Beautiful Lake Hovsgol ! !

Last week Kathy and I went to visit our friend Tom in Lake Hovsgol. Beautiful place! We went with our friends Munguu and Nergui. Tom lives in Hatgal, a small town at the south end of Lake Hovsgol, the largest lake in Mongolia. Kathy and I set our hearts to see some of Mongolia this summer, and we feel happy about what we saw, first in the Gobi desert, and then last week at Lake Hovsgol. There are too many photos to post, so I will post some more later. 

Every place outside of Ulaanbaatar is hard to get to. If you take a bus or car, be ready for a grueling bumpy ride! A bus to Murun, which is three hours south of Hatgal, is 21 hours. Kathy and I opted to fly, which was a good choice and not too expensive. We met Munguu and her mother Nergui there in Murun. From there Munguu's relative drove us to Hatgal, a bumpy but scenic drive of 3 hours. 

In Hatgal we stayed with Tom in his cabin. Great! We had time to hike, take a boat ride on the lake, ride some horses, and spend time with other friends up there and the little church they are part of. We came back to our home well rested and content with the time we had there!

Tom talking with Kathy ...

Kathy in front of the old Russian factory that is being renovated

The entrance to the property Tom lives on

Tom's home :)

Some of the people in the church we visited...

The building the church is using at this time for their gatherings

The Sukhbaatar, the boat the operates on the lake

Munguu and me :)

Tom, Nergui, Munguu, Kathy and me on the lake

Hatgal from a hill we cliimbed

A view of Hatgal from the church building our friends are constructing

Hatgal from across the mouth of the Lake Hovsgol