08.06.08
By the Lake Baikal - Bolshie Koty
Back to the train .. or in this case the ferry. So after having left Irkutsk behind us on a very packed ferry we headed south along the Angara River. The Angara, known as the daughter of Baikal, is the only river that drains the lake. There are over 300 rivers that feed into Lake Baikal and it contains about 20% of the world’s unfrozen fresh water. It’s also the deepest lake in the world and, obviously, the largest by volume. So that’s enough of the informational account.
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Soon, because much napping was done in that hour, we arrived at Bolshie Koty. We were met at the ferry by Sergei, a quiet young man and I think somewhat foolish. Foolish because he made the mistake of offering to carry some bags for the girls - Big Mistake! Within seconds he was carrying a bag in each hand as we headed off to find our place. For such a small village, Sergei said there were no more than 50 people there and I believe him, it’s quite spread out. I guess that’s what happens when you build on the shore of a lake that is surrounded by mountains. I’d encourage everyone to find photos of this place because words are not going to do it justice.
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BK, as I will refer to it from now on, was very much a village and the kind of place you always think of going to when you really need a break from everything. After dark actually meant something here as there are no street lights etc. Our homestay was more of a bed and breakfast arrangement. The guesthouse was newly built, apparently by the tourist company and they had also hired the family to run the place during the summer. Once we had ditched our luggage, Sergei’s arms were a few inches longer by this stage, we headed out for a bit of a wander. It really did feel like living in a national park as you could be walking through light forest about five minutes after you left your front door. As it was late afternoon, and drizzling, we didn’t wander about for too long. We did wander down to the shore, tested the water temperature - this resulted in frost bite!, and then just pottered about the village killing time until dinner.
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There was another group staying at the same place. They were on an organised tour with Sundowners Overland. While we had been pottering they had gone down to the lake shore for a dip followed by a stint in the Banya (Russian Sauna - one with steam not like the ones in Macau which are just steamy). Over dinner they regaled us with tales of icy cold water, boiling hot steam and being whipped with Birch branches. All seemed well and everyone was content … for now.
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Remember how I said people were having a bit of an upset stomach after eating hawker food? Yes, well…. so the next day we noticed that the power appeared to be out. Didn’t think much of it … we spent the day eating and walking about. We had now, inspired by the other group, booked ourselves in for a session in the Banya before dinner. The plan was to go for a ’swim’ in the lake and then rush into the Banya and spend an hour there warming up for dinner. All of this happened .. to a degree. The swim wasn’t so much of a swim as a dip because it was REALLY cold. So cold that my feet started go numb after about a minute, the first time i went in and after about thirty seconds the second time I went in. Some of you are probably thinking … “Well if it was so cold why go back in?”. I had to be sure it wasn’t just the shock value you see? .. and no it really was that cold. After the freezing cold water of the lake .. it felt like a hot summer day out of the water. It was probably about 16 degrees but it felt like 30. We wandered back to the Banya where we found that just as the Lake was a lot colder than expected, the Banya was a lot hotter too. The girls sat, for the most part, in the change room where it was still quite hot. I sat in the actual steam room partly because I’m used to constant heat, partly because I wanted to see what it felt like and partly because my brain was numb after having dunked it in the icy lake water. We lasted about half an hour before the girls called it quits and headed back in.
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This was when then fun began. So we knew that there was no power but what people didn’t realise was that this also meant no toilet. The guesthouse pumps underground water into a holding tank in the roof and then relies on gravity to provide water pressure. Since the power was gone we only had a single tank of water for all, by this time, eleven guests. This in turn meant that water could only be used for washing faces etc but any toilet breaks had to be taken in the outside toilet. It was putrid as any camp toilet is. It did have four walls a roof and also a big tank under it which held the waste. The only problem with the arrangement was that there was no U-bend so you could smell the raw sewage quite clearly. Having no choice but to use this .. the girls went sparingly, limiting the consumption of anything that may force an increase in frequency. That night was spent playing cards and drinking Baltika, chilled in a tub Lake water we had carried up earlier. The next day we were expecting a guide to turn up and take us on a seven hour walk to our next destination - without our packs thankfully.
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I know it doesn’t sound like we did much .. and that would be true 
But it was one of the most relaxing weekends I’ve ever had. Between no Internet, no phone reception and no traffic (there’s one motorbike in the village) it was so peaceful that you felt you could easily spend a week or two here. We made plans to return in winter so that we could see the lake frozen over and also see the frozen waves. I’d definitely spend at least 3-4 days there when I’m next in Russia and maybe even just do the Eastern half and end the trip in Yekaterinburg or Irkutsk.
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Our “walk” the next is a whole other story so I will send that through next