5.1 EASTERN SIBERIA.

At lake Baikal we camped on the south shore of the Selenga river delta, near Istok. It was raining and a stiff breeze blew over the water. Waves crashed on the shore and seagulls in the air … wait a minute ; seagulls ??? We couldn't see the opposite shore of the lake. Christine told me : « Correct dummy, Belgium fits in the lake ! ». The weather had a September feeling and the people were dressed in the appropriate clothes.

Camping at the Selenga River (B), Irkoutsk (C),
Listvyanka (D).

Next day : bright sunshine. We were out in T-shirts and the world looked better again. We camped a second night before moving to Irkutsk.

Lake Baïkal in the Selenga river delta (east shore).

In Irkutsk we went to the Toyota dealer to change the bushes on the right suspension arm.  The arm could be moved with one hand!  The Toyota dealer did not have the required spares and we had to wait one week for the spares to arrive from Moscow.  An employee suggested another workshop and showed us the way! This garage bought the bushes in Irkutsk and at 4 in the afternoon, the car had all bushes renewed on the front. In fact not only the right suspension arm, but also the left arm, the stabilizer bar and the track bar had to be renewed.  The spares came in plastic packing with the Toyota printing and numbers on it ...  I'm curious...

Irkoutsk: Bogoyavlensky Cathedral and the Angara river.

We booked a room for 3 nights in the Victory hotel, smack in the middle of the monuments and museums to be visited.  We got a discount of 50%, because of the weekend and paid only 50€/night.
That evening we went to the Arbatski Dvorik restaurant around the corner to eat the famous Omul fish and other fish from the Baïkal.  It is the truth: exquisite!

Mass in the cathedral.

Officers club in Irkoutsk.

Mansion of Decembrist Count Sergei Volkonsky in Irkutsk.
December 1825, gentlemen revolutionaries, princes, counts, ... tried
to topple the Tsarist autocracy.  They failed and were exiled to Siberia.
After years of hard labour, they were allowed to settle in Chita and Irkutsk.

Rooms in the mansion.

Mammoth tusks and bones in the Museum about lake Baïkal. 

Attraction under the statue of Alexander III.

More attractions.
Sorry guys, the second pic was blurred because
I got smacked on the back of my head by something
wearing sunglasses, 1,67 m and strangely always around.

Before driving to Ust Kut, we visited Listvyanka and the outdoor collection of old Siberian buildings, Taltsy. The collection goes back to pre-Russian dwellings and burial traditions of the Evenki. Listvyanka is mainly a one street wide village squeezed between the lake and the mountain slope. We hoped to camp there with a view on the lake but had to move more land inwards. All available space had been taken by hotels and restaurants. Bummer, because more scenic than the Selenga delta.

Taltsy: recuperated fortress.

Taltsy: cascade water mills (3 in a row).

We got satisfied on the way to Ust Kut. We camped twice on a river/lake side and in the morning mist was floating over the water. During the day, the temperature still soared till 33°C, but once the sun set, a cold wind chilled our old bones. In the night we needed our sleeping bags for the first time since the Mongolian heights.

She likes me, she is leaning over!
Regional Museum at Irkutsk.

Construction details of a wooden house, Taltsy.
The remaining gaps are filled with wool or moss.

Typical cemetery alongside the roads.
Small fenced areas for the family.

Old believes abandoned and left to rust.

Daily progress: camping in the nature not so far from Tulun (B), Vidim (C).
Camping on the river bank in Ust Kut (D), waiting for the ferry for Lensk.