Irkutsk and Lake Baikal

Irkutsk is probably the main city in Siberia and the closest to Lake Baikal which is the reason that we got off the train really.

We got off reeking and wanting a shower but it took us ages to find the hostel and when we did the guy wasn't there so we had to call him. I could have cried!! We did get in eventually and to be fair the place was nice and clean and more like an apartment than a hostel. The place doesn't seem that well known because there was only one other couple here. It was just as well because all we wanted to do was relax, do some laundry and have a SHOWER!!

The next day we decided to see what Irkutsk had to offer. We started off around noon and had everything in the guidebook covered by 3.00 pm. Town doesn't have a whole lot going on for the budding traveler. One of the things it is famous for is the Decemberist's movement and we spent an hour walking to the museum, only to find it closed.

Basically the Decemberists were a bunch of aristocrats and liberal leaning army officers who staged an unsuccessful coup against Tsar Nicholas I. For their sins they were exiled to Irkutsk. Their wives and families followed them out here and set up home. They did alot of good here with regards to education and health. Not enough obviously to keep the museum open though!!

To be honest Irkutsk hasn't a whole lot going on for it. The streets are poorly lit and after dark you'd be inclined to stay indoors. It is famed for its old wooden style houses, but alot of these have fallen into disrepair. We were too liberal with the time we spent here and should have headed to Baikal sooner.

We booked the 3 day tour to Olkon Island that was on display in the hostel. Olkan Island is the lakes biggest island and the journey there took almost 7 hours by bus, this was mostly because of the dirt tracks we had to cross to get there. The island itself is about 70 km long with a population of 1500 people or so. There was no paved roads or running water on the island, so our comfortzone with regards bathroom facilities was well and truly non-existent.

We were staying in a homestay in the village of Khuzhir. The homestay was a fairly typical house on the island and we were treated to the first of our home cooked meals on the island, Omul. Omul is a fish that is only found in Lake Baikal and is the staple part of the diet here. In fact 80% of all the flora and fauna in the lake cannot be found anywhere else. The lake itself is 636 km long and 60 km wide, and stunning!! It freezes over in the winter to about 1m thick and it is possible to drive over it. The poses its own problems for the island though, or more importantly the livestock, as when it freezes it brings wolves from the mountains on the far shore. The locals spend their winters shooting these.

Next day we were picked up by Andrei, a big lump of a local lad in an ex-Russian Army Jeep. The Jeep looked like an old VW Hippie Machine from the outside but had 4 WD and was high enough of the road to allow it to drive anywhere. Serious bit of kit! The police and ambulance service use them in Russia as well as Andrei.

Anyway Andrei with his few english words and loads of hand gestures showed us around, and to be fair he always got his point across. He took us to cliff faces, and various idealistic views around the northern point of the island and the views were fantastic. He also took us to an abandoned village, or village Kaput as Andrei put it. This had started out life as a Stalin gulag camp and was fascinating to see. Even though the island was beautiful I can't imagine what it was like for the prisoners. Even now in early October the wind was howling and the temperatures had plummeted from Irkutsk. Winter temperatures drop to about - 30 C.

We found out too that the island is considered one of the five global poles for Shaman energy and there is references to this all over the place.

The last place he took us was to a meteorological station which was right at the waters edge and gave us a chance to walk along it. Great day all round.

We got back about 6.00 pm and our homestay treated us to a banya (traditional Russian steam bath), which shook the cobwebs off after the cold on the island, which we hadn't been prepared for. The idea here is to wash yourself in cold water before getting in, and when in to beat each other with birch leaves, and then this process is repeated. Not sure what the benefit of the birch leaves is, but hey when in Rome!

For tea we had Omul again but you find any complaints here because I've never tasted anything like it, even Lucia had to agree (ardent fish hater).

We left the next day for Irkutsk with good memories of the place. When we got back we booked our train tickets for the next morning straight away. We met up with Anna and Pete, couple we met in Moscow, and had a few pints and swapped stories from the train journey across. Good finish to Irkutsk!

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