Irkutstk and its wooden houses.

Irkutstk and its wooden houses.

After overnight in the train, and rested with this guy he said perhaps 5 words in English that is all and zero in Russian, we were ready to meet our taxi-drivers....but without map support to get to the hostel. We knew it was close to train station!

One hour later we were still on the street with a young couple they gave us a ride to our final destination....wwwhow!

I did the walk back to train station to check where I did the mistake...too easy!

Well the place is small and friendly with almost young people and the weather is excellent. So, leaving my stuff there I went to stroll in the city, to see and to smell it as I like to do. We are on left side of Angara river, it is the one river draining  the Baïkal Lake. This one receive kind of 300 tributaries, main one comes from Mongolia, Selenga river, through a huge delta. Here also, on Angara is a huge dam to provide with electricity. It starts when Angara forms. There are 2 more big dams before Angara falls in Yeniseï river wich have less water but deeper. 

After strolling on the bridge , watching for lights, perspectives, station and Irkoutsk city i checked what to do on following days. As it is like the end of first part of my trip: i have to leave Russia to apply for new visa...

I think if having a longer new visa I will come back to Krasnoyarsk and visit some places I could not go for we had to be in main airport for Thomas to go back to Moscow, and it was interesting for him, I guess, to know Baïkal.

Fortunately, weather was every day getting warmer as deep as we were going to east! The trip we had to Olkhon island was amazing in the way I would not expect. 8 hours to get there by minibus, speedy ones, then ferry, then again same mini van crossing the chanel in the ferry, to go to the main "city" of Khuzhil.... No road, only dust and old minivans Soviet style, electricity but no running water, ( water comes from Baïkal) and is drinkable..kind of hippie community there, lots of turists from abroad and Russia as well. 

All the area is part of huge Natural Park Reserve as we met, at Irkutsk, Natalia's family's bets friends and Vladimir was involved in those National parks in Irkutsk oblast during his working life.

The island is mostly bare, sand, kind of rocky steppe area. Of course I saw only a ridiculous small part. It seems to be excellent for trails, and camping. I should like to do that there. It is amazingly quiet. The night was with no sign of noise at all! Deep silence!

I had a full day at beach, for myself, sunbathing, "swimming" on my way the Lake Baïkal.....unbelievable! I never think before I could do that in Siberia!

After heaven, hell again on the road, with flat tyre, long waiting to the ferry, incredible organization on schedules of any kind. There is organization, but it is not open to common human sense....

But we are on holiday, it does not really matter. We left guesthouse at 10, on time, to be there waiting for one of the ferries, during 4 hours..? And there is a schedule of minibus to leave the "city" of Khuzhil"....what for?

Anyway, we enjoyed it, sunset were great, the island was "readable" from sunrise to 9 and then it was kind of foggy because of fires in the north, and condensation also. I suppose winter is amazing there also. Tourism last to 3 months more or less and then the island recovers his life and his pace of life. Less of 1500 people leave there year round. It doubles on summer. Every bit of good is coming  there by ferry except water.

Return to Irkutsk is for management to cross the border to Mongolia, to get the train ticket to Ulan Ude and bus to Ulan Bator. We met Natalia again in the train station for a "dinnette" . She had 3 days there picking some leaves in urban parks in Irtkutsk at their family's friends and then to Ulan Ude where she organized my bus journey to Ulan Bator . She was heading to Chita then and back to Krasnoyarsk by a long train journey....

So as a  first sum-up, I can say the experience is worth: meeting with locals, even if those last weeks with Tommy were not in countryside, were great. We met exceptional friendly going people, like Natalia. She is highly and on a large span, knowledgeable on her country and highly friendly and, which is also very interesting, she is a beautiful lady on her thirties. 

Also, the country is wide, endless, and it is amazing to cross it all West to East or East to West, then North to South...endless. All is big....

Now about history, how to know better? I think I have to spend time on it on my own. The one witch is on landscape is kind of mute, I do not know enough and it is a pity. But it is also part of frustrations I can have while traveling. Also, I have to enjoy the life of the country's nowaday.