RUSSIA: Who are you sharing the sunrises with?

Sharing sunrises.....
Firstly, our hearts go out to the people of Australia at this sad time. So sorry for the loss of human life as well as for wildlife there. Someone very close to me is from just south of Sydney and no fires there yet, but smokey skies prevail. As far as sharing sunrises, I always find it interesting to see who's up in very early morning. In October we sharing a perfect sunrise on the Erg Chebbi dunes of Morocco with fellow travelers -- beautiful, but no one really spoke to each other as I recall. A bit sad.

Your dance moves are as graceful and smooth as your words
Hi Dancer, I'm sure your dance moves are as graceful and smooth as your words. Thank you for your blog.... .you make me envious of your way with words and storytelling. On another note I pray that you, Denise and your home stay safe from the fires... remember a friend in need is a friend indeed..... just shout. Until we meet again or your next blog stay safe both of you...from both of us...Simon & Liz.

Beautiful blog and beautiful photos to accompany
Emma and I saw 2020 in free camping near Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park on NZ's South Island. Picture perfect next to the glacier waters of the lake crowned at the top by NZ's largest mountain with a line of supporting mountains as the backdrop to the other side of the lake. Sunset was stunning, there was not of wind rippling the lake, topping off a bright blue hot sunny day which had caught us out on our earlier walks and given us our own heating system for the night. In the dark wee hours of the morning the wind picked up, the contrast with the previous silence woke us a few times as we adjusted to the change. Slow to rise the next morning when we ventured a peak out of the curtains, the outside world looked sepia. We rubbed our eyes, nope still there. The only thing we have experienced similar was a partial eclipse. It was eerie. Our plans for the national park already complete we packed up and headed north on the gravel backs (because that is just how we roll, why take a highway when there is a perfectly good gravel road). We didn't see another soul until we finally hit the next town, but it felt like day hadn't broken. The news told us this was smoke from Australia's bushfires. All day it was eerie. On the plains it was like fog had gathered, obscuring the mountain backdrop. Emma kept muttering that it felt like Armageddon. As we headed up into the mountains it looked like it was raining on the tops. It wasn't, it was where the smoke was coming over the top of the Southern Alps. It gave NZers a very small but powerful insight into what Australia is going through and is likely no coincidence just 2 days later our PM announced we were sending further firefighting support. No doubt there will be more to come before the fire season is over and we can only hope your and Denise's house continues to be lucky. The destruction will continue long after beyond the loss of life, property, infrastructure, landscape and wildlife. The agriculture and tourism industries will be hit and no doubt in some areas and communities will never recover, and it is difficult to image how mother earth is going to recover such horrific ecological loss. We can only hope that the world is paying attention to Australia's tragic warning and finally make tackling climate change a priority.

Morning has broken!
Absolutely stunning. You have captured another serene setting.

The End
You always save some beautiful photos for this last page. Awesome.

Morning cruising
We were going in the opposite direction. Got an early morning (= pre-dawn departure) ship from Finland to Sweden. Thought it would be a quiet trip. What we didn't know was that shoppers head from Finland to Sweden on the boat to buy up cheap goods and resell them back home. We didn't get a cabin as it was a daylight trip getting to Stockholm about 6pm. In the breakfast room, there was an oompah band which started playing as soon as the boat left the quay - and the bar opened. The "shoppers" treated the occasion as though it were late evening and danced and sang along to the band and drank copious amounts of alcohol. It wasn't until about midday that they all crashed and went to their respective cabins to sleep off their roistering. Sylvia and I were ourselves exhausted by then as there was nowhere else on the boat to escape the partying. Don't mind a good party but not starting at 5:30 in the morning - at least not since I was a lot younger. Glad your morning experience was a lot more tranquil. We had two fires deliberately lit in the bush behind our house while we were away but, fortunately, the neighbours were keeping watch and the fires were extinguished with no significant damage. Take care for the rest of the fire season.

Like a fairy tale
Just like it came out of a fairy tale with that mist and all. /Ake

I am pleased I was tethered bc I could have been lost to the world when reading this blog...
My goodness - those panoramas and accompanying sublime blues from Pete Cornelius were mindblowing, immediately transporting me to the time & place - thanks for that! I wake up talking because when you have thousands of words to expel in a day there is no time to lose :-)

Drift Away
I love the way you tied in the time you were writing the blog into the days of actual travel. Great mental image of you throwing on a dressing gown to take sunrise pictures as you float steadily down the Volga. Your photo of the bird crying out against the dark read sky is hauntingly effective.