Priv'et..!

(That's Hello! My Russian vocabulary is increasing, one word a day.Aah!)

For those who haven't been to the web diary, the disappointing news is that I had to prematurely abort my 'Road of Bones' ride. See http://blog.mailasail.com/siberiabike for details.

Having been close witness to a few expeditions of others being aborted in their very early days, I always felt deeply for the adventurers involved. Wondering how one deals with the disappointment, maybe blame for the failure, the emotional vacuum of the lost challenge, and then managing this all for a 'non-knee jerk', future rebound?

Admitting defeat, and withdrawing to the foreign, Siberian solitude of my lakeside tent, this cocktail of thoughts, feeling, and emotions, could have taken me to a precarious state balancing on a narrow edge. Time for resilience! I made a pact with myself, that I was going to stay in this solitude until the whole thing felt right, and the path forward felt natural and right with my soul. After all I was now in 'paradise': My simple tent, a site on the edge of a forest, all the food I need, a lakefull of water a short stroll away, and no distractions, no time pressure, just waiting for my mind heart, and soul to connect back as one. Nobody, nor 'no-thing' could  help me, just time and my attitude and my thoughts.

Here I had almost 24 hours daylight, I could sleep, eat, read, write, think, walk, even swim when, how, and for as long as I wanted to...! After all I was only 'due' in Kamchatka 7 August, so actually I had up to 3 weeks of solitude available.... I could call 'it' all off, plan a new Siberian easier adventure, or I connect back to my original Kamchatka dream, plan. Was this? Prison? Luxury? Freedom? It's just how you think about it hey? A positive outlook, while not sweeping the realities aside. 

There was ONE thing I couldn't do, and that was talk to someone else! Here I was ALONE, and it needed to be that way, this was innerself rebuilding time.

It wasn't easy....My mind went back to adventure planning blame, this 'no belonging in foreign Siberia', loneliness factor, 'anger with my drive to try pack too much in to one trip, setting unnecessary time pressure goals, why I do these crazy challenges, etc, etc. This was all about chucking out the 'Road of Bones' disappointment in a learning way, and slowly my original passion for the mystic of Kamchatka returned....'The Show' was to continue, and maybe this was all a blessing in disguise, now the time pressure for exploring the  Kamchatka peninsula has been removed, and I have had some valuable learning about my bike and trailer setup, and what works and what doesn't with local foods and fuel. A potentially Awesome exploring adventure  still lies ahead...It was always 'The Main Show' and now here is the chance to making it really rewarding! After each toss and turn, stroll down to the lake for more water, I felt my self getting back to myself, and on the Saturday, I decided Sunday was 'get up and go' day. An early, 1 hour cycle into the village of Nizhny Bestgazh, explore for the day, then down to the Lena river, sleep there riverside, overnight, and ferry back to Yakutsk, Monday. Slowly, slowly back to civilisation....!

Well, just when I thought I was alone...? While filling my water bottles at the lake, out of the blue, this clearly more qualified gypsy, walks up to me, loudly gestating in Russian. He was clearly 'excited' to see me. Neither from his facial _expression_, nor his tone, was I sure whether he was friend or foe...? Best make him a friend, So "Priv'et" and I stretched out my hand, and he lunged forward, taking it warmly, and almost drunkenly bear hugging me...! Oops, I need my solitude, best not let him know where my tent and bike are, just pretend I've come down from the Kolyma highway from my car for water. It takes him a while to realise our communication is going nowhere, and then he reverts to being the 'tourist helper'. Just a very basic, sincere society 'dropout' who lives off the land, and helps load the water trucks that come out to collect from the lake. My plan of deception worked well, and I never saw him again...  

Whether I was just not tired, or now overly excited with my revised plan, I didn't feel like going to sleep, Saturday night, and read most of the night. With a change of wind, thunder in the distance, I could feel a storm brewing and slowly made sure I was ready for all Mother Nature could throw my way.

Around midnight a huge storm moved in, the thunder following only seconds after the lightning, and then heavily rain followed by a hailstorm with 1cm hailstones. Gee, it's nice and snug inside here, but how long can my 'little tent'' survive this severe bombardment? It was now almost cold, a serious frontal system had moved in...Good timing for change....my plan is in sync!

Sunday morning, I excitedly packup, and am soon on the way to the village. Gee, the rain has made the road surface better...Lots of traffic though. Should I turn around and head for Magadan...The thought did come up, but I concluded that the moment had passed, and I couldn't rely on sporadic rain to determine my cycling destiny.

I found this delightful café in the village, no customers, lots of displayed home baked food, and an owner who was initially taken aback by my exotic foreignness, but then embraced me as a 'crowd pulling' attraction. I stayed for four hours drinking and eating her delights, and socialising with her many visiting customers. What friendly people these all were...neighbours, friends, passing truck drivers, male and female, a whole variety of Siberians. With pen and paper, sign language, and kindle dictionary we communicated....a strange, 'interest in each other' commonness kept us exploring, till the exotic interest had been satisfied and the shortage of vocabulary made further progress difficult. There was always a warm greeting handshake, followed by a wide brimmed smiling, introduction by name. These are good, basic nice people. Etched on each of their faces seemed to be years of capitulated contentment with the harsh realities of their brutal climate and living environment.

A real truck and trailer was having tyre repairs, after a severe encounter with the 'Road of Bones'. Andreas, the co-driver telling me that of  it's 18 wheels, 12 tyres had been punctured along the way, and the one tube showed me had 3 repair patches. He said the dry conditions had made things worse this year.

I sensed my three days of isolated 'mind clearing', and reconnection with my innerself, had made me receptive and able to be participative, without knowing any Russian. I was accepted, and we each gave and took, but with interest and care. This experience with the locals had demonstrated what I was expecting...Without the pressure and impatience of time, special human experiences are possible in 'foreign Siberia', and in some ways it made me wonder what I'd missed by not going the hard  way to Magadan.... Twenty seven  days, was a stupid and impossible dream, that wouldn't have allowed these precious, seemingly goal-less, but priceless Sunday interactions, I'd just had! I mustn't forget this lesson for Kamchatka... I lesson, I have had to re-learn over my Simply Adventure' years, as trips back into the competition within the big cities contaminate my soul, and in their time pressure cells, seem to facilitate the unlearning.

As planned, Sunday evening was spent at the banks of the swiftly, north flowing Lena, almost 3km wide in places. Unlike the tranquil, west facing, sunset campsite I had envisaged, the busy, end of weekend, ferry environment, made me feel vulnerable to attack camping remotely, and I had seen a few strange and dangerous looking weirdos scanning the whole area. Unusually for me, the 'I'll be OK, anywhere', feel good factor wasn't there, so I chose a spot right next to a busy café, doing a meal and drink quid pro quo with the friendly owner. Sort of: "No one will rob another in broad day light!", strategy.

There is something about being a totally voluntary 'vagrant' that I find interesting, challenging, and yet also enlightening. It was an interesting night, a little rain, lots of car ferries coming and going, and every now and again bemused locals, becoming aware of this out of place tent, with a strange bike and trailer parked next to it, and not being able to hold back their verbal reactions...Almost oblivious to the liberated human hidden inside the tent!

I caught  the 7am ferry, the only bicycle amongst maybe 30 cars, vans, and trucks... Must be Yakutsk inhabitants weekend escape.

Still not one (primary) English speaking person I have seen or interacted with, since arriving in Russia a week ago...I don't think I've seen one standout tourist.... Amazing!

The plan was to spend around  four days in Yakutsk, taking time to 'live it' and really feel it, and then head off to Kamchatka. First stop was trying to get my flight changed, and then packaging for my bike for the plane. Two easy tasks in your home town / city, but in foreign Yakutsk these could be few day 'adventures'!

The exploring for flights, brought the shock that the only flight available in the next two weeks was the next day  at 08h20, and with one seat left, I was a prisoner, about to pay with arm and leg! I needed time to think: "Tomorrow for an arm and leg, or two weeks in Yakutsk?" I'm walking thinking, and also looking! (Multi tasker hey!)  Looking....? Yeah, for dumped cardboard boxes, or a shop / business that has empty boxes that  I can use to make a bike box...Not an insignificant challenge! I stroll down an unlikely dirt road, see an open garage with full cardboard boxes inside, two guys working...hmmm, smoke? 'Smells' promising! I sheepishly approach them, and as I open my mouth they clearly see me as the enemy, an unwanted intruder...maybe even dangerous!Time to put on my best act: lots of humbleness, hand gesticulations...they don't speak a word of English. I sense the senior guys entrepreneur instinct saw an opportunity...: After much miscommunication, drawing with pen and paper, he felt we were potential deal partners and directed me to his nearby office. It's now 13h30, and all the time, I'm thinking: "What about that last seat on the flight tomorrow? Am I on a dead end wasting critical time here, all I want is some cardboard, now I'm off to some strange guy's office?"

Inside the office he tells me he is a transport company, and can package my bike and ship it to Kamchatka...That's his business! "Gee, what instinct, and what a find, but I don't want nor need his shipping service, just a box!" You have now idea of how difficult explaining all this, negotiating, and I'm still not sure when I'm flying! Frustrated too, Denis (bonding gradually, we had introduced ourselves) phones a friend 'Igore' who can speak reasonable english. I chat to him, and in conversation it comes out I need a air ticket too...well in the office are two ladies who do travel bookings...Wow, even more amazing!  They somehow amazingly find a seat open in four days time...Perfect, pressure off,  what luck! Just as we come to finalise a package bike, book ticket, and lift to the airport, deal, we falter at the final step: I can't pay with a card, and don't have that sort of cash on me! Damn! Igore can't even help, but as my stress now ramps up, he gets social telling me he is a skydiver, loves adventure, etc.. "Hmm, he seems like a nice guy, he has helped me a lot, I'll invite him for a beer after his work". He says he can't have a beer because he is driving (Russia has ZERO  drink drive  tolerance!), but welcomes the invite saying he'll have coffee, and we meet at my hotel at 7pm. Good, but now it 14h30 and I have to go and find a flight myself! Hotel internet provides the solution, confident I have someone to help box my bike now, I seize that last seat for 8h20 the next day. (I wonder if it really was?)

I scoot off back on my bike to Denis's office, tell him the flight news, and 'beg' him for bike packing help and a lift to the airport at 6am. With a smile on his face he agrees, no price discussed. I ask him how much and he shrugs. I say US25 and his face lights up...good. Two trips back to the hotel for 'stuff', and me dismantling the bike, by 17h00, it and the now 'beloved' trailer are  ready for Denis's boxing. I help, and by 17h30, two perfectly packaged pieces ready to fly. (The airlines don't allow unpacked bikes!) Denis and I go over our deal 5 times, he seems nervous that something is not understood, and I'm thinking: "Hey, this guy, who I don't even know, with a backyard business, will have my bike, trailer and stuff tonight, and say he doesn't arrive at my hotel to pick up, and steals my stuff? That's why he wasn't worried about the price! I'd be a helpless prisoner, in foreign Yakutsk, without my bike,  and a lot of gear! Hmm, am I being stupidly trusting...? Too late, flights booked, bike packed, I'm meeting Igore in an hour, and Denis does seem like a real genuine guy! No point worrying, 6am the next day will be the test, enjoy the evening with Igore!

I wait from 19h00, 19h25, still no Igore, "Hmm, this is all part of a scam, and here is the 1st bad news." I must have been locking worried outside my hotel: A very familiar woman comes up to me and greets broken english, checks if I remember her, and then reminds me that we had met on the bus my 1st day in Yakutsk! "Ah yeah, you were the English teacher, hey good to see you again, amazing we meet again!" She asks me if I need help, and I tell her my 'sad' story and my fruitless wait for Igore. She quickly understands my 'problem', asks for names, addresses, contact details, I don't have any for Denis nor Igore, so although her obvious empathy is running high, we dead-end. I glance down the main road and lo and behold there is Igore, profusely apologising for being late...back on track, my trust has been partially validated! I thank the women for her care, we say goodbye, and Igore suggests he show me around the city, and leads me to his worn out car. I can't get in until he has moved all the parachutes...he is a skydiving instructor in his free time, but the senior person in the city of Yakutsk management team, his boss works in Moscow government.

His english improves as he relaxes with me, and we have a great tour and chat about life in Yakutsk, Russia, adventure, and South Africa, and he stops on the side of the road for 40 minutes, going through all his photos on his phone from his last few years. Gee, this is all fascinating, and what a lovely guy... I can feel he is enjoying the english coaching experience, and I'm enjoying his perspectives.

It's 22h30, he invited me to his home, but with the 6am 'date' eventually, it's time to head back to my hotel. I treat him to a cappuccino and cheesecake, having the same myself, the bill comes to the equivalent of USD30! He is astounded (Me too!), and says he never goes out like that, rather have coffee at home. We exchange contact details, and a warm hug goodbye. I think we were both surprised at the quick bond we had struck... I'm in so called 'unfriendly Russia'! Gee, this is a strange world of perceptions we live in, was 6am going to build on my wonderful trust and perception experiences?

Well, those that know me well, know I'm very punctual! One minute before 06h00 I take the lift down to reception, and 'Whoopee', there waiting are Denis and a friend! I sense he was as ecstatic as I was that we had delivered on our agreements, and had both passed as gold card members of the 'high integrity' club....There was no doubt, that I nice feeling gripped us both. The risk now was only with him now: How much was I  going to pay? I always find these circumstances difficult: Knowing zero about Yakutsk salaries, cab fares etc, it's hard to understand the value proposition from his side. Ecstatic with his assistance, the early wake up call, I settled on the ruble equivalent of USD50, hoping he'd be happy? At the airport by 06h20, I paid him the cash and his eyes lit up showing me he was very happy! In his eyes, I can see I kept my gold card status, and his and my belief in basic human goodness and integrity moved up another small, but very important human and Russia / English ratchet!

Oh well, that was a long set of stories, far away from the rigors of cycling the 'Road of Bones' or Kamchatka but I always felt these types of people experiences would be an important part of this unique Siberian adventure. That was a big reason for me coming....

I'm writing this e-letter from a very noisy 30 seater, double turbo prop, Russian aircraft, as we fly from Yakutsk to Petrovalvask-Kamchatka (PK). As if trying to rub salt into my wounds, the flight took the long route via Magadan, landing there for 90 minute stopover. Looking down a few times I was sure it was 'The Road of Bones', and although I had this twinge of disappointment inside me, I do feel the extra time in Kamchatka will in many ways compensate. The fact of the matter is there will always be some, however small, sense of regret. We often only get one shot at things, and I sense for me that one has passed! Amen! 

Within a few days I'll be head north from PK, returning some 3-4 weeks later.

I'm hoping that my next 'Simply Adventure' e-letter will be sharing with you those 3-4 weeks.

One of my 'takes' from the failed 'River of Bones' attempt, is a need to dramatically reduce the load on my bike. With this goal, I have decided not to update the webdiary in the 3-4 weeks I'll be away, as in not needing to carry the electronic equipment, this has huge weight savings!

Sorry, practicalities are taking priority!

So until my next e-letter, take care!

H

 

 
        

DOMINIQUE LE ROUX   www.moonshinemedia.co.za
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