troopytracks

Had  a nice quiet night in Olga’s drive. Starting to feel colder now … In the morning Tanya had invited us in for coffee and pancakes, cooked with her own fair hand.

At one point when we had distracted her by talking we thought one was burning …. Graham rushed over to toss it forgetting that the handles are cast iron and directly connected to the pan!! Luckily he threw it on the floor before it burnt his hand … after a good telling off from Tanya Graham sat down and stopped interfering …. not easy for him! Tanya asked if we wanted jam or marmalade with the fresh cow’s cream. We asked for jam expecting her to reach for the cupboard …. instead she disappeared under the floor with a look of extreme concentration and a cry of ” Oh man!” when she could not recognise the contents!! I thought for a minute that I was going to have beetroot on my pancakes …. luckily it was jam!

The breakfast was excellent thank you Tanya … and we enjoyed your company.

After breakfast we went for a walk around the village with Tanya and Olga. It is not as small as we first thought and has a good sized school that serves some of the neighbouring villages, a new hospital (nearly finished) and new kindergarden. The play equipment was amazing and the children so well behaved and dressed so smartly. We were invited in to take some photos and for Graham to have a game of football.

The children go to kindergarden from the age of 1.5 to 6 yrs old.

On the way back we saw another free range pig …. he was happy!

When we got back to the garden Tanya’s father was busy with the vegetable plot. He obviously works hard. He is really nice but we could not chat to him as our russian is so limited and he does not speak german.

And a nice russian truck …. great project!

Olga had gone back to work and soon it was time to say goodbye to Tanya.

I am sure that we will meet her again in England as she only lives in Germany, where she is studying.

We then drove back to our favorite coffee shop in Gorno where we updated the website and talked on skype to the Treadways (family who were planning to drive with us through China). Unfortunately they have a problem with their Land Rover Defender and are not sure if they can continue …. we will see, but in the meantime we wish them luck and hope that they can find a way to make it happen.

The evening will be spent in the supermarket stocking up for Mongolia. Not long now!

Once the shopping had been done (including another thick duvet for the cold nights) we headed back to the hotel where our friend Elvira works. Rather than stay in the hotel we asked if it was OK if we parked outside by the security building. You can see why Marjool felt right at home!!

In the morning we drove along the lake for a couple of km, but the areas are used by the military and so were closed. As we were heading back towards the bridge we saw a garden with lovely flowers and when Marjool stopped and asked if we could take a photo, the lady invited us in to take a closer look. She was rightly proud of her efforts.

She had made hanging planters out of plastic bottles.

We then drove back over the bridge to Artybash, and then another 0.5 km before we saw another place to stop …. slow progress but it just looked too good to pass.

Unfortunately we spoilt the view with the last bits of washing …..

We also used the solar shower (thanks Maybins!) to warm water for a rinse off. Works well!

We started back down the road towards Choya and stopped at a village for tea. We would have stayed the night but a few people who were a little worse for wear were difficult to shake off. A lovely place but we thought that it was better to carry on and find a spot next to a house (as normal) in another village. We do not feel threatened, but just not 100% comfortable … better safe than sorry.

We continued to Choya where we immediately felt at home! We drove along a street and spotted a man and a young lady working in the garden. It was father and daughter, and the daughter  (Tanya) spoke good english (although a bit shy to speak it) and perfect german. Marjool’s german is rusty but has practiced quite a lot in Russia and the Baltic states. We were invited to park on the drive which was very kind, and asked in for batter covered potato shapes and tea … yum!

Later in the evening Olga (Tanya’s mother) went out to show us the cow returning home. She was called Palena.

Olga milks the cow twice a day, then uses a separator. She uses the milk and cream, makes all her own butter and cheese and rears her young for meat. She has a calf at the moment. She is actually a teacher and does not have her own field. The cow grazes the common land and eats the waste leaves etc from the vegetable garden. They are not farmers.

They also have a large vegetable garden and store in the cellar to supply them through the winter.

After leaving the camp spot by the river, we headed back towards Gorno to take the road on to Teletskoe. The scenery was really pretty in the sunshine and there are plenty of good places to stop by the rivers and streams.

There are lots of traditional wooden villages on the way through, so plenty of places to overnight if you need them.

The cows owned by people in the villages are ‘free range’ they go off in the morning to graze on what seems to be common land, and then return in the evening …. mooing to be allowed back into their stable. You obviously need to be aware of them as they have right of way!

The hay is stacked for winter feed, but not sure how they keep the weather out as there are often no barns. Maybe once they are covered with frozen snow, they dig it out from underneath to feed the cows in the winter?

Every time you glance out of the car here you see nice scenes, either houses, gardens, old trucks or natural scenery. It would be a nice place to cycle as little traffic and loads of places to stop.

As we got to the lake the weather changed and it started to drizzle with rain. It was still a great view.

As we were admiring the view a couple of cyclists came along. It turned out that they had backpacked through South East Asia and then cycled through China on roughly the same route that we will be driving with the Treadway family. They were Russians returning home to a place near/in Georgia. They made us feel lazy and spoilt travelling by camper!

When talking to them we concluded that as foreigners it was easier to stay in villages. As Russians, they would be looked on with more suspicion if they turned up looking to camp outside someone’s house.

Our campsite for the night was a big bit of open grassy area at Artybash, on the downstream side of the bridge. This is when the lake spills out into the Biya River.  It seems OK to free camp all along the rivers in this area.

I was interested to see how people fished the river and a friendly fisherman explained that they use two floats with a trace in between with about 10 flies on. This is cast in across the river and allowed to swing around with the current. The fish caught are all small. Possibly it is very heavily fished through the summer and everything is kept for eating, however small.

That evening a dog arrived and stayed right by the car until morning. It was as though he had come to guard us! When we drove off in the morning he followed us for ages before he gave up. We wanted to stop and take him with us …. of course we couldn’t!

Last we saw of him in the mirrors, was him trotting behind us …… aaaahhhhh!

Woke up this morning beside the river. The River Katun that runs along the M52 is wide and fast flowing. Rafting trips are available.

It was a really warm day today, ideal for washing! We were going to wash it in the river and beat it over the rocks ….. even bought a bucket on the way to make it easier. Most shops in small towns and villages don’t have a window here in Russia, just lots of writing on the outside that we can’t read. This one was easier!

In the end the bucket only got used to wash Troopy as a sweet lady called Elvira (who helped us sort out the camping) came to our rescue and offered to arrange for all our washing to be done by the laundry in the hotel/cabins next door. She even delivered it back to us when it was ready. She also told us that wifi was available in the restaurant and so we decided to go over for a drink after banya.

In the afternoon Marjool sorted out the inside of the camper, re-organised food and packed away the now clean clothes. I tried to grease the propshaft again but could not get at one of the grease nipples. Only way to reach was to remove the flange of the propshaft (I know …. yawn!).

Every so often the owners dog rushed under the car and barked at me ….. so many dogs in Russia. I think every house has at least one …. usually more. This one was really sweet!

We met Elvira in the restaurant this evening and chatted in a mixture of Russian, German and English …… we mostly understood each other!

The bucket has been converted into a vegetable store for all the things we pick up in the village camping spots … it’s full!!

Moving on further into the Altai tomorrow.

In the morning Marjool decided that, however awkward, she would  wash her hair today …… no wonder she appreciates it when we have a bit of luxury!

Having read the Lonely Planet guide we were not expecting to like Gorno Altaisk, but it is a nice place to sort things out, get supplies and to register the visas for the Altai. It has plenty of nice shopping plazas and plenty of banks and places to eat. There is lots of confusion regarding the need to register, but as we will be here for around 10 days and do not want hassle at the border, we decided to do it anyway. It is possible that if you drive straight through on transit that you do not need it, but local advice is that you do.

If you decide to register you can go straight to a lovely lady called Lioubov who runs a tourist agency called Aguna and it is on Choros Gourkina number 39/8, third floor office 313. It is a couple of buildings back from the one pictured below.

Lioubov will complete the whole process within in 90 mins including visiting the immigration office for you. We left her to it and headed off for a coffee and for Graham to get a haircut. Great coffee shop called Travelers Coffee on the main road Kommunistichesky number 26.

The staff are friendly and one speaks good english. There is free Wifi as well, so we spent a while there updating the website.

On the opposite side of the street was a good place to get a haircut. Explaining what you want requires some interesting sign language!

On the way back to pick up the visa registration we met a couple of bikers http://www.twoadv.com from Norway and Sweden who had just travelled from Japan via Mongolia. The had a great time!

By the time we arrived back the registration was complete. Thanks Lioubov and her assistant!

We are now on our way into the Altai. We are not sure about internet there so this may be the last post for a while …. At best we will keep up to date until 10th September, but it is uncertain! From what we have heard there will be few chance in Mongolia, but we will still be pressing the button on the spot location device, so our location will be updated most days.

On the way to Aya we saw another Land Cruiser with the Azalai conversion coming towards us. It had French plates and so we slowed down to have a look. They had the same idea and so we pulled over for a chat. They had been in Mongolia for the last two months and so were able to give us some good tips.

Just down the road from Gorno is a place called Aya that you can access by an interesting looking suspension bridge or drive around (about 2 km) to a new looking bridge. Once there we found that most of the food stalls and some of the cabins had closed for the season. Although we could have found somewhere to stay, it did not feel that welcoming. We opted to carry on down the M52 (not motorway, more an A road) for a few k’s until we came across some modest cabins by the river. It cost us 1000 Rub for two nights including a banya each evening.

Tomorrow will be a day without driving!

After leaving the village we drove south east on the M52. The landscape was quite a bit drier and the scenery pleasant rolling hills. The views through Siberia have been fantastic all along and you could see so far in every direction. The roads are excellent and the roadside stops are now more geared to cars and tourists rather than trucks. Driving is easier both because of the road surface and the reduction in traffic.

Today was suddenly warm and sunny again with a temperature around 27 deg C. Every so often you see more groups of dachas as you approach the towns or cities.

As you approach Gorno Altaisk you see the rocky cliffs that were once the banks of the river Ob.

We tried to find a hotel to park and have a shower in, but the first one we asked at were not interested unless we wanted a room. The parking was not very nice anyway. As we drove around we saw lots of nice windows and could not resist yet another picture!

We drove down a couple of residential streets and asked a very nice lady called Natasha. She had a nice smiley face and offered to let us park outside her garage for the night. Thank you!

Tomorrow we have various jobs to do ….. maybe we should find a shower  ….. no shower since …… don’t know when!!

The secure parking that we stayed in last night was ok but the ground and Troopy is plastered with road dirt as the last two days have been very wet, and it is hard to avoid transferring that all inside. It was still a cheap night stop at 50 rub. It was not just a hotel parking, but also served some offices and other businesses. That meant that in the morning we met a few passers by. One was a coin collector, and so we gave him some of the various coins that we had not managed to spend in the previous countries. He kept trying to give us roubles in return ….. we said no, but was very reluctant to take the coins without paying us …. in the end Marjool just put the coins back in his pocket.

We met Marat and Valya at 9.00am on the Juntion of the E22 as they had been staying in a motel, and carried on towards Novosibirsk. The road was excellent all the way to Ob (town just outside the city) where we were to part company with Marat and Valya. They were continuing their journey to Lake Baikal, whch is still around 2500km from Novosibirsk. They are only going to stay for about 2 days before they turn around and go back again to their home in the north, 2000km north of Moskow!! Lucky Marat likes driving.

We’d like to thank them both as they safely delivered us from Kazan to Novosibirsk, and more quickly that our normal wandering snail pace! That will mean that we can do the last 900 km to the Mongolian border even slower. We can average 100 kms per day and still make it on time! Nice to have spent some time with you Marat and Valya and thanks for all your help and the lovely book on wooden structures. Enjoy the rest of your holidays.

Just before we stopped for lunch with Marat and Valya we were saying that the reduction in the traffic meant that driving was more relaxing and there was less in the way of wild overtaking. We did however spot one car that had just crashed, but it seemed that they all got out OK ……

We headed south from Novosibirsk and were going to go around the big lake formed by a dam on the main river. However after noting that we still had 900km to go we decided not to take the detour and head for the Altai a little earlier instead. As we passed the lake on the road to Barnaul we saw a fair bit of industry around it and so were happy that we had made that decision. There will be lots to see in the Altai region.

At around 5.00pm we turned off the M52 (which goes all the way to Mongolia) in to a little village about 3.5km south of Linevo and asked in the local shop if we could sleep nearby. Graham’s sign language is coming on and by saying dom machina …. (house car) and laying his head on his hands in the age old sleep sign, he seems to get a result! However he was slightly hesitant at first when approaching ladies in shops with this request, just in case they thought it meant ‘sleep with me in the car’. You can’t be too careful!!

In this case we made no progress and so Graham went and asked a lady on a bench. She smiled nicely and it all worked out well! We parked on the grass outside her gate.

Very soon, the ladies were delivering hot boiled potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers to the camper! The man next door delivered lovely things that tasted like donuts on the outside but with cabbage inside … delicious. We were just marveling at the generosity when the ladies came back with a huge bag of vegetables for the road !!!!!! It is truly amazing. Marjool checked out her goody stash and found some small gifts in return.

We are off for a walk around the village ….. we feel quite at home!

The man in the dressing gown (he was just about to go in the banya) was a mechanic who broke up damaged cars and sold the spares or made up good cars from parts. It was interesting to look through his tools and equipment …. I miss mine! One of the villagers had made up an interesting 4×4 tractor  out of car bits.

There were a mixture of house styles, but this one was our favorite.

On the way back to the camper we saw a herd of goats, cows and sheep leading the way home …. one of the cows was in such a hurry we missed it off the picture. She almost ran to the gate of her ‘house’ and waited by the gate mooing until the lady came out her house and let her in. Maybe our cow will be that well behaved when we get one! By the way, ours will be called Daisy!!

Hmm is that Kelly helping with the stock??

Moved another hour forward today, now 6 hours ahead of the UK!

We slept the night outside the local police station on the advice of two friendly ladies in the town shop. It was also opposite a church which makes us feel doubly safe!

On the way out of the town we stopped briefly at the war memorial and again noted how many names were there for such a small town. I suppose the 20 million plus that died in the second world war had to come from somewhere. There must have been a whole generation of young men wiped out. I am not sure what the population was then but  it must represent a big percentage.

The rest of the day was just a long drive in the mist and the rain. Not much to see but an occasional glimpse  of the Trans – Siberian railway line which follows our route.

We passed by Omsk and headed towards Novosibirsk. On the way we saw our first UK number plate, a Toyota Land Cruiser with lots of mud and overland bits coming the other way. There was also a German camper. These were the first european vehicles, other than two dutch lorry convoys, that we had seen since Estonia. We also passed the 9000km mark since leaving home. The lsat few days we have more than doubled our normal average of about 250km per day and so will have plenty of time in the Altai.

As we go further east the trucks are getting chunkier. This one would make a good overlander if you could afford the fuel ….. Not so bad here as we saw our cheapest diesel today  (from a proper fuel station) at 22.80 Rub. That’s around 50p!

The camping spot behind the hotel was great but we were slightly unprepared for the cold night. Not really cold by Siberian standards at about 4 deg C but it made us realise that we need to sort out some warmer bedding or just put all ours clothes on before bed when we get to the Altai and Mongolia.

We have not paid to camp since Riga, so the extra diesel it costs us driving the camper still really pays off. We have also prepared all our own meals except when buying someone a meal by way of thanks for help and hospitality. Around 9.00am we left the camping spot and started out towards Ishim, stopping on the way for coffee ….. again! We are finding that the mosquito season is nearly over and so you can stop without the bother of repellant. It’s worth the cold nights for that!

There are lots of open areas with huge wheat fields, some as far as you can see.

Every so often you see fields of cows.

Marat suggested going North from Kurgan to join E22 after taking local advice. I must admit that I thought that the southern route would be easier, but the advice was good and the road was lovely and quiet and it even gave me time to look around while driving …. quite a novelty! There were lorries, but not many.

The dashboard is a great place to dry your washing when the sun is out : )

We stopped in Ishin for lunch as Marat’s sister studied here. We sat out by the park and cooked lunch as Marat and Vanya were going to be away for a while.

If Lew and Adrienne read this, nice place for the kids to play and it has a good feel. Probably a good overnight spot as well.

So far today has been much more relaxing, not sure if it is just this road, or the fact that traffic reduces as you go east. Either way it is a welcome change!

We set off again at 9.00 am this morning. Marat got stopped by the police for another check …. must be at least three times already! Once they were happy we continued on towards Kugan. Today was much more relaxing as being Sunday the traffic was lighter and there were less lorries. We stopped at some roadside stalls and thought how different they were to our roadside services!

There were all sorts of snacks for on the way as well as general supplies.

The scenery on the  way to the small town of Isetskoe was open grassland with stands of silver birch. After pine it seems to be the most common tree.

This evening we are camped behind another hotel. Marat and Vanya are staying there, so they do not charge us for parking here. There is also lots of other spots that would be OK around this side of the town. Villages and small towns are still our favorite places to camp.

Finished the day with spicy sauce and pasta. Camping food does not have to be bland …. in fact this nearly took the skin off our lips!!

Is a nice quiet spot …. should sleep well!