back home to friends and family.

History Remembered

Ending our day we walked through the very Soviet style Glory Memorial. This immense and beautiful monument remembers those who bravely sacrificed their lives on November 16, 1941. These soldiers destroyed 18 German tanks and halted the enemy’s advance. The twenty-eight soldiers were posthumously honored as Heroes of the Soviet Union.

We finished our walking tour at the beautiful Zenkov Cathedral (also known as Ascension Cathedral), a wooden Russian Orthodox church built in 1907. The church claims to be the second tallest wooden church in the world at 56 meters and was built without nails. Luckily it survived both the 1911 earthquake the Soviet era when it was used as a museum. It has had multiple restorations over the past fifty years and today is back in the hands of the Russian Orthodox Church and welcomes worshipers and visitors alike.

The Beautiful

Day Three in beautiful incredible Kazakhstan we left the city to explore the astonishing beauty of this region. Had we more time, my husband and I would have loved to spend weeks hiking the mountains of Kazakhstan. But we did feel lucky to be headed out into nature for the next couple of days. It was a long drive, but well worth it to our first stop Charyn Canyon.

Very reminiscent of Arizona or Utah, this breathtaking canyon lies about 120 miles from Almaty on the Kazakhstan-Chinese border. Worth the long drive on small winding roads, Charyn Canyon gave us some hiking opportunities and we reveled in the natural beauty. The destination at the bottom of the canyon was the Charyn River, cutting its way through the soft sandstone of the valley. It was both a hiker’s and a photographer’s dream. We felt lucky to have a dry day for this wonderful excursion. We loved our time here and were falling in love with Kazakhstan. By the time we were back in our van ready to go the sun was setting and we had another hour more drive to our night’s lodging.

Hiking and Homestay

Over the next two nights we stayed in a home stay, with apartment style accommodations and excellent food. Our host made sure we tried several local Kazakh foods including Baursak, a fried dough and Besbarmak a meat and noodle dish which is the national dish of Kazakhstan.

Besbarmak a meat and noodle dish is the national dish of Kazakhstan

The next day we were up early to do more hiking, this time at beautiful Lake Kaindy. This lake has an interesting history. It is a mountain lake in Kazakhstan’s portion of the Tian Shin Mountains. The lake was formed after an earthquake in 1911, which caused a major landslide, effectively creating a natural dam. Successively, rainwater filled the valley and created the lake.

Getting up to Lake Kaindy from our valley accommodations was interesting. The “road” up to the park requires a special all-wheel drive vehicle. A cottage industry has developed for visitors. Old style Soviet “breadloaf” busses can be hired for the bumpy and a bit crazy drive up the rocky road. Once we arrived though, the color of the lake made it worthwhile. The trails were really muddy, but it still was a good work out and a wonderful hike.

Hiking with horses on the same trail made the trail very muddy and messy

More Turquoise Lakes

After lunch back at the home stay we headed out again to another lake for a less strenuous hike. Lake Kolsay is much more easily accessed and is a very popular weekend destination for people from Almaty. It was pretty cold but we bundled up and did a loop on the wooden boardwalk around the lake. Some of our group took out paddle boats. We enjoyed the birds here too as well as seeing the interesting looking local squirrel. Time to head back to our home stay for a delicious dinner and early to bed. Our final night in Kazakhstan.

Local squirrel. We loved his ears and color.

Incredible Kazakhstan

In the morning we headed out early for the long drive to cross the border into Kyrgyzstan – our final Stan of the tour. We drove on a high plateau with stunning mountain and river views before arriving at a desolate border crossing. On foot we made our way through one of the smallest border controls I have ever seen – entirely outdoors. The wind was howling and the temperatures were hovering around freezing as we trudged from Kazakhstan exit controls about 50 yards to Kyrgyzstan entry. Even the luggage scanner was just under a small cover. Surprisingly, despite the cold, the border officers on both sides were friendly and welcoming. After our van went through all the controls, we piled back in to get warm but laughing about another memorable experience. Incredible Kazakhstan. So glad we came!

The drive to the border was so beautiful

Thank you for reading my post Incredible Kazakhstan – The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful. Please come back next week for my final Stan post as I share about Kyrgyzstan. Be sure to read last week’s post about Tiny Tajikistan.

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