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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
............ 
Aug 20, 2009 02:00 PM Magadan, Magadan...
We made a big loop via Kyubeme and Ust Nera on the New Kolyma Road to meet the Old Road of Bones again in the ghost town of Kadykchan...
The area is famous for the gold mining and for Soviet gulags, where thousands of prisoniers died working in harsh conditions. After 50 years not much of the gulags remained. At least those close to tha main roads were well cleaned up...
It was late evening when we reached the Russian city on the coast of the Pacific: Magadan is the end of the Road of Bones.
It is also the end of our G-5 summit. Now everybody will continue the voyage on his own. Thank you, dear fello toprotters - it was nice to meet you and to spend with you a hard time on the Lena River and on the Road of Bones!
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Aug 17, 2009 02:00 PM Stopped on the Old Road of Bones...
Every local was convinced that is is inpossible to go via buchanka through the last stretch of the old road from Tomtor to Kadykchan... After they built the New Road nobody goes there...
We wanted to try anyway. Our colleagues from USA rented a second bukhanka for safety... First 100 km was bumpy but passable, we crossed few little rivers fording. We reached the border with Magadan Oblast... There the old road became much worse - when the new road is open since years nobody cares of it... After approx 7 km there was huge, 1 meter deep pothole blocking the road. Mud on the left, mud on the right... No way...
In addition heavy wind and rain started with a little pieces of ice falling from the sky...
It was net easy to take the decission about return to Tomtor...
Waterloo? Not! Just one more adventure!
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Aug 16, 2009 02:00 PM The Pole of Cold
Road is awfull. Forget about pavement. Bumps are very common, we are passing fords every day. But what a views of unspoiled nature!
From Tomtor on the Old Road of Bones it is inly 40 km of side road to the village Oymyakon, where once the lowest temperature on the Northern hemisphere was registered: minus 72.8 Celsius - they call the place Pole of Cold.
We took a photos of the little monument. The night temperature at the moment is like 3 deg Celsius...
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Aug 14, 2009 02:00 PM Crossing the big rivers of Siberia
Igor, the local driver of our car came late. He brought also his wife to travel with us - fortunately only for the first two days...
All stuff was packed up (I have only one 30-l backpack, but some other companions came with a big loads) and we drowe from Yakutsk to the Lena river ferry. No jetty - you go in just from the sand... Crossing took mor the one hour. On the other side - in Nizhny Bestyah is the last and cheap place to buy food.
Then hours of drive through green and lush taiga. Foto stops
(sometimes too long) - fortunately we were on time (8 pm) for the last ferry on another big river: Aldan. Sail took us like 1.5 hour - sunset was great but we we reached first overnight stop - Khandyga it was already dark. Not so easy to find a bed - it is Siberia!
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Aug 13, 2009 02:00 PM Do you know bukhanka?
It is not easy to find the car and the driver who wants to go via the infamous Road of Bones to Magadan. It is more then 2000 kms through taiga, remains of gulag camps, broken bridges, rivers to ford etc...
Helpful Agency in Yakutsk (Tour Service, Yaroslavskogo 30/1 apt 66 phone 33 53 34) arranged for us Ivan - the driver of bukhanka. Bukhanka in a little microbus - not very comfortable but very resistant - they say (gniotsa nie lamiotsa!).
We agreed for the price: it will be 13000 rou per day incl. petrol. As a solo traveller I'll never pay such a money - but is will be 5 of us to share this cost. Ferries are extra.
All of us - the toptrotters know the world but not the outback of Yakutia: we are all excited by the new big adventure which starts tomorow.
It is my last message before tommorrow's early morning departure to nowhere. I do hope we will do it in 6-7 days, sleeping in the pasiolok - tiny villages on the way. Now I am goint to buy the supply of food - not so easy available in taiga.
Next message - probably from Magadan after one week. Keep your fingers crossed, please - taiga is great but the flies (meshkha or mashkara) are awfull...
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Aug 12, 2009 02:00 PM Diamonds of Yakutia..
We are back in Yakutsk - the capital of Yakutia. The main resources of this republic (1/5 territory of Russia but only around one million inhabitants) are diamonds, gold and coal...
In Yakutsk, close to the Lenin Square I found diamonds museum. During the day they start here tours almost on every hour. They charge from the foreigners 350 roubles entry fee. If you speak fluent Russian (like me) you can go for 100.
It is well worth to see. There are not only the diamonds but also gold, traditional Yakutian dress and weapon...
In the afternoon I and Kevin went to the farmers market full of vegetables and fruits. Some of them come from Central Asia. I met the sellers from Kirgistan. They were very happy listening about my trip to their country years ago. And I was so surprised when the handed me out a gift: a bag full of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and paprika. They refused to accept any payment. Lovely people!
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Aug 09, 2009 02:00 PM Arctic Ocean!
It was unforgettable river journey through the pristine areas of the Yakutia. Before reaching dead port in Tiksi we were wating in a bay more than 24 hours due to the stormy weather.
Finally yesterday in the evening we landed in the Neelovo - close to Tiksi.
It is Arctica! It is cold (3-4 deg only during a day and windy. )No dark at all. At midnight we still have a sun.
Great place to be and very depressing place - because after collapse of Russian economy Tiksi port is almost dead.
A lot of empty, devastated buildings... But the nature is still wonderful... Greetings from Arctica!
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Aug 04, 2009 02:00 PM Through Siberia by riverboat...
We are all five together!
I was very happy to see toptrotters from USA: Jeff and Kevin in the Yakutsk river terminal...
Only 4 times in the short summer season the riverboat take the long way down the Lena River to the Arctic Ocean.
We are departing today.
The journey through Siberia - Yakutia take usualy 4 days but you never know...
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Aug 02, 2009 02:00 PM By boat to Lena Pillars
It is not a luxury boat - built in 1995 "Mekhanik Kulibin" offers inexpensive tours to local people. One toilet and one shower for 32 people...
I spent 3 days/2 night sailing Lena upstream to the wonderful rock formations called "Lena Pillars" At thr Pillars we diembarked and climbed the rocks (about an hour on the trail to get to the view point. Fantastic panorama!
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Aug 01, 2009 02:00 PM First day in Yakutia
Is was only 10 centigrades in the morning when we landed in Yakutsk. Primitive terminal, bumpy roads - real Wil East.
I met already 2 other globetrotters from Spain and France - our Friends from USA are not here yet - they suffer from cancelled flights.
Internet is not easy accessible, slow and expensive.
Tomorrow I will take a boat down the Lena River to the famous Lena Pillars. Aftern return (I do hope) our delayed friends will wait in Yakutsk and we will hopefully sail up the river to the Far North...
Sleep, sleep...
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