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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
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Sep 24, 2010 02:00 PM Last boat to Dudinka
The sailing season on Yenisset lasts from June to the end of September. I sail on the last sailing in this season。Every few hours we are calling the Siberian villages. People are coming to the ship on their boats to collect passengers and goods. There is a lot of time for the talks with the locals - I already have many friends on the ship - my knowledge of Russian helps to broke the ice.
It was snowing today and it gets colder and colder。Only 2 deg Celsius in the morning。 The plate of the soup in the ship's restautant costs from 60 roubles，the plate of potatoes with meat -from 250。 The big river is getting wider and wider。There are still great fall landscapes on the banks of Yenissey。
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Sep 23, 2010 02:00 PM 2000 kms down the Yenissey。。
When I came in the late evening to the prichal-little jetty of Yenisseysk it was rainy and very windy。 The ship - Alexander Matrosov arrived 11 pm。 And it was drifting about anhour expecting improvement of the weather。Fortunately we
did not wait till the morning。。。 At 1 am I was already in the cabin and we departed soon.
It is 2000 kms from Krasnoyarsk to my final port of Dudinka at the mouth of Yennissey. Great river adventure - I am the only foreigner aboard Matrosov!
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Sep 22, 2010 02:00 PM Getting ready for the Far North of Siberia
I the morning I visited local museum (20 roubles entry fee). It is worth regarding the history on display. Nansen was here and there were gold rush in the middle of 19th century.
Then I met descendent of the Poles sent here during Stalin regime - what a pleasant surprise! T
The boat to the north is departing today late in the evening.
I have 3 days and 3 nights of sailing on Yenissey to Dudinka - it is more then 1500 kms.
I boutht already 3 loaves of bread to take it to the ship - the food aboard is expensive! Ahoy!
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Sep 21, 2010 02:00 PM Yenisseysk - old Siberian town
Yenisseysy was established in 1619 - it is one of the oldest Siberian towns....... I stay in the lovely, little Ilimpeyskaya Hotel poying 1000 roubles for the clean room witha a shared bath. Pleople here - in outback Siberia are much nicer than in the westernized big towns of contemporary Russia.
I took a long walk along the Rabocho-Krestyanska St enjoying old, traditional timber houses and orthodox churches. It is lovely Indian Summer now here - quite warm and sunny. The loaf of bread costs some 15 roubles (half dollar), hot soup in the bar - 25-50, egg 3.50...
In the evening I got a fax from Krasnoyarsk - yes, FSB permited me to sail further north, but there are strict conditions: one day in Norilsk only and the escort from trhe beginning to the end of my stay. Paid escort - can you imagine?!
I am happy anyway - nobody of my friends saw closed town of Norilsk. More people will come if I will collect the information how to get there and how to awoid the traps...
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Sep 20, 2010 02:00 PM Sailing Yenissey River...
In the evening I got the bad news: no permit... Maybe they will decide tomorrow... FSB... But tomorrow morning I have a boat to the north... The young lady from Russian travel agency took money and promised to send me the permit to the holet in Yenisseysk where I want to make a stopover on my great river voyage down the Yenissey. Should I trust them? Do I have another choice?
At 6.30 am it was still dark when I was walking with my bacpack to the Krasnoyarsk river terminal. The boat was waiting. It is "Prof. Bliznyak" - the real twin ship of the "Kulibin" I sailed down Lena last year.
We departed on time: at 7 am. and we were sailin non stop all day... On the banks of the big river there was beautiful foliage of the autumn taiga. Great colors of green, gold, brown...
We reached Yenisseysk in the dark at 10.30 pm. No news regarding my permit...
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Sep 19, 2010 02:00 PM FSB: your travel permit is not ready!
In the past it was KGB, but now it is FSB who takes care of the people who wanst to go to the special zones in Russia. Two months ago a travel agency from Krasnoyarsk placed to FGB my application with all enclosures. I want to sail on the Yenissey River north - to the closed town of Dudinka and Norilsk. I was very dissappointed to hear that my permit is not ready and nobody knows if and when it will be ready... Next message will be in the evening...
I decided to use the day to go to the Stolby rock formations close to the town. You can go there by city bus (11 roubles each way - dirty cheap!).
There are two ways of access: 7 kms walk from the bus 50 stop or a chairlift (150 RT) from the Bobrovy Log amusement park - bus 37 goes to the park. I had a nice wether to take some good pictures of the rocks and there was a panoramic view of the city and the river from the hills. But the local Stolby are not as impressive like a Lenske Stolby (Lena Pillars - see my website) in Yakutia. Please keep your fingers crossed for the positive FSB decision. The ship down the Yenissey departs tomorrow!
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Sep 18, 2010 02:00 PM Krasnoyarsk in Siberia...
Due to the time zone changes it was already 5.30 in the morning when we landed in Krasnoyarsk. There was 15 deg Celsius in Moscow, but ony 2 deg here, in Siberia so I was running fast to the terminal building. No rain but foggy...
Taxi drivers wanted to charge 800 roubles for the 45-km ride to the city. I decided to wait for the first city bus at 7.40 and I paid only 48 roubles pls 6 for the backpack. After one hour drive I saw uncle Lenin is still standing with one hand in the pocket on the Revolution Square. From this place I took a walk to the Inna's Homestay at Lebedewoy St 109/44 - it is nice flat and the owner speaks good English... Recommended!
I took a long walk to the bank of Yenissey. It is one of the biggest rivers of Siberia, it looks very impressive in Krasnoyarsk... It is not easy to find internet access in Krasnoyarsk - I found it finally at the post office at 106 Prospekt Mira - they charge 29 roubles per hour plus transfer...
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Sep 17, 2010 02:00 PM On my way to Siberia...
Russian Kaliningrad is for the fourth time my cheapest gateway to Russia. The twice-a-day bus Gdansk to Kaliningrad costs still only 50 zlotrys - like 16 USD.
We stoent about one hour at the border and reached Kaliningrad station at 11.50 am. The bus from Kaliningrad Station to the airport goes every hour. The nearest was at 12.30. I had enough time to change money - there is a changer at the railway station but you can get better rate at the shopping center just opposite... Ther pay 30,50 roubels for USD.
I was on time for the Aeroflot flight to Moscow. New terminal D - domestic looks very nice but no internet access except the business clas lounge. The flight to Krasnoyarsk was on time and quite good hot meal was served... Welome to Russia!
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Sep 16, 2010 02:00 PM New expedition to the East!
The summer is over and I am departing for a new, long journey! I enjoyed so much last year's sailing down the Lena - The Queen of Siberian rivers, that I decided to try to make a similar feat at another big river of Siberia - Yenissey. The feat, because the lower part of Yenissey is still a special zone. To go there, you need a special permit from the the Russian authorities including FGB. I would like to get up to Norilsk - a closed city where nickel, platinum and gold are exploited. In mines of Norilsk, in the extreme conditions of Far North during the Stalin times Gulag prisoners worked, including the Poles. From Siberia, I intend to go to the western China to see Takla Makan Desert, and then to cross this great country from end to end by rail, stopping in the places which I do not yet know. This is unusual route and like in my previous travels, a lot of unknowns and challenges are waiting for me on the way. Please keep your fingers crossed for me! If there will be internet connection on the route you will find hot news from my journey in my travellog . Look at the map - it will be again more then 15000 kms, I believe...
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Sep 05, 2010 02:00 PM Last day in Oslo
There are two hills with the nice views of the city and Oslo Fiord: Ekeberg i Holmennkollen...
But most of the time I spent in the Vigeland Park, where great sculpture park is located. Entry is free and it is one of the top attractions of Norway. More then 200 sculptures in bronze and granite are on display on the open air. Gustav Vigeland was famous Norvegian sculptor and people here are very prouf of him. I had still a nice, sunny weather and the walk through the park was really great. But sorry, it is the time to come back home - to prepare another, much more serious expedition. :))
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