13. November
V. returned this morning. After breakfast I set off by myself on another little hike. Headed for the funicular – this is actually a chair-lift about 700m long running along what looks like it could be (and perhaps is) a really nice little ski slope. The chair lift wasn’t working so I had to take a winding walk through the woods following the car tracks to the top of the slope. It is a lot warmer today and the walk up was pretty heavy going. But the view at the top was more than worth it. I passed an old couple along the way but other than that there was no-one around. One of the highlights of my trip. Also made friends with a Siberian cat which had swimming pool blue eyes.
After this I walked back down to the apartment. V. has decided we should go and check out Port Baikal today. It is nearly 2pm so only a couple of hours of sunlight left.
The ferry over to Port Baikal from Listvyanka was a rickety hunk of iron. It runs 5 times a day and has space for 2 cars comfortably but the somehow managed to cram on 7! It was great to get onto the lake itself, although I half expected to sink at any moment. Port Baikal itself was charming – what I was hoping to find in Listvyanka but didn’t. A proper old village of about 300 residents which was a key stopping point for the old Circumbaikal railway. Wooden houses. No hotels or main roads (or cars for that matter). Situated on the bank of the lake a the foot of steep hills and woodland. Valerii took my on a hike up the hill which was virtually a sheer climb in places. Even though it seems I have knackered my knee now view from the top was well worth the effort!
Whilst waiting for the return ferry in a small museum back in the village I made friends with 8 or 9 boys from Irkutsk who were on a school trip. They were all about 14 or 15 and were a great bunch! Instantly clocked me for a foreign tourist and came over to chat. At first we spoke in English but I’m happy to say that I spoke better Russian than they did English so we switched. Instantly thought I was American at first but I very firmly corrected them! They all wanted their photo taken with me and we had a good chat about football and movies etc. Were so excited when I showed them a $20 note (although I think that might have confused the issue of my nationality further). Don’t think any of them had been outside the former USSR before.
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