Leaving Olkhon and getting back to Irkutsk

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My final full day on Olkhon! I will miss it as for me it has been the best of russia - beautiful places and I know I want to come back in the winter and summer to spend time here. But we wander around the island one last time and spend some time trying to figure out how to get the world service to check the football as it is the last day of the premiership. We look at a radio in a shop but the lady tells us (I think in my broken russian) that there is no reception on the island - bad times - but they have restocked the beer for us - good times. So we wander around the boatyard and head home and eat another great meal and then hit the piva. Tomorrow we leave after breakfast and Florian and Youron will go tto the train station to get the Trans Mongolian. I will wait one more day in Irkutsk and then get on the Trans-Manchurian and will pass through the largets russian military base at Chita bad times (again) as I am worried that could make for a difficult border crossing. We drink our full ration of piva that night and get up early to send postcards and then on to the bus that drives us back over the dirt roads to the boat. When we arrive we see that the main boat is now in operation as all of the ice is clear and we all stand for the ten minute crossing and get over the other side for the return journey. There is a kerfuffle as one of the guys in the group refuses to get on the mad bus and through some crazy russian selection system I get asked to take the final seat with two girls from the island. I don't fancy it as it is packed I know the driver is ******* bananas and I have at least twice the kit of the others - but I do not seem to have a choice and so I say a rushed goodbye to the two lads and then mount the bus where I get thrown into the back amongst three very grumpy russians and get to listen to their complaints for the next seven hours. Tired hot and more learned about russian swearing I disembark at Irkutsk and lump back to the Hostel. There is a new crowd at the downtown and I meet a Dane returning from Vietnam where he worked in an electronice factory that undertook goat slaying to the gods when production targets were not met - and a brit project manager so not much to talk about there. I watch Russia and Czech republic go at it on the ice hockey and get some sleep. Two more days and I will be in China! I awake early the next morning and lump it to the station drawing the usual stares of the locals and make the train. I jump on and find I have a carriage to myself! I stare back at Irkutsk disappearing over the tracks and feel great about the time I managed there.

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Photos

Cows in the boatyard
Final day on Olkhon! The boys did not understand the anatomical difference between a bull and cow which was amusing!

The view from the boatyard
most of the ice sheet is gone!

Final shots of Olkhon
A glorious day!