June 24 to July 5 2016  Beautiful Georgia Part III 

Lovers' Tower

As we drove through the valleys of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus mountains, we passed many fortresses and watch towers evidence of Georgia's key position as a major corridor for the Silk Road trade in times passed but also a reminder of invading forces. But still today it is a key land passage between Asia and Europe. More on that a little later for now I want to relive idyllic days travelling through wooded and craggy mountains where lives four species of bear, deer, martens, wild pig, jackals, squirrels, countless species of birds - and glorious wild flowers and herbs! Everywhere along those roads, and through large towns as well, sauntered cows some with bells tinkling as they grazed. If they bothered to look at us encased in our zappy 'jeep', it was but a casual glance as we maneuvered past them. No question of who had right of way!  We passed donkeys towing laden carts as well as bicycle carts. Sleek horses and grizzly hairy pigs chomped their way through lush grasses, herbs and flowers. Slightly more wary, but only just, than the laconic cows.

Ushguli in Svaneti

We were traveling to Ushguli in the Upper Svaneti region, the highest continuously inhabited settlement in Europe (2200m) famous for its medieval watchtowers. In fact Svaneti is the highest inhabited area in the Caucasus. The views were breath-taking - pristine mountains, deep gorges, gushing rivers… and roads which are definitely not for the nervous driver or passenger! Our trusty driver squeezed us past road washouts, collapses and land slides. All very exciting. I have a small river crystal to remind me of those valleys.

Svaneti has its own language and fierce traditions going way back to a time when they lived in those same watchtowers along with their cattle. Many of those watchtowers have survived thousands of years of the earthquakes that continue to shake this huge mountain range, and still dot the valleys and lower slopes. Distressingly there is a push to mine uranium in the region which will basically shut down the whole unique region of the Svans. They wait with baited breath the outcome from  'the powers that be'.
On a lighter note, we wolfed down succulent Khachapuri the traditional Georgian cheese-filled bread and Gebzhalia an ancient dish from this western region of Georgia. It is made from sulguni cheese a brined Georgian cheese, in warm sour cream or milk with mint. Yummy! No calories in any of this of course!

Our guide Nino with the leader of the Georgian Song and Dance Ensemble who had enterained the night before.

We left the Svaneti feeling rather sad but headed for other wonders including Primetheus grotto where we walked for a very long time through dripping caves of weird and wonderful shapes. That night we were entertained by some wonderful performers in nation costume playing traditional instruments, singing and dancing. Then we took in more ancient churches and wandered through a Saturday morning market where we were assailed by delicious smells and tastes - cheeses, honey and spices and even chachas remember that fiery grape vodka that cures every thing from toothache to ingrown toenails whophff! At 10 in the morning it gets your heart galloping and ready to take on the world which in this case was simply a stroll in a delightful city park nodding to the local Saturday morning crowd drinking coffee, reading paper, walking dogs and children. And then for something quite different the following day we journeyed to the magnificent 11th Century cave town of Vardzia and scaled the towering ragged cliff which was left after an earthquakes sheeted off the face of the mountain in  12th Century. It stretches over half a km along the river Mtkvari and has 19 tiers which contained ~3000 caves serving as refectories, wine cellars, pharmacy, dwellings and once housed thousands of troops. It was a huge defense point guarding the passage north as well as a defense against the Mongols. It has a church dark and almost other-worldly hewn out of rock with amazing frescoes. We climbed up to all this wonder from the valley floor and explored the whole thing. It will remain a reminder for me of what I can do if I really want to - it was a steep climb and descent but I made it albeit it very slowly!

Vardzia - an amazing climbing experience

Then we turned for Tbilisi and the end of our fantastic journey travelling back along the river that Jason and the Argonauts sailed in search of the Golden Fleece. Truly! We had traversed the few corridors that Georgia offers as passages between Asian to Europe, explored ancient sites of great religious and historic significance, clambered through shoulder high flowers and herbs to visit mountain villages and sample delicious wholesome foods, shared roads with cows horses and pigs as we crisscrossed this stunningly beautiful country, sat down to eat with delightful, welcoming Georgians - and guzzled it's delicious wine. What more could you ask for! Thanks Sundowners Overland for a wonder-filled experience.

Sadly our planned trip to Istanbul and the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and the exotics of the souk, mosques and ancient laneways was thwarted by an 'incident' which left over 40 innocent people dead. It was a sad ending to our journey ..... but we will return once sanity returns to that old city. 
Thanks to Bev Edwards, our Personal Travel Manager, who managed so much of this wonderful trip for us so that our dreams came alive.  Contact her if you want to do something a little different but you have to have the dream! Email: bev.edwards@travelmanagers.com.au

June 28 2016   North east Georgia - rethink awesome!  

Mt Kazbegi

Breathtaking, stunning, astonishing, awe inspiring, extraordinary, incredible - merely words which can't possibly describe what we saw today. We really hit the awesome, the breathtaking, a place that almost convinced us to stay and become shepherds. Towering snow-covered mountains, steep slopes blanketed in vivid green and wild flowers that took my breath away - yellows, white, purples, blues, pinks. Colours in a myriad of shades, flowers in many shapes from the simple pea flower through bells, daisies to more intricate complexes designed to capture the meadow bees who hovered like wooly drones lazily buzzing from one flower to another. My little collection of petals is pressed in my diary and in my mind! 

Monks in rusty black, ancient carvings beside Soviet and ancient graffiti, beside pagan symbols - all clustered side by side in the walls of ancient churches perched precariously on lofty mountain peaks dwarfed even so by snow-encrusted rocky monsters like Mount Kazbegi. We clambered over the ruins of fortress walls still sheltering chapels, monuments and monasteries and ogled ranging ice-cold torrents barreling through valleys and deep mountain crevasses or spurted from beneath sheets of ice. Marvelled at bi-colored rivers, rivers that flowed so fast that the tributary waters couldn't mix - a grey churning flow beside a black roiling torrent, the confluence of mountain rivers reluctant to give up their own identities.

Gergeti church nestles neath Mt Kazbegi

We climbed through herbs and flowers as high has an elephants eye (almost!) to visit a family in the village of Juta at the end of Sno valley when the road, merely ruts much of the way, finally runs out. There we ate mountain honey and fresh made cheese with bread straight out of the oven. Juta is cut off from the world for 6 months of the year by snow. It can be a hard life but the simplicity is enticing. We watched eagles soar over high mountains pastures dotted with sheep and goats watched over by shepherds who camp out with their flocks in the summer months. Butterflies like handfuls of confetti scattered over paths and banks competed with wandering herds of cows along most roads. I so wish that I could paint!

Tomorrow promises more wonders as we travel westward to Svaneti, the region with some of the highest mountains and glaciers in the Caucasus but I have still to unwrap the whirlwind of days in the modern-ancient Armenia. So stories of Svaneti will have to await for another day.

June 27-28 Mtsketa

 Our next destination was the ancient capital and religious centre of Georgia, Mtskheta - one of the oldest cities in Georgia and one of the oldest cintunuously-inhabited cities in the world, with its UNESCO World Heritage sites - Jvari monastery and Svetitskhoveli cathredral. The magesty and spiritual ambiance of these places had us whispering and wishing we could dwell in the silence for a while. But we were swept northward along an incredibly beautiful drive through 'gorgeous' valleys - truly! and woodlands to the ski resort of Gudauri. The following day was stunning! driving beside the Tergi river into the Sno valley and then on via very narrow roads deeper into the High Caucasus to the exotic tiny village of Juta. Surrounded by the gorgeous snow covered mountains, it is completely cut off from the whole country for six months of the year. You can read more about the experience of those two days in the entry for 28 June, suffice it to say it was simply wonderful.

June 24 to July 5 2016 Beautiful Georgia Part I

King Gorgasali of Caucasian Iberia founded Tibilisi. He keeps watch

Beautiful modern and futuristic-looking building in newer parts of Tibilisi

Tbilisi is a conglomeration of the old and new all jumbled together in a fairly small area - compared to sprawling Melbourne! We focussed on the old - exploring the winding streets of the old city, peering into churches and cathedrals dating back thousands of years, before walking the ruined ramparts of the C4th Narikala fortress on the craggy heights where it once guarded the old city. 

Tibilisi's Sioni Cathedral of the Dormition

All former Soviet countries have a massive statue of a warrior mother. Here it is Mother Georgia

From there we trekked down to the millennia-old Sulphur Baths fed by a waterfall and creek at the bottom of the precipice. We happened on some exuberant and totally unexpected entertainment which was a bit if a treat - a traditional Uzbeki dance celebrating a wedding in the square outside the Sulphur Baths.

The Sulphur Baths are under the domes n the background to this wedding party

We completely forgot time in the National Museum of History - the two of us had a personal tour led by the museum's longest-serving guide (we had her all to ourselves!) - she has been guiding there for 50 years. What she doesn't know about Georgian history and treasures is probably not worth knowing - we felt very privileged.  One fascinating piece of their history is the discovery of the remains of a new species Homo georgicus ~2 millions years old in Dmanisi Georgia.  In light of the discovery the belief is that there were two waves of migrant - one into Africa from the Caucasus followed by one out of Africa. A fascinating and unexpected new thing for us.

Lindsay with the tamada - a Georgian traditional toastmaster

Dinner on the rooftop terrace of our hotel sipping Georgian wine and watching the lights come on across Tbilisi was a perfect way to end a wonderful first day.

Roof-top restaurant in our hotel afforded wonderful views over the city

As we drove east the following day into the Kakheti region, we passed what seemed like an almost endless line of fruit stalls along the side of the road selling huge watermelons, peaches and an array of other fruits and of course buckets spilling large ripe tomatoes ...... and slaughtered pigs! There they were, fresh-killed chunks of pig - pale pink mysterious shapes hanging by the roadside inviting people to buy, some cuts wrapped in cloth others, just swinging naked in the breeze. Bizarre sight for we overly-sanitized and refrigeration-oriented visitors. We called into Khareba winery for a tour and tasting and came away with 4 bottles to polish off along the way. Then we were taken to a local farm where the family treated us to a delicious lunch with fruit and vegetables from their garden and scrumptious pork shashlik all topped off with homemade cheese, wine, bread and chachas - their local fiery grape vodka ....whoph haaa!  Excellent.

A delicious was prepared for us on the property. Everything came from the farm and the bread was baked there too in an outdoory oven

The earther qvevris which were buried in the floor and sealed. Centre: these are hundreds of years old. R: a modern version

Georgian wine is pretty special. With a history of 8000 years, it is one of the oldest wine-making regions in the world. They still make wine in the traditional underground claypot, kvevris, fermentation method, which has been UNESCO listed as ab intangible cultural heritage,  along side the newer European method. Both varieties tastes of sunshine and rich soil - the wine is not readily available in Australia but do ask for it nevertheless, it's really worth a taste.

We spent the night is the oicturesque Sighnaghi, the eastermost region of Kakheti looking out over the vast Alazani Valley.

View from Sighnaghi over the vast Alazabi Valley with Caucasus in the distance

June 24 Beautiful Georgia - the beginning of a wonderful sojourn

I have run out of superlatives! Georgia exceeded our expectations. It is so beautiful, the food and wine delicious, the culture so rich in history dating back to pre-history. So you might think why not just leave it there? but the devil is in the detail as they say so I will attempt to describe some of what we saw and experienced. Our guide Nino, a born leader and passionate advocate for her country and fellow Georgians, brought it alive for us. Together with Gia, our excellent driver, we travelled 2000 or more kms from the capital Tbilisi, east into Kakheti the wine and fruit growing regions, north to one of the highest glaciers in the Caucasus (Mt Kazbegi 5047m), west to the upper Svaneti region. Both regions are in the Greater Caucasus Mountains and the roads are pretty rough. And finally we headed south for another of the highlights of the trip -  the C12th cave city of Vardzia.

Where to start? The following posts barely skim the surface of our amazing trip but first a map of our travels through this jewel of a country nestled in tower mountains. Note that we had to skirt South Ossettia when travelling from east to west and we could not go further west than Svaneti as that abuts the border with Abkhazia. That and South Ossettia are both separatist regions in Georgia that have declared indepencence but are not internationally recognised. They are not friendly neighbours. (Those regions are delineated on the map with green broken libes.)

The journey we took through Georgia starting from Yerevan

June 22-23 Armenia - millennia of history in two days!

Flying over the Caucasus Moumtains

We hadn't intended visiting Armenia but it was a guaranteed way to get out of Russia before our visas expired and into Geogia (flights to Armenia are International flights whereas those to Georgia are domestic and subject to cancellation). We wished it could have been a much longer visit, Flying into Georgia over the Caucasus Mountains was quite amazing for me as they were the stuff of legends telling of distance places. The roots of or the deliniation of Caucasians.  But here we were! Armenia and Georgia nestled among the Caucasus Mountains, are sandwiched between the Black and Caspian Seas and over the millenia have been a vital corridor between Asia and Europe and between Islam and Christianity.

Armenia and Georgia (and Azerbijan) are buried in the mountainous corridor

The biblical Mt Ararat pretending to be a cloud

We arrived in Yerevan about 10pm and were whisked away to our hotel and promptly served a lavish 3-course meal. I have to say that the service we have had throughout this trip has been superb (thank you Sundowners Overland) but tonight we were dead on our feet and just wanted to fall into bed - but one can't be rude. So we sat through a delicious array of courses. Over the next two days we whirled through Yerevan, a city and culture of Biblical proportions, pockmarked with the remnants of the Soviet period but celebrating renewal and a return to its roots. This is a new Presidential Republic sitting on top of millennia of history. It is a nation which hung tenaciously while powerful neighbours bit off large chunks of their land (and continue to nibble at their borders), through periods when there was little to eat. There is a sense of renewed hope and an immense and palpable national pride. And the ancient Mt Ararat keeps watch over the renewed capital a mere 60 Kms away. 

Yerevan is often referred to as the 'Pink City' because many of the new buildings are constructed in pink tufa, a porous limestone rock. Most of the structures built during the Soviet period are of black tufa. The soft pink stone brings a symbolic lightness and glow to the city.

Our first day we toured the city's highlights including a visit to Matenadaran, Meshrop Mashtots Institute of ancient Manuscripts. This is an absolutely fascinating repository of ancient manuscripts - religious, mathematical, scientific, botanical. I could have spent hours there. As we toured our guide gave us a packed albeit potted account of her country's history and culture from many millennia BC up to today.  Something which quite fascinated me is not that Armenia has its own language but that it has its own alphabet of 39 letter developed around 450 AD by Mesrop Mashtots.

Mesrop Mashtots developed the Armeniaan alphabet and language 405 AD

On display were many botanical and geological specimens used to extract coloured pigments

Education is a precious commodity in Armenia and there are many academies, universities and colleges. Our guide has a Masters degree from Padua University where she examined the links between traditional dance and culture and what information folk dances reveal about the local culture. She is collecting/documenting many dances for posterity - much like Komitas' exploration and collections of Armenian folk music. We were treated to a performance of traditional dance and song accompanied by traditional instruments - drum and duduk, an ancient flute made from the wood of apricot trees. It produces a beautiful and plaintive sound.

Armenia boasts an enormous collection of ancient manuscripts which are used by international scholars

Our lessons in history were thus richly supplemented with stories of age-old traditions, the glue that has kept the Armenians strong at heart. We tasted delicious soup made from yogurt, wheat, and coriander, watched coffee being cooked in sand, sampled brandy from the Mt Ararat brandy distillery and at every meal sat down to a veritable feast which always included tomato and cucumber salad, local apricots (the best I have ever tasted), cherries and strawberries. 

As the first Christian nation, Christianity is intrinsic to the psyche of the people and their country in spite of almost a century of Soviet rule which saw a number of churches 'closed'. Their history is inextricably woven through with their Christian roots. (I remember the first time I was made aware of Armenia. I was listening to an interview about Komitas and it sowed the seed of curiosity and a dream to visit the country. We will visit again in 2025)  We visited many ancient churches and monasteries a few of which have been UNESCO World Heritage listed to ensure the protection of cultural and natural history. We found many such places here - also in Georgia in subsequent days.

Lake Sevan

We had but two days to see what we could of Armenia before crossing the border into Georgia. Just as a matter of interest, Armenia is also referred to as Hayastan - the land of the Hayar people, the Armenians. The economy is based on mining and agriculture and as we traveled northeast to the border we passed areas where obsidian and moonstone are mined near Lake Sevan. Lake Sevan is absolutely beauitful.  It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude (2000m) lakes in Eurasia and certainly the largest in the Caucasus region. It provides 90% of fish and 80% of crayfish catch of Armenia.  Copper is mined to the north around the Lori region as well as in the south. As we got into the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains we traveled through forests of beech, plane, pine, oak, elm - it was quite breathtaking!

Haghpat, one of the numerous UNESCO-listed monasteries

After a sumptuous lunch overlooking an immense valley in the Lori region, we spent a magical hour wandering around the UNESCO-listed Haghpat Monastery complex where our guide sang a most beautiful ancient love song which echoed up into the soaring vaults of the church - it was very special and took our breath away. 

Beneath the  monastry floor were wine vats - also used to hide treasures from invaders

Haghpat Monastry - doors to the church

Thus ended a very special albeit far too short visit to this ancient place and culture. We then walked across the River Debed from Bagratashen in Armenia to Sadakhlo in Georgia where we picked up for the 50 km trip into Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. 

At the border of Armenia there is a sign with a map of the country. It is an interesting shape. Once it was considerably larger than it is today spreading west along the Black Sea but in the early 1900s it was seized by the Turks. To the east, Azerbijan as bitten off large chunks of and continues to nibble at its border.  Yet this tenacious little country hangs on. And we are about to go over the border to another country, also once part of the Soviet Union, a country which similarly has big dogs snapping at its borders. In fact two large chunks, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, once autonomous regions of Georgia, have been the subject of conflict and international dispute since the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Enough! we are about to enter Georgia, the next and last phase of our journey.

The red lines denote the borders of Armenia and Georgia

June 20-22 Moscow Moscow dah dah dah ........

One of the things we missed on our train journey was seeing the Ural Mountains. It was a little disappointing as they mark the transition from Asia to Europe and take me back to enjoyable geography lessons at High School, but what can you do? We crossed them in the dead of night. However ......Moscow! 

This could only be Moscow! Quite magnificent

It is huge, almost overwhelming, architecturally grand, crowded, fascinating, elegant in a way that redefines 'cosmopolitan'. Famous names, buildings and historic events confronted us at every corner. We walked and walked taking in the heart of Moscow from Red Square and the Kremlin to the magnificent Metro stations with their mosaics and sculptures. Dimitri, like all our Russian guides, was very knowledgeable and had a deep passion for his country. Our Russian guides all had tertiary degrees in languages, tourism etc and they were always open to probing questions so we felt very fortunate.

A different perspective on this fantastic cathedral

The big highlight for me, well there were two actually, but the first - St Basil's Cathedral! Wow and again wow! We visited it two days in a row. First to walk the perimeter and take lots of photos and simply soak in its beauty and then to return the following day on our own to explore its inner sanctums. It was a Lewis Carroll dream in living colour - cupolas of  brightly-coloured boiled lollies of giant proportions, domes of colour and phantasmagorical patterns - I walked around with my mouth hanging open. Everywhere you looked was something new - turn a corner and look up and there we were met with yet another dome or spire or new roof perspective, a different pattern painted or carved and almost hidden in a small alcove or high under a lofty domed ceiling , a quirky totally unnecessary decoration tucked into an unexpected spot. What a fantasy place! We climbed narrow spiral stairs between floors and in one magic moment I turned a corner in a narrow passageway and heard the most beautiful singing. One could have imagined that Angels live in this glorious place and do nothing but sing with joy or sorrow. But no, it was a small group of monks lost in a Gregorian chant which echoed down through the darkness of this single frescoed passage in the vast labyrinth of curved passages and rooms. In the end of course, we had to leave but it was a 'bucket list' day for me. Why? because as well as visiting this magical place, which incidentally was built to celebrate vanquishing the Mongols, we visited a few underground Metro stations. 

The Metro is everything people say it is - and more!

Words fail me as always, but the stations we visited lived up to my expectations. Intricate mosaics and bas-relief sculptures, massive bronze statues gleaming gold where people touch them every day on their way to and from work - a boy's knee, a dog's nose and so on for luck or peace. All the images and cameos told the history of Moscow and Russia. They are palaces for the people, history and art museums built into everyday life. 

I have forgotten so much of the history and certainly the dates except for one that still amazes. Russia was baptised as a Christian nation in the 17th century. Why I didn't know this I cannot imagine. I guess it is just one many thungs that crowd my bucket of ignorance. I had imaged its Christian Orthodox roots went a long way back in history. I am determined to read more Russian history. If I have it wrong I wouldn't be surprised as we have been almost overwhelmed with information but it seems that around this time Christianity made a push into the lands of  Slavic tribal groups and aboriginal  lands of what we know as Siberia.

Absolutely beautiful market full of marble, chandeliers and mirrors. Opened in 1901.

We had our Moscow guide for an entire day and what a day! We headed out at 9am (after our 4am arrival!) and didn't stop until after 7pm. After a whirlwind day of walking around buildings, the Metro, Red Square etc etc and a visit to Moscow's oldest supermarke - Gastronomia Eliseevsky - our journey of discovery with Dimitri wrapped up with a visit to a most unusual place. Tsiferblat, a coffee 'shop' where you pay for time spent there rather than what you consume. It felt a little like a secret club - ring a bell on the outside wall and you are let into an old building, climb the stairs and knock - no password required but it felt like that. Once inside you are greeted warmly, told to select a clock all of which are named (ours was Eva) and that is recorded with the time and your name and then you simple wander until you find a corner to your liking, make yourself a drink and chill out.  We were entertained by two different pianists - casual, spontaneous, just enjoying themselves playing for no one in particular. All very arty and rather reminiscent of the atmosphere of the coffee shops of the 60s, but one could imagine Dostoyevsky and Pushkin lounging there engrossed in philosophical debate.

This small plaque on the wall with an intercom gives you entree to Tsiferblat

The next day we headed out again on our own to negotiate our way through the Metro to spend time on the Red HOHO bus for a more global view of the city.  We ended up spending at least 5 hours in a whirlwind tour which took in history, architecture, politics, religion etc. All too much to relate here - even if one could remember it all! But we saw old and ancient history celebrated in bronze statues in prime positions in front of new modern edifices, examples of architecture like the 'Seven Sisters' from Stalinist time reaching above the horizon like adornments on a crown. Moscow's architecture was strongly influenced by some of the wonderful buildings of early C20th USA - the Chrysler and Flatiron buildings for example.

The following day was our last in Russia and we had but a morning to snatch a last look at this intriguing city. We visited the Izmaylovo markets. Borrowed I am sure from children's literature, it is a conglomeration of fantasy shapes and images ..... Google it! A crowded colourful and typical market to tempt tourists and locals alike. We had no room in our cases to buy anything but the drawcard really was the roof of the market.

The roofline of this market is phantasmagorical

So ended our wonderful sojourn in Russia. We flew out of this intriguing country with just hours to spare on our 30 Visas

June 9 to 20 Russia - east to west

The Golden Horn bridge looms out of the mist 

I could never do justice to our journey across Russia's vast plains, tigra, marshes and mountains, not to mention its monumental cities and intriguing and, for us largely not understood, history. I'd be attempting something in the proportions of 'War and Peace'! Suffice it to say it was exciting, engaging, challenging, intriguing and memorable. From misty Vladivostok where we had a wonderful guide who walked and talked us through much of the city's history over the last century - its involvement in numerous wars, its naval history and to the post-Soviet period when it opened its doors to visitors. We skinnied through old submarines, mounted the decks of a ship that was built for the Russian-Japanese war, lit candles in a church rebuilt after the Soviet period, strolled through a Friday farmers market in the centre of town which sold just about everything you could image (and some things we simply couldn't identify) - fresh and dried fish and meats, gruesome cuts of 'meat', cheese local and imported, fruit and vegetables local and imported, honey from many different trees and flowers, flowers, plants and herbs. There we bought fresh food for lunch as Anna had invited us to her home for some Russian home cooking. We also bought Lindsay a new camera (his had been damaged in the wet) via Google Translate - a rare experience. Thank goodness for Google!
We were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to peek into the life of Vladivostok proper away from the tourist trail - off-Broadway so to speak. For us the city was a little reminiscent of San Francisco with its steep streets and stairs, col ourful buildings,busy harbour front, Golden Gate/Horn Bridge shrouded in fog. Two days sightseeing and we were off again to travel to Moscow 9000-odd kilometres to the west.

We boarded the Trans-Siberian train on 11 June first stop Irkutsk. The journey was a wonderful adventure made just that little bit more challenging as we could spoke and understood only a very few Russian words and the train stewards didn't speak any English. We managed - most of the time! 

Every carriage had a samovar on the boil

Smoked salmon by the rails and by the bucketful 

We arrived in Irkutsk (Siberia, central Russia and part of the Asian continent), the so-called Paris of Russia, after 3 days of misty weather and soft grey skies which threw into stark relief the vast green meadows we passed as we traveled west, lush grass we wished we could have gathered by the armful and taken home, marshes and huge rivers, villages and shepherds' cottages. We spent a lot of time just gawping out the window. 

One cathedral to survive the Soviet era

In Irkutsk we paused our Trans-Siberian journey for a couple of days so we could explore the city and the nearby Lake Baikal which holds a quarter of the world's fresh water.  It is enormous! During our time in Irkutsk we learnt a little about the region's, and in fact Siberia's, history from early and more recent tribal/pagan times through to the introduction of Christianity in the 17th century, the Soviet period in the 20th century and finally to the present time of renewal. 

We walked through one of the villages on the banks of Lake Baikal, took a chairlift to a high vantagepoint to peer into the distance trying to see the distant shores of the lake - we couldn't, but we got the chance to sit on a rocky spire where once the villagers sent people accused of a crime to spend the night exposed to the elements. If they were alive in the morning they were deemed innocent!

Lake Baikal

Two days of walking and our feet were very happy to mount the steps of the train for the next leg of the train journey west to Moscow 4 days away.

As an aside, we ate well along the entire route - self-catering for breakfast and lunch with packet soup, salami and cheese bought at the markets, fruit, pastries and, what we hoped were, hard-boiled eggs bought in 'point and nod' exchanges with fingers crossed at whistle stops along the way.

The scenery was beautiful - forests of conifers, birch, beech, willow, poplars, wildflowers of all descriptions including hollyhocks, wild roses, lupin, lilacs. And the colours - white and all shades of pink, purple, mauve, blue, yellow!

Charging batteries for our various devices was a bit of a challenge, but we found a 220W outlet in the dining car and sat over a glass or two of wine whiling away the time as our various things recharged.  Oh, that life could always be as complicated as that!!

Bogey tappers! Testing for cracks

It was a memorable journey peppered with funny and not so funny moment like having to dash off the train at a small station in the middle of nowhere in the wee hours for just that - the toilets on the train were locked approaching and while at stations and having just woken I simply couldn't wait!! Lindsay and the carriage stewart stood guard at the door of the train, not that he could have done anything if the train had started to pull out, but they both had an anxious eye on the clock - Russian trains leave and arrive at precisely the scheduled time to the second! It was a hurried and hilarious pit stop! and I was greeeted back on board with beaming faces.

We rolled into Moscow at 4am two days before the summer solstice so the sun, and us, had been up for some time. We staggered onto the platform with our way-to-heavy luggage packed for Arctic and Mediterranean climates - plus those ..%#*^.... gumboots! And so we started another highpoint of our journey ...........

I am writing this from Gudauri a ski resort nestled in the very heart of the Greater Caucasus mountains but that will have to wait until later. We still have Moscow and Armenia to explore.

June 7-8 Kunashi, bears and sad farewells

This is nigh on the perfect volcano - a cone within a cone.

Today was our last day in the Kurils before heading for Sakhalin and the end of our 'expedition'. We spent the morning in the National Park on the largest of the Kuril Islands - Kunashir. Three 'armed' rangers met us on the beach just as the sun was climbing out of the sea to escort us for the morning - there are lots of bears on the island as well as foxes and wolverines, particularly in the National Park. And just to reinforce the potential for a dangerous encounter, a big brown bear made an appearance as soon as we arrived.

We split up into 3 groups - 2 to go birding and the third to explore the beach (that's me and a handful of others including a volcano devotee from Paris).

Total tranquility 

Bears and red foxes foraged on the beach for delicacies 

The iridescence in the early morning sky provided a perfect backdrop to a magical morning. Our particular ranger/guard, Uri, is an entomologist and together he and I rescued a caterpillar crawling on the wet sand - bizarre. He and I strolled in companionable silence taking it all in.

We wandered for over three hours and managed to see 3 bears and 4 red foxes as well as a number of dinner-plate sized jellyfish and tiny krill and masses of sea- and beach-debris. It was quiet, tranquil and warm and just being out there with only the sound of the waves running back over rocks and pebbles was nigh on perfect. I collected shells, rocks and lava and Uri found some beautiful coloured pebbles for my bulging pockets. I tend to clink a lot when I go beach combing and have to keep hauling my pants up because of the weight of my specimens.

This was one of the big jelly fish I found (the tip of my stick for size comparison)

Leonid, our Kuril Island expert, was in his element. It is here that he brings school children to camp out under the stars, to learn to live as the aboriginals Kuril Islanders lived foraging for food such as krill and shellfish on the beach and in the shallow waters, and to identify and collect edible herbs. What an experience! Lucky kids.

I don't recall what this plant was but like many of our native plants, it is edible.

Back on board and after lunch Leonid gave the final lecture - Russia and Japan in the Kurils at the end of WWII. The conversation about occupation and 'ownership' of these islands continues - it is a bit of a hot potato politically, and I suspect the conversation between Leonid and Fujio is not over.

Our final night on board was quite festive. Passengers and staff dressed up a bit even if it was just adding a clean shirt, a scarf or a bit of lippy.  The atmosphere was definitely party and dinner was a special banquet affair.  After a bit of an informal debrief, we finished the night with a slide show of the entire cruise complete with passengers and staff caught in odd moments. We all received a copy to bring home. What memories we have!

Packing up and saying goodbye was quite sad. Leonid sought me out and he and I spent some final moments talking in our halting Russo-English about his family, us making a return visit, and having a few hugs.  He is such a lovely unforgettable man who helped make that part of our trip a bit more special for me. Just before I went he told me that he and the Japanese Professor had agreed to continue their discssions about the Kuril Islands amicably.

Our journey continues westwards ............

Sadly we said farewell to the sea.

Thanks Wild Earth Travel and Heritage Expeditions for a voyage of a life time and Bev Edwards our travel agent who brought it all together. We look forward to the next!