FROM LAKE BAIKAL

Yesterday we took a three-hour "private bus" (van) north from Irkutsk to Bolshie Koty, a 700 resident hamlet on the bank of Lake Baikal*.

This was more of what I was expecting when anticipating Siberia! Deep forests abounding as we entered this tiny town that time seems to have left behind. (poetic, eh?)

We did a home stay with locals.. Three of the girls and I were in one house and Craig, Catherine and Erin in another. Our host fed us three times and it was surprisingly good. I avoided all "meat" products though.

My bedroom was actually their living room, but I slept through the night without an issue.

Each house has their own bano, a sort of sauna, which they use to bathe and rejuvenate. I gave it a whirl, but think I still prefer Westin's Heavenly Showers.

This is the kind of town with no running water, no sign of a bank or police station and cows roaming free everywhere.

Really quite beautiful with mountains overlooking the enormous lake.

The ice-cold lake, renowned for adding 25 years to the life of anyone who swims in it, was only FULLY entered by Craig and Catherine.

Off to Mongolia next. Hopefully the Russian border agents will be kind with my passport "issues".

My beard has grown unruly and the tour group thinks my daily diet absurd. (these are unrelated items, btw)

*LAKE BAIKAL TRIVIA
-world's oldest lake
-deepest lake in the world at over 1,600 meters
-contains 20% of the total fresh water in the world and could serve the fresh water needs of the entire world population for 40 years before being completely emptied
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