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Published: November 13th 2016
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Our room
Rustic log bed (with our own flannel sheets and comforters), a stuffed boar's head and owl watched over us. Naliboki Forest, November 2016
Josh, Jaclyn, Olga, Laura, Dominic, Meredith, George and Kevin
We were 8 teachers from QSI Minsk, on a Belarus adventure
with the humble, yet larger than life Vadim Sidorovich-
http://www.wolfing.info/ Only 1 1/2 hours from Minsk, but a world away
Vadim and Maxim met us at the edge of the Naliboki Forest
They took us on a wild Lada ride through the now dark forest
along a headlamp-lit, bumpy, puddled-filled road.
Dinner prepared by Ira was waiting for us –
potatoes, carrots and pork served in rustic ceramic pots,
cooked in the ashes of an authentic peasant stove
Settled into our room – stuffed boar’s head and owl over our bed,
fireplace crackling, and adjacent wood-fired sauna.
Oh, and outhouse a short walk down the trail.
An interesting lecture about the Naliboki Forest
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I love that Vadim is passionate about wildlife, especially wolves and lynx,
but that he also takes such an interest in the human history with the forest.
He knows that nature and history are intertwined
and
Our room fireplace
Provided the perfect atmosphere with its crackling sound through the night. shares stories to develop a deeper understanding of both.
My favorite stories were about the family he met
when he first came to the forest in the 1980s during a break from university.
He helped deliver one of their children, extracted teeth by candlelight,
and eventually took over their home when they had to move into town.
Their home is now the research station that we called home for the weekend.
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Back to our room, stoke the fire, luxuriate in the sauna, and then to bed
Up early to search for wildlife and found a fresh skiff of snow
Load into the two Ladas – Vadim and I were the safari drivers!
stopping along the way to inspect wolf tracks in the new snow
we pause near the river to observe otter mounds under the bridge
used to mark their territory.
We pass large ant mounds surrounded by a protective triangle shaped fence
They were superficial soviet environmental protection measures
along with many birdhouses nailed to trees in the forest
Onward to our first walk of the
Wood-fired sauna
In the room adjacent we found a warm inviting sauna for cleansing. day through the swamps.
We were prepared with many layers of clothing and socks
and rubber boots provided by Vadim
We walked past an abandoned log cabin, along soviet drainage canals
spying a moose along the way.
We check on two camera traps,
one where a wolf abandoned a large piece of plastic he used as a toy,
another captured amazing photos of a lynx crossing a canal,
his reflection lifelike in the water
Drive back to the station for an amazing macaroni and cheese and fried egg lunch
Food always tastes so amazing when you have been hiking outdoors
Our afternoon walk took us through misty clearings in search of bison (zubr)
We were rewarded for our patience on our dusk drive back home
First, we came upon two bulls crossing the road in front of us, briefly stopping to watch us
Next, we found a herd of about 10 cows and calves in a field
We drove close but made a quick exit when we thought they might charge us
On the way back to base,
Vadim stopped to howl for wolves
In a process that reminded me of a deep sea free diver
he carefully took off his coat and hat, deep in concentration
then exhaled long and deep before reversing the flow of air
and finally releasing a spine tingling moan into the night
This was followed by an intense stillness as we all held our breath
listening for a wolf to respond – nothing
He tried one more time but still nothing
Regardless, Vadim’s howling was the most memorable part of my trip.
Back home for a tour of his collections of skull, traps,
and artifacts of forest dwelling humans
dinner of salad, chicken breasts, rice pilaf and conversation around the dinner table.
A cleansing sauna and bed
Our final day started with a black wolf running down the road in front of us
another howling attempt by Vadim, but too windy to carry far
Some deer sighted and then a walk through the magical old grove oak forest
It is visually disturbing for mountain dwellers like Kevin and I to
Individual serving pots
filled with delicious and steaming carrots and potatoes on one side and stewed pork on the the other. Yum! experience this forest without the slightest of hills or trace of a mountain
Flat as a pancake, with only man-made depressions
from the world wars and the massive soviet swamp drainage project
A short cut back to the station led to one of our vehicles getting stuck
but the unflappable Vadim developed a plan to extract it
After digging, jacking, rock searching, and pushing
we eventually extracted it and drove on
Lunch of fried sausages and buckwheat with sautéed onions
a final sauna and pack to go home
So many great memories from such a short visit to this amazing forest
Thank you Vadim and Ira for making it possible.
And thank you Josh and Jaclyn Smalley for organizing this great trip.
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