To Krasnoyarsk and the Stolby Reserve

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Day 47

Ok so we just ticked over 2800Kms this morning from moscow and now Moscow time +3, getting there but gosh what a night. At around 1am I think we had 2 women and baby of about 18 months join us. What the heck, how unlucky could we possibly be? Baby was crying away but I guess at that age you get a free ticket!? For most of the next day I was camped out in the corridor as the baby was roaming naked in our cabin, being fed, changed or sleeping. Lovely few hours that was and you can not believe how happy we were when they got off in Novosibirsk around 5pm. I was even ready to help them get off with their bags. Anyway after taking a break off the train here picked up more supplies and got back on to find this time we had a boy of 7-8 and his father to share with. An improvement at least but they spoke little english but we tried for a while and we both nodded excessively as though comprehending 😊

All in all a good evening and noodles for dinner. Lovely, tomorrow we should be waking up at around 03:00 Moscow time, which is 07:00 local time in Krasnoyarsk and another timezone crossed, Moscow +4 where were all the hours going?

Krasnoyarsk - Central Asia, Siberia.
Day 48

Over 4000 Kms on the markers this morning from Moscow, we really had travelled quite a distance already.
As for the night apart from Ania waking me every hour to check the time I had a pretty good sleep. Guess we did not want to miss our stop but there was not problem there as I had just dropped off again and the attendant came in the carriage and pulled and pushed me awake us. When we finally got off we were relieved to see our hosts Valentina and Ania waiting for us! They were terrific, and took us directly by taxi to their place. They were also couchsurfers so this was starting to work out really well for us. We decided to couchsurf here mainly because there was a complete lack of budget accommodation in the city but turned out to be a great idea. Ania spoke good english while Tina was ok with a little english. Showered up and they provided a huge breakfast of Salmon and caviar which was well needed.

We then headed out the Stolby Reserve. It is Krasnoyarsk's biggest drawcard and the reason we came. In the 17,000 hectare reserve are Volcanic rock pillars. Unfortunately to reach these you need to do a serious amount of walking (7kms each way). We decided to take the chairlift up to a viewpoint where we could take a look. Had some amazing views up there but getting through the forest from there was a bit dangerous the girls said with the amount of Tick's about and lack of signage on the hiking paths. Once down we took a taxi to a place where we could start he walk up the other side. It was a good hour or two before we reached the edge of the forest where the pillars began. We were warned about ticks, in case you are not aware small insects that if they bit can cause brain disease! Not pleasant. We sprayed outselves and dived in and climbed a few of the pillars before having a bite to eat. Check out the pictures pretty amazing stuff. On the way back did a quick check for ticks and found we all had some on us!! Not good, removed them before they could bite and made a quick call to get out of there fast. Basically you have about 3 hours before they bite so a good idea to regulary check yourself.

We were absolutely knackered once back off the track. Valentina had organised some local food at some sort of cafe. Looked pretty cozy and lots of locals there so must be good. We had massive portions of Pork and Fish before heading back to the flat.

In the evening after midnight (after more coffee to keep me awake) we headed out to check out Krasynoyarsk in the evening. This tiny pretty church on the hill as pictures andand took some pictures of the City below. Cool night views but cold!!! Back to our place for a rest, we had our next Train to Irkutsk just after midday.

Day 49

Did a quick wizz around the City in the morning before we farewelled Tina and Ania, they were great hosts and really could not ask for anything more. Invited them to NZ so hopefully they can make it some day. Our train to Irkutsk was a 20 hour affair and sharing with a middle aged man and looked like a lady of over 100 years old. She was not too friendly and immediately after setting off took a nap and started snoring (as I am writing this actually). How can she do this during the day? Anyway other people do not seem to mind so must be the norm. Of all the trains we were yet to actually share with anyone of a similar age group to us which is a real shame 😞

Later in the afternoon I met a Russian guy who was also travelling from Krasnoyarsk, he spoke good english worked in IT as an engineer and invited us to his cabin for beer and snacks. Was a good few hours and tried some Azerbaijan food as there was also a guy from there as well. After a few too beers it was time for bed and we slept until our early arrival in Irkutsk at 7:00.

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Photos

Rock pillars
This was was called the Grandfather.

Stolby Pillars
Climbing down

On the Grandfather!
Magnificient view over stoby reserve from here.

With out host Tina
Freezing at the lookout.

Heading to Irkutsk
Saying goodbye to our hosts!