September 12th, 2009 ~ In Siberia
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| A recreation of a "kremlin" or fortress. The Cossacks built something like this when they arrived from the west in the 1660s. |
Our departure from Moscow included a seven hour delay at the airport caused either by bad weather over Siberia or the wings of the Aeroflot plane needing some extra screws, duct tape, and glue. We passed the time in the terminal where, because smoking is allowed, second-hand smoking is mandatory. Jennie made friends with a disgruntled Greek traveler named Adam who suddenly realized he could buy a bottle of wine at the duty-free shop and, rather than taking it with him on the plane, and share it with us while we waited. His mood improved dramatically.
The flight departed after midnight. I fell asleep almost immediately and awoke five time zones later as the plane made a bumpy landing in Irkutsk, the passengers breaking into applause. The trip from Moscow to Irkutsk used to take up to a year of hard overland travel. With the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railroad the time was cut to less than a week. Now we can make the journey in the time it takes to have a fitful night of sleep and feel a bit put out by the not so comfortable seat that doesn't recline quite far enough.
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| The GBT Hostel in the new apartment building behind a traditional Siberian home. |
Roma and Nadia, two GBT members I'd met last year, picked us up at the airport and drove us to the hostel. It's on the top floor of a new ten-story apartment building. There are two small bedrooms with bunk bed space for fourteen, and a narrow, very small kitchen mostly dominated by a long table. In the summer this is the way-station for GBT volunteers coming from abroad to work on trails along Lake Baikal. Autumn, winter, and spring, it is the home to an indeterminate number of GBT crew leaders who are students at the universities in Irkutsk. The transition from trail crew to student has already happened, and our first morning here was a flurry of many people showering, cooking breakfast, brewing tea, and heading out for classes.
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| Honey vendor in an Irkutsk market |
Jennie and I walked about in the city, really enjoying the central market. There are blocks of outdoor stalls where vendors offer vegetables and grains. Inside a lofty building are permanent stalls with bread, garden seeds, baked goods, and long counters where vendors sell honey, yogurt, fish, and meats.
We've had long meetings with GBT staff as they give Jennie background information on the history of the organization and the challenges it faces. We also drove an hour east to Lystvianka on the shores of Lake Baikal to visit museums that focus on the lake and on the heritage of people who have lived here for centuries. A highlight was a lunch of omul — smoked fish that is one of the mainstays of the diet around Lake Baikal.
Best of all has been the visiting. We were invited in the evening to the apartment shared by Natasha and her husband Volya (both key GBT members) and American Elisabeth Kruger, resident coordinator for students coming from Middlebury College to study in Siberia. After three years here, she has a deep and interesting understanding of the joys and challenges of life in this part of the world.
The apartment is in a 1940s building constructed by Stalin to house government officials. It is spacious with very high ceilings, black and yellow tile on the walls, and wooden parquet floors. "We think that the chief of police lived here," Elizabeth told us, "or someone from the KGB."
"We did not have to put in listening devices to know what you are saying," Natasha laughed. "They are probably already here."
The street-level store beneath the apartment is now a clothing store for pregnant women—perhaps not quite what Stalin envisioned here.
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| Jennie Douglas orders a lunch of omul — smoked fish that is a staple of Lake Baikal. |
Elizabeth explained that when Siberians say "let's have tea," that means let's get out soup and bread and sweets and cake, brew the first pot of tea, and then visit around the kitchen table for the next three or four hours. Which is what we did, the conversation ranging from trail work and travel in Siberia to the babr, the creature on the coat of arms of Irkutsk. It shows a tiger-like animal with a sable in its mouth.
"It was to be a real Siberian tiger, orange and black," Volya told us."The design was sent to Moscow for approval but there was a misunderstanding and it came back to us all black. So, it represents a mythical creature that represents our mythical power."
I asked about the sable in the babr's mouth. Last year I'd heard that the babr was rescuing the sable. "Yes," Volya chuckled, "rescuing it to have for lunch."
And so the evening continued with wonderful conversation, much wit, and many insights into a place we hope to understand a little better in the days and weeks to come. We'll do that today by going to the Lake Baikal Days celebration downtown, then tomorrow morning drive around the southern end of the lake to the first of the national reserves and four days of helping with trail design for next year's GBT work crews.
And perhaps we will meet a babr in the woods, though I'm only believing my eyes if it is orange and black.