Summer trip to Baikal

The wonderful trip to Baikal which I guided, which was very bright and seemed like a short life where everyone became a family still arises in my heart and reminds of warm people with great friendship and makes me proud of beautiful nature of our place. This is the picture of our team.

The first extraordinary thing we did was buying the whole bucket of wild blackberries which some locals were selling on the side of the road. I guess it was the thirst for wilderness and natural food))) Then when we we arrived to Olkhon island onb the first day - we decided to take a bike-walk instead of a regular walk to the shore and Shamanka cape. For those who doesn't know, Shamanka or Burkhan cape is the face of Olkhon, the most popular image of Olkhon, etc. The reason of why it was not typical is because most of the people was about 50, mostly office workers ,but once arriving to Baikal everyone felt so inspired and tired of office chairs that agreed that it was a great idea! Renting a bike is not a  problem on the island as many tourist bases offer them for rent, AND in my opinion Olhon is the best place to go biking! Soft forest roads, fresh breeze, great scenery always changing...So there we were, with clouds like curtains in the theater opening the performance for only us watching the sunrays playing with water far in the sea. Thanks to Burkhan (the main God of Baikal according to local beliefs) we made it safe to the tourist base and the rain didn't catch us. 

Moreover we were lucky to catch the shaman gathering which happens once every four years on Olkhon, where shamans from the near-by regions come here, to Olkhon, which is believed to be very rich energy place on earth, to kamlat'   - make their rituals and serve the local spirits. The special athmosphere was definately on that place.

Every day of the trip was special and magnificent. We had different thematical days, like Ukranian day with wearing the National clothes (which was specially bought and brought here) and eating pampushki with cherries (some national food), an American day, a Baikal day... We met unforgettable sunrises with our cameras, had a swim in hot springs and Baikal itself, tried luck in fishing and made a fish soup ourselves, our ship set us off at the shore of the National park and we enjoyed being alone in the wilderness, we were just like children jumping into Baikal waters right after having Banya asking Baikal to accept us and clear us... I remember falling asleep on the boat while watching the waves of clearest water splashing into my window right in front of me and waking up ealy not to miss the sunrise performance prepared by Baikal for us. Wear a warm hat and a jacket as Baikal mornings are quite chilly (even in August!) though in the day-time it is warm enough.  I think everyone felt inspired, clean, relaxed and happy on this one-week trip to Baikal which   seemed like a short Baikal life - bright, clear and natural.

The program for this trip you can read here.... If you want to make a similar trip to Baikal, please, don't hesitate to contact me for any help.