Adventures in Siberia June 25

Adventures in Siberia
June 25, 2001 – July 9, 2001

Never let it be said that I lack a spirit of adventure.

The latest world exploration was aptly titled by Betchart Expeditions as “Lake Baikal and the Great Siberian Taiga, including the Trans-Siberian Railway from Khabarovsk to Irkutsk.” My good friend, Arlon Hunt, flew in from Berkeley, California, to join me. After a brief scare when American Eagle told us they had lost our luggage at JFK in New York, we joined our thirteen fellow travelers on the Aeroflot flight to Moscow. Our expedition leader, Dr. Victor Kuzevanov, Director of the Botanical Gardens of the State University of Irkutsk, Siberia, led us on a whirlwind trip through the Kremlin before herding us back on Aeroflot. If you look at the map, you’ll note that Khabarovsk is clear across Russia, almost on the Pacific coast, near the Chinese border and sixteen time zones from Chicago. Were we jet lagged? Nyet, of course not. Why did we fly across the Atlantic instead of the Pacific? Who knows? None of us could figure it out.

The Trans-Siberian Railway was built across the Urals from Western Russia to the Pacific by Czar Alexander III at the end of the 19^th century in an effort to consolidate Russia’s claim to the region. It roughly follows the Chinese and Mongolian borders and is the only way to travel between Irkutsk and Vladivostok by land. There is no connecting highway. With two to a four-person compartment, we didn’t feel too cramped, especially since we could wander about the train and watch the scenery flow by. There were frequent stops where we could get off the train to stretch our legs and buy food from vendors on the platform.

In eastern Siberia, the land is sparsely populated, but quite beautiful.

As we moved west, we encountered mountains and the famed Russian taiga (forests). Victor and his wife, Dr. Elena Kuzevanova, an ecological scientist with the Limnological Institute in Irkutsk, kept us busy with Russian lessons and lectures about Siberia by day and long conversations fueled by vodka and caviar at night. Two and a half days later we arrived in Irkutsk, happy with our train trip, but ready to jump into a shower at the Hotel Angara.

Irkutsk is known as the Paris of Siberia due to the influence of French architects who designed many of its grander buildings. Our tour took us past many of the old wooden houses with elaborately carved trim that have survived early settlers from over 100 years ago.

Next we moved to the Baikal Hotel in Listvyanka where we caught our first glimpse of Lake Baikal and where some of us sampled the pleasures of a Russian sauna. Very invigorating. The next day astronomer, Dr. Alexey Golovko, showed us sunspots and solar flares through a telescope at the Solar Observatory. We also enjoyed a tour of the Baikal Museum before boarding our ship for our six-day exploration of the lake.

So what’s so special about Lake Baikal? For starters, it is over 1.1 miles deep in some places, could hold all the water in the five Great Lakes combined, is oxygenated throughout so that life exists even on the bottom and it contains over 2,000 unique species of flora and fauna, including the only fresh water seal in the world.

Add to that the fact that the water is so clear and pure that it is almost like distilled water, and you begin to see why the Siberians think it is one of the wonders of the world. The lake is surrounded by steep mountains, wild taiga and, in spring, meadows full of wild flowers, much to Victor’s delight. Much of the area around the lake is national forest with only a few Buryat villages on the shoreline. The Buryats are one of over eighty indigenous tribes native to Siberia.

Our next six days passed quickly as we sailed the lake, listened to lectures and took field trips led by Russian scientists, Victor, botanist, Elena, ecology, Alexander (Dr. Rock) Bukharov, geologist, Vladimir Fialkov, Director of the Baikal Museum, and Vasili (Dr. Fish) Smirnov, ichthyologist. (Try saying that after a few vodka toasts!)

Americans and Russians alike celebrated the Fourth of July with a moonlight cookout on the shores of the lake, followed by singing and dancing, and, naturally, many vodka toasts. Several nights we were entertained by the Baikal Shores, who came along to introduce us to Russian folk music and make the trip more festive. Twice more, the brave among us sampled very hot saunas and natural mineral springs, followed by jumps in the cold, cold lake to cool off.

All of us reveled in fields of spring flowers as Victor explained their origin and beguiled us with stories of their use in Siberian folk medicine. We all agreed we’d never walk through a field of wild flowers in the same way again. From now on, we walk with our heads down to see what is underfoot.

Our trip back was twenty-four hours of daylight as we chased the sun west from Irkutsk, by way of Moscow and New York. We have a newfound appreciation for Siberia, some wonderful memories, new friends scattered around the globe and over 250 photos, a few of which are posted here.

I think I could get used to being an adventurous nomad.

-Donna

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