World Adventure

Hi All,

It was a nice drive out to lake Baikal and angara river, the only river to exit the lake. The river wasn't frozen but there was pancake ice on the edges and the frames of deciduous trees dripping with ice and the ground was covered with snow. The old traditional wooden houses fitted into the lovely rustic atmosphere. It looked fantastic. Then we turned and entered Listvyanka, the closest town on lake Baikal, and this idealistic image disappeared to some extent but was still nice.

We drove through the town and up a valley to our accomodation which was purched upon a hill and gave us views over the lake. My image was that we would be in a cabin beside the lake so was disappointed but the reality was that it was a great view and the wooden building was quite warm.

The temperature was warmer than Irkutsk which was a relief. So we headed out after getting settled at the guesthouse to head back to a particularly scenic area at the start of the angara river. Sure we could have just caught a bus but we decided to walk the 4km each way. It was worth the walk back the the almost white forest area that we had seen on the drive. We could see the town of port baikal on the otherside of the river. This is where the original trans siberian railway continnued after the lake baikal crossing on an ice breaking ship. This is no necessary as the railway was changed and the ice breaker sunk anyway. Fireworks started were going off nearby which seemed pointless as it was still light. It is legal to purchase and light fireworks in Russia despite 1 in 7 people being classified as alcoholics. We had a long walk back and just got to the guest house before dark. Marathon walk on the ice and snow.

The road up from the lake to the guest house has been quite a challenge as it is sloping covered with ice which is then covered with snow so walking on the edge of the road where the snow is thickest is the best option.

It was new years eve and we had booked in for a meal at the guesthouse. We expected that we would be eating with Russians and it might be an interesting evening. Then we heard some voices and laughter from the room next to us. That sounded like...No...Yes...definately...Australians. We got a head start on the party by finishing off our Finish black russians mix. When we went up to the dining area for the 11pm start we found that there were 4 other Australians and a New Zealander, 2 Italians, 2 token Russians. 3 Australians/New zealander from Canberra, 1 from Melbourne, 1 from Darwin and 2 from Newcastle. Most were from a tran siberian package tour. So it turned out to be a great gathering for us.

The night went well with plenty of Vodka toasts; Russian food; Russian red wine; a Russian shaking the champaigne bottle then opening it with explosive consequences; fireworks in the backyard falling over and narrowly clearing the guest house and observers; Games; fireworks up and down the valley with some blasts (perhaps dynamite) so strong that they set off car alarms; A minority drank the majority of the drinks and some paid later for the effort.

The host booted us out of the dining room at 3am. Party over.

Next day.

Breakfast was at 11am. Tracey the group leader was not so perky the next day.The group was heading back to Irkutsk to catch the train to Moscow and would be on it for 5 days.

We had the timing to visit the lake perfect for the ice formation. Overnight the lake that only had ice on the edges suddenly ice had formed where a large body of water had formerly been and it extended out for about 400m from the shore as far as could be seen.

We walked in the opposite direction to the previous day and had a quick look at the fish market before heading back to the guesthouse for a lazy afternoon where we listened to music and watched 'pirates of the carribean III'.

Powered up our trusty travel kettle, 600W, 400ml for some noodles for dinner. I think it is illegal to use kettles in hotel rooms and possibly guest houses so we don't leave it out during the day.

Next day.

The lake ice continued to grow overnight and it was hard to visually determine the outer edge. I guess that the lake had exhausted the remainder of it's stored heat and hence the rapid change. It was already thick enough to carry the weight of careless Russian youth.

It was snowing today so the increased humidity made the temperature feel colder and the wind was also adding its bit. We went out walking to look for some old russian wooden houses about 2km away but had to turn back as I was feeling the cold and we decided to return to the guest house and warm up. Along the way we spotted a baikal seal display which had shows every hour and having not seen any signs of seals at the lake decided that it was our best chance. So we got back and warmed up relaxed a little.

We then headed to the seal show. The freshwater seals are quite small relative to other seals that I have seen previously. They seemed to be about 1.2m long. The pool was quite small but adequate for the two seals and trainer to show off. There was a clever seal who obviously was the star of the show and a tryhard seal that could almost but not quite get the tricks correct. Vanessa was taking a few images before getting warned that there was no pictures allowed. Later we found the sign on the day written in Russian. The show lasted for half and hour and then we headed off to look at the old russian wooden houses and elaborate carvings.

There were plenty of Russian families enjoying the cold and the focus was a carved ice fun park with ice slide among other things. More and more families streamed into the area as we were out walking.

A little further along we came across a man on the ice besides a large rectangular hole pulling a large rope. We thought he might be fishing but then the telltale bubbles of a diver showed in the hole then a blue glove on the edge and a diver pulled himself out of the water. More bubbles and another diver also came out of the hole in the ice! I had been watching with my camera ready and took a few shots before my finger tips became so sore that I had to warm them up under my armpit. One of the perils of the cold. We walked a bit further and found the area with the old wooden houses but they were really no better than those in the street where out guesthouse was located so we headed back with the fading light finding a couple of ice tigers along the way.
 
Tomorrow we head back to Irkutsk to catch the train to Ulan Ude.

Bye,
David and Vanessa