Irkutsk-Listvyanka(Lake Baikal)

July 23rd, 2009...The 31 hour train ride to Irkutsk (and lake Baikal!!!!) was mostly uneventful, there weren't any english speaking people in my vicinity, so i passed the time doing crossword puzzles and listening to my ipod. During one of the stops I deboarded for a bit to stretch my legs and loaded up on some home made russian treats from the babushkas on the platform. A bag of Vareninkis, some russian meatballs, a liter of water and a 1/2 liter of beer...paid about 4 dollars. Spent a lot of time looking out the windows at the endless forests of trees, mostly birch, which are a source of pride (and
important resource) for the siberians. While i was in Novosibirsk i had set up a homestay in irkutsk, because the hostel i wanted was fully booked, But when i arrived in the city (at 7 am) i decided to head to another hostel near the station to
check their availablity, and sure enough they had a bed for me. I felt bad ditching the homestay, but i'm sure they could find someone else, and i wanted to meet other travellers anyway. The hostel had the basic anemities, a clean-ish bathroom, kitchen with free coffee and tea, and a 6-bed dorm room. I had breakfast with some brits, got some info about the city and lake from them, then headed out solo to see irkutsk. I walked for a few hours along the riverside, then through some backstreets which were filled with old wooden mansions that now seemed mostly delapidated on the outside, but certainly kept some of the charm and elegance from days past. I walked past the main church, and up a steep hill to try to get a look at the city, but the view was mostly blocked by trees. I then headed to the city centre, which is dominated by 3 huge markets...the outdoor chinese market, the huge (indoor and outdoor) food market and the indoor shopping center. The chinese market, as expected, was chaotic and full of clothes and knick-knacks. The indoor food market was excellent. A massive supply of meats, cheeses and desserts...i grabbed a russian style kabab from one vendor and headed outside. Siberia, having a great supply of forests, also has a great supply of forest fruits...BERRIES, BERRIES and more BERRIES. It seemed that every stand at the outdoor market was selling huge cups of little strawberries and blue berries! Stupidly, I didn't buy any...something i now totally regret! I called it an early night, having arrived so early on the train, and planned to go to Lake Baikal the next morning.
I had contacted a girl named Marina through couchsurfing, and we were supposed to visit the lake together. But about 15 minutes before our scheduled meeting time, she bailed on me because of a toothache. So I boarded a minibus for the 1-hour ride to Listvyanka, a small touristy town on Lake Baikal. At about 10 am i got my first glimpse of Lake Baikal...a seemingly endless, glass like surface of some of the world's freshest water. In fact, Baikal is the world's deepest lake reaching a mile down at it's center, imagine the grand canyon completely filled with water...and it holds 20 percent, yes 20, of the world's non-permanently frozen fresh water. Unfortunately i found myself at baikal on a cool, cloudy day. Swimming in it would have to wait. I walked along the coast for about half an hour to a point where the wooded hills met the water, passing the camp grounds where russian families paid 2 dollars to pitch their tents and along a narrow dirt path that hugs a 30-or-so foot drop to the lake below. I decided to have a hike up into the forest to get a better view of the lake, and because my fear of heights was getting the better of me on the cliff. At one point the trees clear to an open patch of land
containing an observatory (2 silo-like structures used, presumably, to watch the skies). I tried to open the steel doors, as a climb to the top would afford me a grand view of Baikal, but unfortunately they were closed. The great thing, though, about this clearing was the amazing amount of buttterflies swarming around. It felt like being in the bronx zoo butterfly exhibit, but without the huge net keeping the butterflies inside. The absolute best part...i was completely alone...A short while later i ventured back down to the lakeside, and as i walked along i noticed a group of russians singing folk
songs, accompanied by a man on guitar. I gave them a small applause at the end of the tune, and they, taking notice of me, shouted something in russian. I explained that i didn't speak russian, which seemed to be the magic words, as the next thing i knew they enthusiastically called me over to join in the fun. They first offered me a sip of 'juice' or so the box read...but i came to find out it was filled with wine! Not expecting this, i let a few drops dribble down my chin, which caused the group to laugh and a woman to shove a half-eaten nectarine in my mouth!! When in Russia....
Actually during my 26 days in russia i did see quite a few stereotypical drunks in the streets, but as this was saturday, and they seemed like working class people, i figured they were just unwinding on the lakeside. I stayed with them for a few hours, sipping wine, eating amazing smoked omul (a lake-dwellling cousin of the salmon, and a delicacy of baikal), and listening to their songs. At one point they even made me sing some beatles tunes. When they decided to switch from wine to vodka, i decided i had had enough (after doing one shot...can't offend the hosts in russia!) and we bid goodbye with strong
russian bear hugs. I completed my walk along the lake, about 15 kilometers total, and caught the minibus back to Irkutsk around 5pm.
I spent the evening cooking pelmini (russian meat dumplings) at the hostel and chatting with teddy (english) and jonas (german). I found out that jonas was leaving on the same train as me in the morning...I to Ulan Ude and He to Vladivostok. So
we planned to go to the station together...at 7am...an early start.