Listvyanka July 17, 2006
The Siberian forests are the largest continuous forest on earth. They stretch from just north of the southern Siberian border grasslands to the tundra in the north. Birch, the national tree of Russia, are the predominate trees but there are also pine, fir, cedar, and as well as other hard and soft woods. This is the wet season here and water is abundant in the form of lakes, streams and rivers. There are over three hundred major rivers and streams that flow into Lake Baikal alone. Wildflowers are seen everywhere this time of year which add color to the predominately green background. This was the world into which I walked as I left the guest house this morning around 6:45AM.
I followed a four wheel drive road into the woods that runs past the guest house and soon lost sight of the buildings that make up our compound. The path was marshy with small rivulets running at every climb and pools at the flat sections. I met two horses feeding along the path soon after I had entered the woods and they eyed me with some trepidation, but allowed me to pass within feet of them as the brush was too thick for either them or myself to detour off the path. As I was passing I stole some of their entourage of mosquitoes and flies that stayed with me during the remainder of my walk. Out came the head net and bug spray which afforded me some relief, but didn’t help the feeling of serenity I hoped to enjoy this morning. I wanted to catch a glimpse of some of the wildlife but after walking for an hour or so had seen only birds flitting through the trees around my walkway.
I returned to the guest house to find Holly still asleep, but a few of the caretakers stirring about. Tatiana was supposed to meet us at 10 for breakfast but after a quick shower, we got dressed and our host knocked lightly on our door to tell us breakfast was on the table at 9:45. This was done with gestures as she does not speak English. TatiAnna arrived about 10:20am and informed us it was starting to rain. We jumped up and ran outside to gather in our laundry that had been hanging since the prior evening and was mostly dry.
We sat and talked while Tatiana had breakfast and we waited for the rain to stop before starting out tour for the day. We had planned on walking to the village, but because of our late start she called a taxi which took us to Chirtsky Peak. This is a ski area in the winter and we rode the chairlift to the top for good views of the lake and the Angara River. We made our way back down to the highway that runs alongside the lake and walked to the main village, an area called Krestovka, where we were going to visit St. Nicholas Church. Built in the 1860s it is very picturesque with paintings of the saints and Christ hung from floor to ceiling on all the walls. In route we happened on our friend from the train, Andrea. He was busy rummaging through his pack and we surprised him. After greetings we found out he was going to the boat landing to catch a boat to Bolshie Koty a small village about 10 miles up the coast that is only accessible by water. Tomorrow he will catch a train west with a plan to meet his girl friend in Moscow who is flying from Milan to spend the last few days of his trip with him. Andrea had some time to spare so he walked with us to the church and then to the fish market at the end of the highway.
Being a Monday, the fish market was somewhat slow with only a few vendors displaying their dried and smoked fish along with several kinds of homemade bread. Andrea bought a round loaf of bread for his boat trip but managed to eat it as we walked back to the dock. Around the dock there were several locals selling souvenirs from tables set up beside the road and we browsed as we past but didn’t find any treasures that we felt were worth the extra weight in our packs.
After another good-bye to Andrea we hiked back to the guest house and another wonderful meal of chicken soup, salad, white fish croquettes, and rice, all topped off with fresh pears, apples and tangerines. Even at two meals a day and all the walking we are doing I think we will gain weight here.
In talking to Tatiana we found out that she taught English as a profession, has two brothers and is admittedly spoiled because of growing up as the only girl. She headed home about 7:30pm but not before telling us she would pick us up at 9:30am tomorrow morning for a tour of Irkutsk after which we will board the Siberian Express for the three and a half day train ride to Moscow.
I followed a four wheel drive road into the woods that runs past the guest house and soon lost sight of the buildings that make up our compound. The path was marshy with small rivulets running at every climb and pools at the flat sections. I met two horses feeding along the path soon after I had entered the woods and they eyed me with some trepidation, but allowed me to pass within feet of them as the brush was too thick for either them or myself to detour off the path. As I was passing I stole some of their entourage of mosquitoes and flies that stayed with me during the remainder of my walk. Out came the head net and bug spray which afforded me some relief, but didn’t help the feeling of serenity I hoped to enjoy this morning. I wanted to catch a glimpse of some of the wildlife but after walking for an hour or so had seen only birds flitting through the trees around my walkway.
I returned to the guest house to find Holly still asleep, but a few of the caretakers stirring about. Tatiana was supposed to meet us at 10 for breakfast but after a quick shower, we got dressed and our host knocked lightly on our door to tell us breakfast was on the table at 9:45. This was done with gestures as she does not speak English. TatiAnna arrived about 10:20am and informed us it was starting to rain. We jumped up and ran outside to gather in our laundry that had been hanging since the prior evening and was mostly dry.
We sat and talked while Tatiana had breakfast and we waited for the rain to stop before starting out tour for the day. We had planned on walking to the village, but because of our late start she called a taxi which took us to Chirtsky Peak. This is a ski area in the winter and we rode the chairlift to the top for good views of the lake and the Angara River. We made our way back down to the highway that runs alongside the lake and walked to the main village, an area called Krestovka, where we were going to visit St. Nicholas Church. Built in the 1860s it is very picturesque with paintings of the saints and Christ hung from floor to ceiling on all the walls. In route we happened on our friend from the train, Andrea. He was busy rummaging through his pack and we surprised him. After greetings we found out he was going to the boat landing to catch a boat to Bolshie Koty a small village about 10 miles up the coast that is only accessible by water. Tomorrow he will catch a train west with a plan to meet his girl friend in Moscow who is flying from Milan to spend the last few days of his trip with him. Andrea had some time to spare so he walked with us to the church and then to the fish market at the end of the highway.
Being a Monday, the fish market was somewhat slow with only a few vendors displaying their dried and smoked fish along with several kinds of homemade bread. Andrea bought a round loaf of bread for his boat trip but managed to eat it as we walked back to the dock. Around the dock there were several locals selling souvenirs from tables set up beside the road and we browsed as we past but didn’t find any treasures that we felt were worth the extra weight in our packs.
After another good-bye to Andrea we hiked back to the guest house and another wonderful meal of chicken soup, salad, white fish croquettes, and rice, all topped off with fresh pears, apples and tangerines. Even at two meals a day and all the walking we are doing I think we will gain weight here.
In talking to Tatiana we found out that she taught English as a profession, has two brothers and is admittedly spoiled because of growing up as the only girl. She headed home about 7:30pm but not before telling us she would pick us up at 9:30am tomorrow morning for a tour of Irkutsk after which we will board the Siberian Express for the three and a half day train ride to Moscow.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 7:31 AM
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