anyway...i haven't assigned "graded" homework yet so i am trying to get an update done here....this one is for Perm, Russia...which on some maps is referred to as the beginning of Siberia, but other places it is the town just before the Ural Mtns....depends on the map and who you are talking with i guess....i was in perm for four and a half days...three of them were spent kayaking with two super people - Yelena and Andrey...lena was my interpreter and andrey was my guide...and yes, they were only for me...which i found absolutely mind blowing...lena's english is better than mine and andrey is an outstanding outdoorsman and vodka drinker...it was a terrific visit and they really love where they are from...the stories were great...the cooking was tasty...the paddling was stunning...the thunderstorm experienced was incredible and their friendships are treasured....you should get to siberia...its amazing and beautiful...and reminded me a lot of alaska.....go if you can...and tell lena and andrey i sent you :) on to the pictures...hope you enjoy looking at them as much as i did taking them :)
this shot is of the train i took from moscow to perm....it was about 16 hours long...i shared this compartment with one other woman, who only spoke russian...and suprisingly they fed me dinner...it was really comfortable, as you can probably see from the picture...very different from the compartment i was in from perm to ulan bataar...but that's another story :)
here's a shot of lenin found in downtown perm....you find him everywhere...and of course his tomb is in red square...perm has quite a few parks for folks to hang out in...you always find folks playing chess and backgammon in the parks....it was a beautiful day i toured the city of perm....which is where dr. zhivago takes place....
this shot was taken in a village two hours south of perm...this is an "old believers" house...there are very few of these people located in russia any more...they have renounced all creature comforts...kind of like the amish in the states....lena and andrey were saying the couple that lives here is in their 80's or 90's....beautiful house don't you think...most of the houses in siberia are made from wood...not really sure why, but there are tons of woods there, so maybe that's why...also there is a TON of birch trees....its beautiful...
on the way to the river we were kayaking on, we stopped at this monastery on a hill...its in the middle of nowhere and is located in a beautiful area...it is still under renovations...and on one of the walls you can see where past church going folks were shot for what they believed in...the bullet holes are still in the walls on the outside of the church...they are leaving them there to remind them of what can happen and what they don't want to have happen again....
this is the water source for the church and the priests and nuns that live there...they say this is a form of the fountain of youth...i didn't get any water...but its been said its the cleanest water in all of russia...and its in a cool building too :)
this is the view from the church...isn't it beautiful...green as far as the eye can see...i am telling you this place reminded me so much of alaska...it was a gorgeous day as well...you could see for miles and miles (km and km)....
we saw an amazing field of lupine and just had to stop...there was a deep shade of purple and some white mixed in...awesome and the field smelled sooooo clean...it was stunning :)
the sign above shows an ice cave we visited on the way to the river as well...it was incredible...and it really had ice in it...stalagtites and stalagmites....some had colors and others they had lit up with colored lights...as we reached the deepest part of the kungur ice cave the guide shut off all of the lights...and that was PITCH black...and a bit scary :)
here i am at one of the deepest parts of the cave...i can't remember what the sign said...but i love the cyrillic language...even just to look at...i was the only tourist on the tour that wasn't russian...so lena translated for me and then the guide had to explain what she was doing...it was funny....
here's one of the cooler named parts of the ice cave...its the dante section...do you like their representation of an ice devil??? it was cool with the lights shining on it...
here are some of those stalagtites and stalagmites...they met in the middle and made a wall of ice... some of the ice walls were closer to the pathway we walked on...which was nice and smooth and lit well in most parts...although definitely not something you would find in the states, as people did slip in spots and in the states that would equal lawsuit!!! but it didn't matter, as russia is not the same as the states in that respect....
in the last part of the cave they had a christmas tree...and only had to change it out once or twice a year...beause it is so cold down there in the cave, the tree takes a long time to die...so they bring a new one once or twice a year....and keep it decorated all year long...
after the ice cave we went and had lunch...and out came the vodka for lena and i...andrey was driving and did not drink because of it...he did however, make the russian style toasts before each shot...at the end of lunch lena napped from the vodka and andrey and i watched the scenery go by...he didn't speak english and don't know russian...but it was comfortable... later we drank vodka together and he referred to it as the great communicator...the shot above is of me and the kayak we used for the three days with the three of us and our tents and supplies and such...it was terrific....
this was the tea kettle we used continually...russians really like tea...but only if its super hot (as in temperature)....i couldn't keep up with them here...they were both great cooks...you could tell andrey has done this a million times...and then after dinner he hiked back to where we started, drove the truck about 90 km away where we were stopping, parked the truck, hopped a train to where we started, jumped off of the train and then hiked back to where we were downstream...all without GPS....it was very impressive...and its something he just does everytime they take folks on the river...crazy...he knows the river and woods like the back of his hand...incredible....
this was the village we set off from...it was the last bit of civilization we saw until we finished the stretch we covered...but we did see quite a few other boaters and kayakers...its the thing to do with kids and everyone was having a great time...even when it rained... as you can see...the houses are all wood...and of course we saw power lines and tv antennas or satellite dishes everywhere we went....and cell phone towers too...we were never that far from civilization...
this is the spot we made camp the last night....and had a HUGE thunder and lightning storm...which, even though we were about 6 ft above the water line, i thought we might get washed away...at one point the lightning and thunder cracked right above us...and andrey was in a puddle in bare feet...yep....he felt it....crazy...and it was the loudest noise i have ever heard...scared us to death....but when it wasn't raining the view was spectacular....
here we are at the end of the river run...the backdrop is the area of the usva river we passed through...isn't it beautoful...i loved it and these two folks were excellent people to take me along...i treasured their knowledge and now i will treasure their friendship :)
as we headed back to perm, we stopped at this prison, perm-36, which was used during the time of the gulag...i was just confused and obviously knew nothing of this aspect of russian history...but i definitely understood it when i left....so many people were worked to death because they were political prisoners...and this specific prison was still be used in the early 1990s...which is freaky...the only other thing in the area is an insane asylum...which is still used...an institution for men...it was interesting to be there....
this is a view of some of the 20 different gates and fences prisoners would have to escape through...it was said no one even bothered to try to pass through them to freedom...there was no where to go outside of the fences...crazy...and when they felt you could handle more work, they sent you further into siberia to do just that...
here's lena next to the transportation truck to the prison for the "extra-special" prisoners...the ultimate political dissidents were brought in this way...30 or more of them packed into this truck...standing, no sitting or laying down unless you died on the way....gross...
this is a view of the entrance gate and guard tower and guard house...it really was in the middle of nowhere and if you escaped they could see you in this very flat land...it was interesting to learn about the gulag and why existed and i hope that the russians don't let anything happen like this again in their country....and that if we see something like this that we stop it as well...
back in perm lena and her boss, sergey, gave me a very thorough tour of their town...the pride in their voices was unmistakable...they took me to their military museum...this tank was important, but i don't remember why...the main thing in this museum they were very proud of was the missle launcher that shot down an american spy in the 50's...it was interesting to see, but i think they were disappointed i didn't know more of my history of russia and russia + the states....oh well...i learned a lot of information :)
this was one of my favorite buildings in perm...it was built by a wealthy man and he had images of his daughter, who lived far away from him, carved at the tops of the columns of the building and they were all from pictures from when she was between the ages of 1-16...it was beautiful...and talk about fatherly-love...
this last picture was sunset from my hotel room in perm...it was a stunning sunset...and the flags are of russia and perm's own flag as well...such a peaceful way to finish my time in perm :)okay...enough info about perm...hope you can see just how beautiful place this is...and if you go there you have to get out of the city into the woods and mountains...they are amazing :) i will try and get my pictures from my trans-siberian railway trip up in the next week or so...and then mongolia...we'll see what happens...i hope all of you are well and happy and have been enjoying your summer...and if you are starting back with school...i hope you have a wonderful year...be sure to send good vibes this way for my year too...and i'll keep you posted on what is happening in life, love and the pursuit of happiness....peace out....
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