On the road...

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!