No civilization for 3000Km in any direction...
This is the middle of nowhere!
Small settlements of log cabins come and go. Some of them emerged during the building of the Great Trans-Siberian Railway, other served as jail-stations for Stalin era prisoners sent to the goulags.
Even on modern time trains, the conditions seem to be getting harsher and harsher. The roads and even the station platforms are now unpaved, the food on offer is scarce...
Reaching Byuratia Republic, I unsuccessfully tried to find and taste reindeer bone marrow - the indigenous tribes used to eat it while still warm from animals killed on the spot. This is no place for Santa Claus and his furry helpers...
Crossing 9 time zones in 5 days is never easy; add to this the decreasing comfort and increasing noise of the locomotive bone-shaker which cuts through the vast black forests and you get the idea...
Furthermore, the endless zig-zag movement of the train seriously affects my centre of balance, making me feel dizzy when the train comes to a halt at the numerous stations - just like a sailor who steps on land after months in the sea!
In the wagon coupe, the mother figure of Irina (ИРИНА) is taking good care of me. She is also travelling to Irkutsk, with her son Evgeniy (ЕВГЕНИЙ).
Irina is making sure that I sort out my pillow and pillowcase, that my clothes are hanged on the hooks on the wall, that I eat properly, that I wake up at every stop in order not to miss the sights... What sights? I guess she means the run down soviet-style buildings and the rusty footbridges...
All in all a lovely character who never gets tired of talking... about everything... all the time...
We get along well together, even if we have to employ the use of russian, english, german, spanish, italian and greek words in order to understand each other... Some times it even works out :)
Oh well, only another 1500Km to go till we get to Irkutsk, just over 25hrs left...
The important thing is that with great physical and mental effort the circle is becoming wider and deeper...
I have builЕ a greater self, strong and proud, as I wanted; he storms ahead and I follow agonisingly, following his steps as much as I can.
A time will come when the two of us will become one!
Read more!
Thursday 31 July 2008
Tuesday 29 July 2008
Reflections on Siberia...
It is said that new lands need to be created inside us first, before emerging from the horizon.
It truly feels that these territories which I am marching through, reflect the wild and desolate image of Russia that lies in my heart:
At times peaceful and calm, then again vibrant and furious, full of controversies, full of new life and decomposed dreams.
Still, I have found russians to be very hospitable and helpful, ever so keen to share their thoughts ...in their language, and despite me informing them that I do not understand a word they say!
Notable landmarks on the way included an obelisk at the top of the Ural Mountains to mark the border between Europe and Asia, and a huge pillar at the entry point to Siberia.
Apart from that, the landscape was rather monotonous, changing slowly from dense taiga forests in European Russia to vast steppas in Siberia.
Even without looking outside the window, life on the train is quite interesting in itself.
For two days I travelled in the same coupe with Valery (ВАЛЕРИ) and Ina (ИНА), an elderly couple returning home from a visit to their son in Moscow. The only other thing I managed to find out about them was that Valery is a professor of Physics in the local university. They taught me quite a few russian words, and I even got a grasp of a conversation they had about politics, which included the names of Lenin, Putin, Zuganov, Chrustsev and mighty Stalin!
All in all, about 26 people were in my wagon, many of which were coming knocking on my door to return things I had forgotten all over the place, such as my camera(!), my transiberian handbook, pencils, my notebook etc.
Quite clearly though, the locals' favourite passtime was gulping all types of strong spirit from what seemed to be an endless supply of bottles they produced out of nowhere! To refuse would be to insult them, according to russian etiquette, and when a bottle opens it must finish :0 At the stops, I was quite happy to treckle off the train for some fresh air and to maintain my sanity...
There, on the platforms, were the ever-present babushkas, selling freshly made food and - guess what - more alcohol. (Un)fortunately, no bugs, lizzards and snakes were anywhere to be found, but I am certain I will have the opportunity to fulfill your requests while in Mongolia and China...
Meanwhile, you can have a look at the pictures I have uploaded (see link on the side bar).
ДО СВИДАНИЯ!
Read more!
It truly feels that these territories which I am marching through, reflect the wild and desolate image of Russia that lies in my heart:
At times peaceful and calm, then again vibrant and furious, full of controversies, full of new life and decomposed dreams.
Still, I have found russians to be very hospitable and helpful, ever so keen to share their thoughts ...in their language, and despite me informing them that I do not understand a word they say!
Notable landmarks on the way included an obelisk at the top of the Ural Mountains to mark the border between Europe and Asia, and a huge pillar at the entry point to Siberia.
Apart from that, the landscape was rather monotonous, changing slowly from dense taiga forests in European Russia to vast steppas in Siberia.
Even without looking outside the window, life on the train is quite interesting in itself.
For two days I travelled in the same coupe with Valery (ВАЛЕРИ) and Ina (ИНА), an elderly couple returning home from a visit to their son in Moscow. The only other thing I managed to find out about them was that Valery is a professor of Physics in the local university. They taught me quite a few russian words, and I even got a grasp of a conversation they had about politics, which included the names of Lenin, Putin, Zuganov, Chrustsev and mighty Stalin!
All in all, about 26 people were in my wagon, many of which were coming knocking on my door to return things I had forgotten all over the place, such as my camera(!), my transiberian handbook, pencils, my notebook etc.
Quite clearly though, the locals' favourite passtime was gulping all types of strong spirit from what seemed to be an endless supply of bottles they produced out of nowhere! To refuse would be to insult them, according to russian etiquette, and when a bottle opens it must finish :0 At the stops, I was quite happy to treckle off the train for some fresh air and to maintain my sanity...
There, on the platforms, were the ever-present babushkas, selling freshly made food and - guess what - more alcohol. (Un)fortunately, no bugs, lizzards and snakes were anywhere to be found, but I am certain I will have the opportunity to fulfill your requests while in Mongolia and China...
Meanwhile, you can have a look at the pictures I have uploaded (see link on the side bar).
ДО СВИДАНИЯ!
Read more!
Saturday 26 July 2008
MOCKBA baby!
Finally!
After a day of endless queueing (for everything that you can possibly queue for), I made it to Red Square and the Kremlin...
The stunning buildings all around, along with Lenin's tomb, make for a fantastic scenery...
Ended up having food fronm Kazakstan too!
It is time to recuperate my energy and board the train on the very day of my birthday (July 26) :]
Read more!
After a day of endless queueing (for everything that you can possibly queue for), I made it to Red Square and the Kremlin...
The stunning buildings all around, along with Lenin's tomb, make for a fantastic scenery...
Ended up having food fronm Kazakstan too!
It is time to recuperate my energy and board the train on the very day of my birthday (July 26) :]
Read more!
Tuesday 22 July 2008
Form group 10JC joins The Double March!
After gatecrashing 10JC's end-of-year barbeque earlier on today, I am pleased to announce their generous contribution of 1p per mile covered on this journey!
Furthermore, they offered their unconditional help with the organisation of future events - you guys rock :)
Read more!
Furthermore, they offered their unconditional help with the organisation of future events - you guys rock :)
Read more!
Thursday 17 July 2008
The Fundación Niños de los Andes
Many of you have said that you would like to know more about the Fundación Niños de los Andes and how to support their work.
This is a summary of the organisation's origins and activities.
The Fundación Niños de los Andes (Foundation Children of the Andes) is a non-profit organisation, conceived as a formula of protection and rehabilitation for an increasing population of children of the street, in conditions of great vulnerability to the violation of their fundamental rights.
By means of suitable programs and services, they offer real solutions to improve the quality of life of the children and to reach their physical, mental, spiritual and social development; The programme is sustained by the contributions of individuals and of companies with sensitivity and social responsibility, who support the work, campaigns and events that the administration promotes, along with international organisations who finance specific projects.
The Fundación Niños de los Andes policies comply with the requirements of the Colombian State, with Legal Function and Position of Agent granted by the Colombian Institute of Family Well-being (ICBF), according to Resolution no. 00539 of the 24th June 1988. The Foundation is located in six operational centers in Bogotá, the municipality of the Rosal, Cundinamarca and Manizales Calda.
The birth of the Foundation is marked by an individual social commitment that Doctor Jaime Jaramillo assumed, who decided to fight with all means on the side of the abandoned children, offering medical attention, food, affection and a place to live.
These children, the men and women of tomorrow, could today be useful to a society affected by poverty, unemployment and war, which destroy lives and homes, devastate regions and make people forget that love, understanding and solidarity are the unique means to obtain Peace.
Read more!
This is a summary of the organisation's origins and activities.
The Fundación Niños de los Andes (Foundation Children of the Andes) is a non-profit organisation, conceived as a formula of protection and rehabilitation for an increasing population of children of the street, in conditions of great vulnerability to the violation of their fundamental rights.
By means of suitable programs and services, they offer real solutions to improve the quality of life of the children and to reach their physical, mental, spiritual and social development; The programme is sustained by the contributions of individuals and of companies with sensitivity and social responsibility, who support the work, campaigns and events that the administration promotes, along with international organisations who finance specific projects.
The Fundación Niños de los Andes policies comply with the requirements of the Colombian State, with Legal Function and Position of Agent granted by the Colombian Institute of Family Well-being (ICBF), according to Resolution no. 00539 of the 24th June 1988. The Foundation is located in six operational centers in Bogotá, the municipality of the Rosal, Cundinamarca and Manizales Calda.
The birth of the Foundation is marked by an individual social commitment that Doctor Jaime Jaramillo assumed, who decided to fight with all means on the side of the abandoned children, offering medical attention, food, affection and a place to live.
These children, the men and women of tomorrow, could today be useful to a society affected by poverty, unemployment and war, which destroy lives and homes, devastate regions and make people forget that love, understanding and solidarity are the unique means to obtain Peace.
Read more!
Tuesday 15 July 2008
So what's the food gonna be like?
Should I eat more and store extra layers of fat during the build up for this travel, just to see me through the ex-Soviet states and Mongolia?
Or should I pack up lots of provisions (instant noodles and cup-a-soup, whoop whoop!! feels great to eat like a student again!) in order to avoid disgust at first and dysentery later from the local specialities?
Well, I’ve been through so many vaccines…
All these chemicals running around my body... [switch off the light and I’ll glow in the dark!]
What can be worse?
I’ll go local. When in Rome, do as the Romans. And I’ll be posting here every single thing I eat and drink…
To make it more of a challenge, I ask for your contribution.
I’ve posted a map of the route I will be following.
Please do some research and send me ideas about the local delicacies (make it fried beetles or duck feet skewers) to be found at my next stop.
I’ll trace it down and eat it for you [guts rumbling already].
Photographic evidence will be posted too!
What more do you need to support me and the Fundación?
Read more!
Or should I pack up lots of provisions (instant noodles and cup-a-soup, whoop whoop!! feels great to eat like a student again!) in order to avoid disgust at first and dysentery later from the local specialities?
Well, I’ve been through so many vaccines…
All these chemicals running around my body... [switch off the light and I’ll glow in the dark!]
What can be worse?
I’ll go local. When in Rome, do as the Romans. And I’ll be posting here every single thing I eat and drink…
To make it more of a challenge, I ask for your contribution.
I’ve posted a map of the route I will be following.
Please do some research and send me ideas about the local delicacies (make it fried beetles or duck feet skewers) to be found at my next stop.
I’ll trace it down and eat it for you [guts rumbling already].
Photographic evidence will be posted too!
What more do you need to support me and the Fundación?
Read more!
Sunday 6 July 2008
What's this all about?
You might think "yet another travelling blog?"...
It could as well be...
The purpose of this blog though is not solely to entertain...
A few years ago I was living and working in South America...
Having already seen poverty in many forms, physical and spiritual, I was gob smacked by the sight of a 6 year old boy hugging a can of glue on a roadside of Medellín, Colombia…
I was told that this can was his most valuable possession…
A ticket to a different world, with no cold, no hunger, no death squads after him…
He had no other way out…
I stared at his eyes only to see the vacuum left by the toxic fumes he was inhaling…
I had a ticket out myself and used it to come back to the western world…
But I’ve not forgotten the sight of that boy since…
Neither have I forgotten the work of a man that has been salvaging similar children deep from the sewers of Bogotá…
Single handed at the beginning and through the Fundación Niños de los Andes later, Jaime Jaramillo has been offering hope where there’s only been fear…
Now, ready to depart on a new march, across Siberia and Mongolia, on my way to China, my thoughts are with that boy…
Tickets in hand, I want to share the experiences from my inner and outer march and to help raise funds for the Fundación…
But, most importantly, raise awareness of what is out there, a few steps from our comfortable lives…
With no ticket out…
Sit back... let the double march begin...
Read more!
It could as well be...
The purpose of this blog though is not solely to entertain...
A few years ago I was living and working in South America...
Having already seen poverty in many forms, physical and spiritual, I was gob smacked by the sight of a 6 year old boy hugging a can of glue on a roadside of Medellín, Colombia…
I was told that this can was his most valuable possession…
A ticket to a different world, with no cold, no hunger, no death squads after him…
He had no other way out…
I stared at his eyes only to see the vacuum left by the toxic fumes he was inhaling…
I had a ticket out myself and used it to come back to the western world…
But I’ve not forgotten the sight of that boy since…
Neither have I forgotten the work of a man that has been salvaging similar children deep from the sewers of Bogotá…
Single handed at the beginning and through the Fundación Niños de los Andes later, Jaime Jaramillo has been offering hope where there’s only been fear…
Now, ready to depart on a new march, across Siberia and Mongolia, on my way to China, my thoughts are with that boy…
Tickets in hand, I want to share the experiences from my inner and outer march and to help raise funds for the Fundación…
But, most importantly, raise awareness of what is out there, a few steps from our comfortable lives…
With no ticket out…
Sit back... let the double march begin...
Read more!
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