Saturday, September 6 - Lake Baikal Day

 

 

Lake Baikal Day – Our itinerary today was designed to provide an introduction to Lake Baikal, from the Baikal Museum (Limnological Institute) to a boat excursion on the lake later in the afternoon. Listvyanka is about 50 minutes from Irkutsk.

 

On the road to Listvyanka.  Mongolia's not the only place that has
straight roads.  Russians drive with considerable vigor. 

 Beneath it - The Limnological Institute is located near the resort town of Listvyanka, and with the help of our guide, Helen, we got a very thorough grounding in the intricacies of idiosyncracies of this remarkable lake – a whole list of “ests” – biggest, deepest, etc.  It is the place where two tectonic plates came together creating a rift that eventually filled with water.  This completed our downstream journey from Lake Khovsgol in Mongolia.

 

Helen, our tour guide, explaining the geological wonder that is Lake Baikal.

 

An image that a geologist like Gary Griggs would LOVE.  This is
earthquakes recorded in the Lake Baikal area between 1950 and 2009.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above it

We then had a chance to see the lake from high above thanks to a ski lift that doubles as a gondola in the off-season.  The lift hoisted us to the top of the ridge just above and west of the museum. 

The Group High Above Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal viewed through a local version of the ovoo that one finds
all over Mongolia.  This marking of special spots can be traced back to
local shamanism.

 

Eat Some of it

Dried omul and other Baikal delicacies at an open air market.

Then we repaired to a lovely nearby and ate a lunch with two omul dishes.  Omul are indigenous fish living in the lake, and are part of the commercial basis for the lake economy.


Our omul lunch, and it was yummy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ride on Top of it

In mid-afternoon we then had a chance to venture out on the lake in a 60 or so foot long charter boat – an intimate boat ride as Helen described the Circumbaikal Railroad project despite a howling cold wind.

Faces – The group members on the boat.

Lud and Barbara McCrary contemplating

 

Helen our Guide

 

 

 




Janet Jones and Barbara Canfield

Pat Loughlin and
Joe Jedrychowski



The Donnellys deep in thought

 

The Babushka Queens - We stumbled on this local group of lovelies as they were headed of to a party.  Aren't they just
the prettiest things you've ever seen?