On the edge of Lake Baikal, aka The Pearl of Siberia.
I know I raved about Mongolia, but Siberia was equally amazing. I know when people think of Siberia, they probably think of snow, gulags and Dr Zhivago. But at this time of year the landscape looks more like Canada in the fall – blue skies, green pines, the golden and red leaves of silver birches and other broad-leaved trees, it’s absolutely stunning.
Galena, the lady we stayed with at Bolshoe Goloustnoy on Lake Baikal, was a warm and welcoming person who was always ready with more food and drink for us and our guide Sergei was very good too.
We stayed in an izba, which is a colourful, traditional wooden Russian home and despite the lack of double glazing, we were very warm.
We spent plenty of time outdoors walking in the most amazing landscape – it is easy to see why they call Lake Baikal the Pearl Of Siberia.
The legend is that if you put a hand or foot in the lake, you will gain five years more life, but if you are able to submerge yourself, you will live an extra 25 years, so guess who swam in the lake all three days, even though the average water temperature was only 9 deg C!
Nikki also amazed me because although she is in her late fifties, she plunged into the lake without a second thought!
Each evening we were also able to enjoy a traditional banya (Russian sauna) which was greatly appreciated and I left Lake Baikal feeling thoroughly relaxed and rejuvenated.
We rejoined the train at Irkutsk and our compartment was soon taken over by a bunch of friendly Siberian guys who did nothing but invite us to share their food and vodka and generally party at all hours! Although sometimes noisy, they were great fun!
We have spent the last three days on the train travelling through Russia, which has unfortunately caused Nikki to have a sore back.
On Tuesday I hit the 100-page mark, so I have fulfilled the challenge, though I am continuing to write my travel diary and will probably finish on the 115 to 125-page mark.
Late yesterday afternoon we reached Moscow and in a minute we are going out to explore this great city, so I will tell you more soon.
