I’d forgotten what real cold feels like but it all came back to me soon enough. Listvianka would be our brush with winter in Siberia. The snow covered mountains, a completely frozen Lake Baikal, crystal clear blue sky and ice crystals in the air. The temperature itself wasn’t in the extremes, probably something like -17 C. But when the wind would kick up it was the -32 wind chills that brought back memories of winters in Edmonton and Toronto. When it hits your face it stings your skin and you quickly feel numb.
Walking down to the main road from the chalet I came across this guy poking his head over the fence and gave us a friendly wave. He happily agreed to my taking a photo and gave a big smile.
F and I were off in search of an old wooden church our guide had told us about. We snaked our way through the frozen muddy streets looking at the weathered looking wooden houses. We found the church eventually and it’s tiny and painted a peach colour. My thoughts on the choice of bright colours we’ve seen in Siberia are it’s a way for people to balance the gray/brown bleakness of the surrounding area. Either that or they’re trying to look like a Russian version of Miami.
We wander around the building and take some photos of the exterior. I notice one elderly lady walking across the church yard and go inside. I put my camera away (you’re not allowed to take photos inside) and slowly open the inner door that leads to the sanctuary. I open it about 6 inches and much to my horror I look inside and see before me an open casket, the priest and 3 mourners all looking back towards me. Seems there is a funeral in process, oooops L So much for seeing the church.
We quickly exit outside just as C&M arrive and we break the bad news. Didn’t have much planned for the day apart from that to be honest. Seems like a good a time as any to find the bakery that we’d been told about and warm ourselves with a steaming cups of espresso and pasteries that were still warm they were so fresh. I had something like a banana Danish, extremely yummy.
Listvianka is a very small village but the idea of a frozen lake was a new experience for the friends I was travelling with. They found it so strange to see trucks driving along it’s surface. You could also see past ice fishing holes that had since frozen over when no longer in use. Goofed around taking some silly shots jumping up and down on the surface.
We walked around a bit more and C wanted to go back to the cafe as she was trying to load iTunes on her het book and there was a wi-fi connection next door. It was around this time that I noticed the lens cap was missing from my camera. I parked C at the cafe and I decided to try and retrace my steps back to the church as that was the last I remembered putting it on. As I started back walking through the snow covered path this little ball of fur came happily bounding after me.
I’m pretty sure he was a stray as his fur was looking a bit matted but he was so cute and he just decided to start walking with me. When I got to the church he stopped at the steps and then sat down looking at me as if to say, I’ll wait here.
I once again slowly opened the door and this time there was no dead body or mourners to be seen so I took the opportunity to take a look around. The walls were white washed and there was much artwork in guilded frames hanging but it the overall look seemed subtle and understated. I came out and my new found companion was standing there waiting for me wagging his tail. Walking back I’m happy to report I did find the lost lens cap. When I got back to my starting point the puppy then looked up at me and tilted his cute head as if to say it’s been fun and then off he went to sit on some steps in the sun as I walked back to the bakery to collect C.
We wandered along the main street and found the market area where many of the stalls were selling dried Omal fish. A few other stalls had handicrafts but as it’s not tourist season yet many stalls were empty. We got to the end of the road and there was a large gate that was open so I wandered in and took a few photos. Shortly afterward I heard some harsh words that I’m guessing would be translated into something like “hey, what are you doing, you’re not allowed in here” Ooops again J I think the resulting shot was worth it though.
Back to our chalet for another wonderful home cooked meal and conversations with the mother/daughter we had met on the train. This is our last night as tomorrow morning we go back to Irkutsk for the day before boarding the train for the next leg of our journey.
