Wackan
From Khorog we set off on our Pamir Adventure... just not on the Pamir Highway yet. We took the South road toward Afghanistan (and along the border) through villages and forts and check points. We stopped at the Bibi Fatima hot springs (again witnessing the generosity of people just wanting to feed and water us!) which I actually got in and loved (there was another spring that Sam enjoyed but the women's was a bit too busy for my liking!).
We stopped at an incredible old fort, still active (!), with National service guards on top, eyeing the shared waters between us and Afghanistan, all seemingly way below 20 yoa and armed with automatic weapons. They were ridiculously excited to see us (especially me I think!) and thrust their guns at us for selfies!
Over the course of 3 nights we stayed in tiny village home stays, visited forts, rode donkeys (I admired a passing donkey - this was considered a flea for a ride, they all laughed as a plodded along at 2mph shouting, 'how do I make it stop!?')... We walked from one village to the next, a walk that should have taken 1 or 2 hours took us 4 because people kept inviting us in for tea! After the THIRD stop we had to start refusing as the light was starting to go! The hospitality was incredible we were even fed (multiple times!) in true traditional style. We saw traditional ploughing in action (with cows!) and even spotting a few petroglyph images being dropping down a steep ravine to our home stay!
I haven't even mentioned the incredible mountains, or the traditional festival we came across (a girl that was translating a little for me detailed that the presenter was asking a famous village elder his opinion on incest!!!??), or the dancing lesion in Ishkashin, or the random chats with communists, or the many camels we spotted across the river in Afghanistan....
Basically, the Wackan valley was brilliant and we still weren't finished. We carried on out of the valley back up onto the Pamir highway!