Listvyanka on the lake part 2
Trip Start
Jan 24, 2004
1
11
31
Trip End
Apr 01, 2004
Listvyanka,
Siberia,
Russian Federation
Thursday, February 19, 2004
19th February 2004
I've decided what the hell. I shall go and see the old Circumbaikal railway line after all with its tunnels and who knows what else. I'd read something of it being a marvel of engineering and sheer hard work blasting out all those tunnels in the rock face surrounding this segment of the lake. I catch a ride on a ferry which crosses the mouth of the Angara river. The curious thing is that the river is still liquid yet the lake is frozen. The boat chugs across to Port Baikal and on it there are a few very hard looking Russians and an army truck. And now one British backpacker intent on finding some disused railway tunnels. I walk along the railway tracks which gleam through the snow at first, so obviously the old railway is still being used for something
1.The ferry boat
. But the tracks become buried in almost knee deep snowfall. The slash of white to my left is the lake of ice stretching to the horizon. I see children playing on it. I have binoculars and also see vehicles crossing it. To my right is some skeletal woodland. And finally I see the first tunnel. I'm watching the clock since I cannot afford to miss that boat back to Listvyanka. I go into the tunnel and imagine the trains roaring through it. I smoke a cigarette and think I hear wild dogs. I am completely off the map here. I turn back. The walk is more than 4 hours return. There is little in Port Baikal other than the rusty hulls of old ships and a shop which is closed. Eventually, the ferry boat leaves and I am accosted by a weather-beaten old Russian fellow to whom I give a cigarette and keep my distance. Those aboard are all cold and wet as the boat sends up spray onto the rear deck. I could have beaten the boat by actually walking across the ice flow, skirting the mouth of the river. Keeping a safe distance from the thinning edge of the ice sheet. You certainly wouldn't want to end up being swept under it. By the incoming torrent from the Angara river.
It's a good time to go and have that sauna. After my thawing, I have dinner at the nearest restaurant
2.The old Circumbaikal
. The chicken Kiev is especially good. Heather and Angela enter with a pretty oriental girl named Mae. Walking home we see a blanket of stars in the sky above us and in the darkness, the only sound we hear is that of four pairs of boots crunching on ice. At the main door into the terrace of housing in which we are staying , the girls and I are having some difficulty opening the door. Because the fucking thing has frozen solid to the door frame hasn't it. We are locked out. Locked out in bleaksville. Its pitch black and its very, very cold. Eventually a neighbour summons Luda's husband who employs some delicate shovel work and then some Russian brute force to get the sticky door open. I am anticipating that this would normally call for a celebration of vodka shots. But it doesn't and I'm thankful for that.
Next ; Jam and gin
