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Published: October 23rd 2008
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Km travelled 10344
19.10.08
Our arrival at Jack's hostel has been an easy one, and comfortable. We've been soon caught by a young girl, also a guest (and please don't make any comment on the fact that she was a kiwi as well!) that drowned us into words for a while. This morning we're ready at 10.00 when Jack comes to pick us up and start our great tour to Lake Baikal. We're both dead tired but we're going to have some amazing time. Jack seems a nice guy and driving for almost five hours is a good chance to have a chat. As we get outside Irkutsk we're surrounded by yellow fields dotted with cows, and hills behind with lines of trees that look like brushes. It's really beautiful. We stop for lunch at a local store where we have some typical dumplings called posy, and “greasy triangles”. We try to save all the heat we can to go back outside and back on the road. In some areas there's snow along the road, but it's still not cold enough. We're getting close to the lake and the landscape suddenly changes. We're entering the steppe and getting close
to the driest area of Siberia. The vegetation disappears and it looks almost desertic. Rocks come out of the hills, it looks like the wind has taken away everything. We finally catch a view of the lake and then on a road that doesn't look any more different from the land, we arrive at the lake. Now it's time to make a decision. Last time Jack got to Olkhon Island the ferry broke down so he couldn't come back with the car. So the options are two, or we take the risk and we get our car on the ferry, or we park the car and take public transport. After a bit of hesitation, we decide to take the risk. Shortly after we're driving on Olkhon Island towards Kuzhir, the main village. On the way we stop to drop some coins at a shamanic point. You can see quite a lot of them around in this area. The Buryats, local people of the same ethnic group as Mongols, always lived in the area all around the lake and on the island, in what, until last year, was the Buryat Autonomous Region. Originally all Buryat people were shamanists until the tribes
living east of the lake were converted to Buddhism coming from China. On this other side you still see the spots were Buryats believe there's a powerful spirit. They tie ribbons to the trees or leave small objects to avoid having bad luck.
We are finally at our destination, Olya and Kolya Guesthouse, an amazing place here in the village where a very short little puppy welcome us and then flies away to hide himself. There are four houses and a sauna, plus toilets at the back where chickens run around and the wood sits waiting to be chopped. We settle down and we have some tea with a delicious cake, exactly what you want after the cold outside. Then Jack takes us for a walk around the village, where dogs and cows populate the streets. From the top of the hill the view on the lake is stunning. This is all we were looking for. Wonderful nature, peaceful village, lovely weather, and, not less important, very good food. Back here Jack wanted to show us some videos and then we sat for the lovely dinner that our even more lovely cook has made for us. Fish from the lake,
tomatoes and meshed potatoes from the garden. Mmmmm....delicious. Now we relax in our room playing backgammon, as, you won't believe it, we're finally free from that infernal machine called laptop that Mike left at the hostel not sure about where we were going. Thank god I'll have three nights of freedom!
20.10.08
Today, not sure about the weather conditions, we went hiking. I'll just put here a small note to say that they're feeding us like pigs here and only for breakfast we had a full plate of porridge plus four pancakes each! Hiking was good and nature is amazing. We went south in the morning and north in the afternoon, through the forest and along the shore for 15 km. We hardly saw any human being around, only cows and a dog that followed us all the way during the afternoon. Pictures will be able to tell more than me about this day.
Back to the house, the Russian sauna was ready waiting for us. For those who've never seen or tried one, Russian sauna has three rooms. Changing room, supposed to be cool, a washing room with bowls and a big bucket with cold water, and
then the actual steaming room. Inside the steaming room there's a bench with steps that gets very close to the ceiling, and a oven that has hot stones at the bottom and hot water on top. When you pour the water on the stones it turns into vapour. Also there's a twig to beat your skin when you're completely sweating, that helps clean your skin up. I found it very pleasant, Michael a bit less. The only bad thing, I would say, is that unfortunately the changing room is not cold as it should be, so after the washing you get there and start sweating again. So we basicly ran out as soon as we got half dressed. And I think in that 5 meters from the sauna to the house I got sick. My throat is quite soar. We had another good dinner of fish from the lake and now we're relaxing in our room. I think Michael already fell asleep.
21.10.08
This start of the day has been very beautiful. We walked out and for the first time after three days the little puppy has let us stroke him, after running to us at the door,
and then we look around and the ground is covered in snow. Everything had a white a layer on top, only the chickens had been spared. Breakfast was a bit greasy but delicious, omelette and home made donuts to dip into seedy jam. Our today's driver Sergej was here with his 4x4 van soon after 10 am. No longer after we left the village I realized why we needed a 4x4. The only thing that tells you which is the road is the absence of grass and and lichens.
We spent the day in the north part of the island, between sacred shamanic spots, abandoned villages, caves and cliffs. We stopped where once stood a village, now completely dilapidated with a small harbour and a fish factory. There was where political prisoners were deported during Stalin's dictatorship. They called it Sandy Village, a place surrounded by dunes where nothing grows. After Stalin's death in '53 all prisoners here, as all the others spread in the labour camps across Siberia, were released and the village destroyed together with the factory. The top of the island had incredible view and was terribly windy. We had lunch at the edge of the forest
where Sergej prepared also a fire for our tea and served us food. It's been lovely, very peaceful and relaxing. We shared the fish with local birds and then continued our trip on the east side to spot the deepest part of the lake, more than 1600m! Unfortunately we didn't come through any local animal but you could see signs of their passage around. Foxes, lynxes and deer, they're in the depth of the forest. Now we're about to go for dinner. Just had a sauna, that has been the only time I could breath of all day. Very much appreciated. Tomorrow we'll head back to Irkutsk and will have tons of things to do. We need to get ready to Mongolia!
22.10.08
today I'll spare you, I just want to write a quick note, plus I have a cold and not really in the mood for writing. It's snowing. We're back in Irkutsk. Thanks to Jack for this beautiful experience. I forgot to write something that I found quite interesting and also attractive. Buryats cremate the body when someone dies and then put the ashes in a hole drilled in a tree and close it with clay.
The clay is going to get off eventually and the ashes will be part of the tree. Amazing eh?! Anyway everything is beautiful here, and believe it or not Michael is taking care of everything while I'm recovering, including me.
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Alena
non-member comment
Your photography is truly beautiful :).