When we came back from kayak trip, my friend told me that I’m #(*&^ crazy. Well, yes, but we are crazy in a good and safe way.
My firiend let me use 2 person kayak for a little adventure on lake Baikal. We started early in the morining from Irkutsk. Picked up kayak in Bolshaya Rechka, went to Listvyanka, had breakfast, put kayak on the water loaded it with all the stuff.
After that I went to Belka Hostel and parked my car on the territory. Then walked down Chapaev street where Natasha was waiting for me reading her book.
We sailed for an hour. Meeting nerpa, Baikal seal, was unusual. It was sleeping on the water with only it’s small head on the surface. It woke up only when kayak was 2 meters away from it. Blinked it’s black eyes, sneezed at us and went under water. My camera was away, so sorry, no pictures.
After taking a nap on the shore we were trying to get back on the road, but I flipped it over. My bad. First time kayaking with no instructor, so this was expected. It is like a initiation to ‘kayaker’s club’. Camera, phone, money, documents and all important stuff was wet. But not lost. Now I understand what must be kept in dry box of kayak. All the things that got wet. But our box was full of food and there was no extra place. Ha-ha! First hand experience. Now I understand the value of instructors and guides.
I was in a hurry to get into kayak, because the water is so cold that it hurts feet when you are just few seconds in the water, the stones are slippery and I was not wearing proper footwear for this trip. Remember don’t be bear feet when kayaking. Wear at least rubber slippers.
2 hours more and we reached Bolshiye Koty village where we camped, cooked on fire and went to bed very early as we were extremetly tired.
Camping was great. We put our tent near the water stream that flows into the lake and had the source of fresh water. Also the sound of the stream was providing with calming and natural atmosphere. Bolshiye Koty village is small and has almost no cars, very quiet and relaxing.
Next day we woke up. Cooked food. Packed and started to pedal back. Now I get the idea of how to get inside the kayak and thought about my mistakes. I can teach anybody. Also we understood how to pedal properly. The weather was perfect both days. First day it was wind to the back and second day there was no wind at all and it was hot!
When we reached Listvyanka the shore was full of people. It was great hot summer days. People were greeting us from land, ships and boats. It was lovely. We felt like heroes.
40 kilometers total there and back. It is great for beginners, but it is not too easy. Thank you lake Baikal for your beauty and thanks to everybody who instructed and supported us.
