Leaving the yurt camp we climbed higher into the mountains, finally peaking at 3400 metres. From here it was downhill towards Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. En route we stopped at a Womens Co-operative which sells art and crafts made by local women. I bought myself a wall hanging as a momento of this amazing country. It has definitely been the best of the 4 countries visted so far. A little further on we stop for a display of eagle hunting. Whilst it seems a litte barbaric, it is basically a hunting bird doing what it does naturally. Female eagles are used. Their main prey is rabbits or foxes. They are trained that once they have captured the prey they simply hold it until their master arrives. They make no attempt to start eating unless commaded to do so. They connection between master and bird is obvious. Love, trust and affection to each other is clear. As we got closer to Bishkek the country changed markedly. Flatter and more populated. We had a short walk around the city centre and were fortunate to see the changing of the guard. 2 military personnel stand guard for 1 hour stints at the base of a massive flag pole. The high goose stepping is very typical of the Soviet/communist form of marching. This is effectively the 2nd last day of the tour and the last week seems to have flown by.