Russia: Severobaikalsk

Thursday 17th August

As mentioned already, everything in our time capsule called the Trans Siberian train, operates in MT. At 02h00am [7am actually], we were all woken up to the loud strains of Russian pop songs! In 1hr we arrive in Severobaikalsk at the far northern end of Lake Baikal. The scenery has changed dramatically during the night and we are surrounded now by wonderful bubbling rivers and mountains!! Something we haven't seen much of since Zakopane and Tatras in Poland. The vast, endless flat plains of Siberia end here and the "Blue Eye of Siberia", the world's oldest and deepest lake, takes it's place. Lake Baikal is 1637m deep, is 636km long, up to 60km wide and contains roughly 20% of the planets fresh water. Severbaikalsk town isn't too much to rave about, being a very rundown and poor place. The old concrete soviet blocks of flats abound in addition to entire shanty towns of ugly, crooked wooden houses. We heard that a few years back this lakeside town was a thriving and happening place, with the pavement cafe culture and everything that goes with it. Today, and what we are seeing, is a place where a handful of rich businesses have all but squeezed the "little guys" out, leaving in it's wake a depressed, sad town filled with drunken bums and bored kids. Very sad indeed.

The Northern End of Lake Baikal

We discovered a small hotel, a former youth centre, and checked in for a couple of nights. The Russian ladies who welcomed us are fantastic. No word of English of course but somehow we managed to understand each other. They just giggle with amusement as we all try to get our messages across! For the first time in over a week we had a SHOWER!! but.... it was cold!! No hot water here! Desparate to get clean we had no choice.. can't be choosy. It was a numbing but refreshing experience tho'!!

Friday 18th August

Our main mission today was to seek out a man called Rashit Yakhin, somebody who had been recommended to us, to help us sort out our intended hydrofoil trip down Lake Baikal - from top to bottom. We had his address and discovered that he lives about 10 minutes from where we are staying. Off we went and saw that we had to negotiate the highly confusing rabbit warren streets of one of the higgeldy-piggeldy wooden villages. The entire morning turned into an adventure all of it's own. We traipsed up and down, in and around, lengthwise, horizontal-wise, vertical-wise and every which way, but couldn't find the house we wanted. The house numbering system defies logic [at least to us] and if you find a legible street name, you score an extra point! Instead of getting all frustrated we made the outing into a sort of selfmade tour! It was fascinating to observe life here. Every single home has an extensive backyard filled to capacity with home grown fruit and vegetables and piles of wood. Being a country that reaches minus 45 or more in winter, everybody has to prepare for that, so therefore cultivates and stocks up on reserves to get them through the bitterly cold winter months. With the Siberian winter only a few months away the village was a hive of activity. These wooden villages, we think, also disguise the apparent wealth of some folk who maybe don't wish to be seen as more affluent than other. Anyway, after at least 3hrs of not finding Rashit, we went back to our hotel and organised to use their phone. We arranged to meet him at 3pm, but called a taxi to take us there! When even the taxi couldn't find the place properly, we felt a lot better!! We eventually saw a lady, who happened to be Rashit's wife, waving and beckoning to us from down the muddy street. We were warmly welcomed into their home and met the man we'd heard a lot about from a fellow traveller, Scott Simon. I need to explain here that Rashit suffered from an immobilizing stroke about 15 years ago so his actions, responses and speech are quite slow. This however has not taken away the very tangible spirit and passion for life of this remarkable man. He led us into his cosy office and immediately wanted to know all about us, the first people from South Africa he's met. We then explained why we'd sought him out and for 4hours he offered endless help, informatin and suggestions for our stay in Russia and the Baikal area specifically. He also shared some the wildly exciting ideas he has for planning Siberian winter excursions for tourists. Stuff like 10-day "trails" which would include some snow walking, sledging across the frozen lake Baikal, sleeping in big 12-man tents and generally introducing the whole concept of mid-Siberian winter adventure treks. The enthusiasm for life that this man exudes is awesome. He may be 90% immobile but his mind most definately works at a fast pace. We were so inspired by the tales he told that the 4hrs slipped by in the blink of an eye. An incredible man who touches your heart in the warmest way. It was such a pleasure to meet a man like this and his unforgetable personality has made a lasting impression on both of us.

Saturday 19th August

As a result of our visit to Rashit yesterday, we have now arranged our hydrofoil trip down the lake, starting next Wed, 4 days time. Hence we'll be in Severobaikalsk for a further few days. There isn't too much to do around here except lakeside hikes or boat trips. The latter being on the pricey side, left us with the walking option - BUT the weather here is changing very quickly. The rain is setting in, it's rather cold, even icy at night, so walking isn't too pleasant. However, walk we did!! We came across some very colourful wooden houses close to the lake and found some other wooden homes with the most intricately carved designs. A rain downpour appeared from nowhere, so we found shelter in an upturned rusty container! Then to the little beach situated on a tiny spit next to Lake Baikal. The views across the lake towards the mountains on the other side are like looking out into the vast seas of the Atlantic or Indian oceans. this lake is enormous...!Once again the rain appeared, we sheltered beneath the wrought iron umbrellas and watched as the grey misty rain swept it's way across the lake. Back in the relative warmth of the hostel, David cooked up a storm in the kitchen and produced a wonderfully welcome, wholesome and healthy curry!

Sunday 20th August

The rain is still pouring down today and it's a nasty icy rain! It's hard for us to believe that winter weather starts so early here....brrr... and this hostel has no hot water at all. In fact we've never experienced such freezing cold water coming out of the tap. The hands actually ache from it!! We didn't do much at all except some internet [on highly frustrating PC's which were slow and kept dropping the line].

Monday 21st August

Walking around the markets today we bumped into our new friend, Rashit, who was searching out a new tyre for his wheelchair. We chatted for a bit before continuing on our way but not without promising that we would email him from Irkutsk with feedback on our hydrofoil trip. As colder weather is definately on the way, David wanted to buy a real good Siberian winter jacket. I have cold weather stuff so am OK, but really wouldn't mind finding a nice pair of thick, woolly Siberian boots! Wonder if I'll ever wear them in SA tho?? We returned to the hostel to find it filled with Russian army guys who kind of just took over the place!! A rather hectic bunch of beer/vodka drinkers!