We arrived in Irkutsk at 09.50 and managed to scramble off with all our luggage – many thanks to Ross who carried my large bag. By this time I was feeling pretty ill, for two nights I’d been unable to sleep lying down due to breathing difficulties but had managed a fairly good last night on the train by putting my pillow on the table and sleeping hunched over it. Time for a doctor.
There were two minibuses waiting to transport us to our hostels – ours (women) is over the river near the city centre. Two dorms – one with four bunks and one with seven. And a private double room. Alena runs the hostel and is married to our guide, Leonid, who makes all the arrangements this end for Ozbus. Leonid explained that being a Saturday it would not be easy to find a doctor. An ambulance would come if I had a fever – but I was rather worried that this would put me in the system and maybe cause complications, so when he asked if I wanted to talk to a pharmacist, I agreed. Having had erythromycin before I reckoned I should ask for that and Leonid researched it online, got the correct Russian name (which I can now read fluently..!) Then we went to a local pharmacy – and they asked for a prescription. However, when they heard my hoarse voice and saw my Ventolin, and realised I was asthmatic, the problem of no prescription disappeared. Except they didn’t have any in stock. So they phoned around and eventually a pharmacy outside Irkutsk was found with just two packets of it – and they were prepared to sell me one packet. An hour later, Leonid took me – and a few of the others who wanted the ride – to this place, I got the medication and took it right away. That night I slept right through, lying down!
Leonid gave us a great tour of the city on the way back, taking us over the dam which holds a huge volume of water back from the city. Many, many rivers flow into Lake Baikal, but only one flows out: the river Angara, which flows west from the lake through Irkutsk before turning north and finally reaching the sea in the Arctic Circle. There are Arctic seals in Lake Baikal – migrated there from the sea. Amazing! When you look at the distance on a map it’s just incredible. Leonid gave us a history lesson on Buryat people, shamanism and lots more (his grandmother was Buryat). A great trip. Then he dropped us off in town where we hit the shops – and I finally bought a pair of flip-flops. Essential footwear in hostels. Those of you who got/get beautiful cards from me – they were bought here in Irkutsk. I haven’t sent them yet as I can’t find the post office and also don’t have envelopes…they’re sold separately! We walked around a bit, found a lovely cafe where we were surrounded by law students who wanted to practise English! One of the photos I took is a mural on a wall, depicting people from all races singing: they want work, not war.
After looking a bit at the sights, and taking loads of photos (spot Spiderman!), we found an Italian restaurant and had an early evening meal before returning to the hostel. We walked back via the civic centre – beautiful buildings and a park which will be green in a couple of weeks apparently. At this point I was still planning to go with the group to Lake Baikal and Olkhon Island, but after hearing it was a 6-hour drive on some tarmacked and some unmade roads, then at least a half-hour walk over the ice before another drive on the other side… well, I was a bit unsure. Anyway I had a good night’s sleep and left the decision till the morning.
Next morning, I wavered about 6 times before finally deciding that while the antibiotics were working, I was too weak for the 3-day trip to the island. The half-hour walk over the ice to the island seemed bad enough, but with the thaw on, it was likely that would be unsafe for the return journey, so a longer ice-hike of 1.5 – 2 hours might have to be undertaken. Too risky for me in my feeble state – I mean, you can’t just stop for a rest on ice! So after negotiating to move into the private room and possibly have a day trip to Listvyanka on Lake Baikal, I decided to stay in Irkutsk. I took lots of photos of old wooden houses, typical in this area, while walking through Irkutsk yesterday. They are truly beautiful and I hope there’s a programme to save them from collapse and restore them. Listvyanka not only has houses like these, but a museum of Russian life in the area. Just what I want! So it looks like things have turned out really well. Having made the decision to stay, I then went to bed and slept till 3pm. Must have needed it. I had the hostel to myself – lovely, quiet, just a bit of space on this hectic journey! Even Alena had gone home, leaving me with her phone number in case I needed to contact her.
Today, Monday 18th April (already!) The hostel is still deserted – can’t believe I’m living alone in a house in Irkutsk, no one around, can’t speak the language. Just brilliant! I had a lazy morning, took a photo of the children’s playground outside the hostel and bumped into a girl with a backpack looking for the hostel, so I took her in, and contacted Alena to let her know. We then spent some time together – found a pizza place, did some shopping for the next train (toilet roll, fruit, 3 in 1 coffee) and then came back when the icy rain started. She’s decided to come to Listvyanka tomorrow, which is lovely. We’ll be back in time for me to meet up with the rest of the group before setting off on the train to Ulaan Baator at 21.50.
So now I’m going to eat the remains of my pizza which was kindly put into a doggy bag for me. Then bed. I’ve downloaded a book about Siberian shamanism onto my Kindle, so will read myself to sleep!
Patamateria 