ALGERIA TO LIBYA - Date
Lake Baikal has, for most Russians, a magnetic attraction, and, rather like the Haj, most aim to go there at least once in their lifetime. It holds a mystical fascination which up until now I have never really understood. This time, however, we arrived on a gorgeous afternoon with clear blue skies and snow still sitting on the hills 40 miles across on the other side. It was really lovely and suddenly I woke up to what it is all about. We stayed in a simple but delightful little family run hotel with individual bungalows, hot water, flushing loos and delicious home cooking. Omul is the famous Baikal fish and you have it at least twice a day - hot smoked, cold smoked, raw, baked, fried - you name it you have it. Gets a bit monotonous over time.
The statistics for Baikal are extraordinary. Bigger than all 5 American Great Lakes put together, it would stretch from London to Edinburgh, is over a mile deep in places and holds 17% of the world's fresh water. There are numerous flora and fauna endemic to the lake and found no where else, including the Nerpa seal, the only fresh water seal in the world.
We drove round the bottom end towards Ulan Ude and camped for a night beside the Selenga river which flows through Ulan Ude and into Baikal. The following morning the brand new Discovery 3 Land Rover suspension failed. Under warranty and about 2,000 miles from the nearest dealer. What do you do? The answer is mend it with whatever is at hand. Dima and Alexei were amazing, with a bottle of whisky we got the use of the local police station garage and narrowed the search down to the compressor which controls the air suspension. Decided nothing more could be done there, found a truck which would transport it to Ulan Ude and got it to a garage. 2 of the staff were MIG fighter pilots from the nearby base earning extra money working as mechanics. They painstakingly stripped the compressor until they found a small seal had disintegrated. One of the mechanics knew there was a very similar part on a MIG, retrieved a couple from the nearby base, re-worked one and put it all back together. We were back in business and had only lost a day. The question now is whether the warranty is null and void for tampering with the car!
Ulan Ude is an interesting city and well worth a stop. Set in the autonomous republic of Buryatya (larger than Germany), the Buryats are essentially Mongolians who were separated from the main tribes. Religious belief in the area is complex with Buddhists, Shamanists and Old Believers flourishing side by side. There are two Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and several excellent museums.
The drive from Ulan Ude to Chita was beautiful although we were helped again by glorious weather. Like Scotland I assume it would be totally miserable on a bad day! Wide flat valleys, separated by low rocky hills covered in trees, were bisected by mighty Siberian rivers flowing north to the Artic. Very similar to Mongolia but with more signs of people. In a small town we found a lonely 19th century wooden church falling apart but with a new cross attached to the roof. It was a symbol of hope. I write to you now from Chita, our last point of civilization before we cross the Russian equivalent of the "Empty Quarter". 1,000 miles of dirt road, no towns of any consequence and our hope is that it does not rain, turning the road into a mud bath. The Land Rover computer does not understand we have fixed the compressor and is complaining. Dima has now gone to find someone who will doctor it. Warranty well and truly gone now!
My next email should be from Khabarovsk in 8 or 9 days time.