Taste of Zabaikalye 2018 Tour, No. 1

by Tom Dickinson · August 20, 2018

CHUCK RITCHIE WRITES:

August 20, 2018. We are in to our second day in Irkutsk with our wonderful tour organizer Olga Kostina and our interpreter Irina Shipley and her protege Lyosha. Yesterday we toured the city learning of its history as well as of its present day role in the life of this wonderful region that stretches all the way to the Pacific Ocean. [Editor’s note: the statue in the top photo is of the mythic beast Babr, a sort of tiger who has a sable in its mouth. It is the symbol of Irkutsk. From left: Olga Kostina, Irene, Tom, Judy, Ginny, Chuck, Lyosha and Irina Shipley.] We have been the recipients of that famed Russian hospitality that refuses to let a guest go hungry or want for anything.

Dinner in Moscow. Clockwise from left: Chuck Ritchie, SB Chair, Judy Boudreau, SB Treasurer, Irene Duranczyk, SB Board member ex-officio, Olesya Bezhina, Muscovite and longtime (1999 and before) friend of SB, Tom Lonergan, “Irene’s Tom,” Ginny Redgrave, Minneapolitan and new friend.

Today we go out to the headwaters of the fast and clear Angara River where it flows from Lake Baikal (and on through Irkutsk), and there is great anticipation regarding a dip in this famed largest freshwater lake in the world. We will then have dinner with a Russian family living in the area. Our time in Moscow was enhanced by the presence of our friend Olesya Bezhina who took us though the metro, the Kremlin, and some of the other points of interest including two of her favorite restaurants. We logged over ten miles walking each of the days she was with us, and we are so appreciative of her time with us and her friendship.

We have been blessed with good weather, wonderful contacts, and there is so much more in store.

JUDY BOUDREAU WRITES:

August 20, 2018. Olesya was wonderful in Moscow … lots of pictures.

In Moscow resting during one of those 10 mile days (10 mile days?! Holy cow!) Tom, Irene, Judy, Ginny

We were all pretty tired after the flight to Irkutsk, but Olga, Irina and Lyosha were all there to greet us and haul our luggage to the minivan.
The hotel is delightful and cozy.

Checking out Irkutsk’s “130th Block” — a restored shopping and commercial district. Olga, the guide, is to the left of Irene and Tom

The tour guide in Irkutsk was VERY good-another Olga who has a great command of English but who said her first foreign language is German! She introduced us to all parts of town until about 6:30 pm and then we landed at an Armenian restaurant and Olga Kostina brought two bottles of champagne. Lots of toasting, lots of good food, lots of good company.

Today we head out for Lake Baikal after breakfast. It’s a beautiful day and it might be this afternoon that I get that swim in!

Judy got that swim in! Irina and Lyosha swam, too. Note that the water temperature is about 12-15 Celsius in August in this mile-deep lake with 9 more miles of sediment below that (formed in a rift between tectonic plates). There is a lot of lore about the spiritual and physical benefits of swimming in this great lake, besides its having many species unique to its environs including its own freshwater seal, only found there!