8. What a final day getting to Esso...!

"Kamchatka Peninsula" by Bike and Kayak
Thu 26 Jul 2012 06:46
55:46.70N 158:25.57E

The new day dawns with a real feeling of excitement aand wanting to get going... The anticipation of a change of scenery and attainment of a goal, seems to be in the air!

The added task and streamlining of taking down the electric fence adds to some delay, and I decide to pack the tent up on the bridge where the mozzies should be less.
The 3km to the turn off go quickly, and I'm soon 'tasting' the new road! The surface is slightly better, but the perspective just amazing.... I can see and feel I'm on a road to the mountains, more wiggles and ups and downs in the road, with corners that provide new vistas, and the forest blinnkers are largely gone. Gee, what a difference, and I can feel how it's changed my whole disposition. I feel alive again, can't wait to ssee what's arounnd the next bend. Even the od long straight section has an impressive mountain silhouette at it's end. The road parallels the sizeable Bsmrka river, which is the one I camped next last night. This river has it's source in the Bystrinsky Park, and flows through Esso, so I'll be seeing a lot of it in the next few days. At the moment it provides great views as it moves through steep rock face gorges and then changes to meandering in the flatter open tundra plain areas. I stop often, and take the opportunity to walk down to view spots, and get memorable photos. I love this, and the effort of cycling, or the hardship off the road surface are no longer issues, even though the road is pretty topographically challenging.

I pass a hydro electric power station, using the river's energy, and the air of holiday creeps in and I stop for brunch at a great bridge spanning quite high above the river, providing great views, and no mozzies. It feels like true freedom, with the bike parked, stove out, breakfast on the go, nobody else around, and great scenery all about.

After climbing down and back up the steep bank down to the river to fill the water bottles, I head off again. Soon I'm faced with athe biggest climb yet on this trip, a narrow pass. Gee,m the truck and traiiler are real heavy, but I just hit the small front cog, big back cog, and slowly 'spin' up the climb. From my contour map, it didn't look like I'd be cllimbing all day, rather ups and downs, with Esso being only slightly higher elevation than the turn off point I'd started the day from. Well if that's true, then at the top of each uphill there should be a downhill and that's good to know! I could't be 100% sure though and bad assumptions like that aren't good for different reality, shocks! So far so good, the exhiliarating downhills do follow, and the truck and trailer tear down the downhills occasionally almost careening out of control, with me only just feeling in control!

Out of the blue there is a petrol sign ahead, and 200m later a short road off tto the left I've just filled up, no need for gas, but why not see what's there. Well what a find!

The attractive young Russsian womann at the closed boom gate looks at my bike, concludes I haven't come in for gas, assumees I'm english and asks me if I wwant to use their swimming pool?? I'm confused, but then she explains that for 100 roubles I can have access to a shower and their special, natural, thermal,swimming pool. Weell for a guy who hasn't showere for days, this is a no brainer! Combined with that she is a very attractive, americanised Russian woman and maybe I'll finally havee someone I can have a proper chat with...! Yeah, so much time on my own is no problm for me, but being with people and then not being able to enjoying their conversational company was getting to me. I can see how this createes real loneliness. When I'm really solo and alone there is no expectation of company other than my own so all is in balance, but when I'm with people I have this expectation to connect and share, but when language prevents this happeninggg, and the expectation can't be delivered it's a form of unconditional rejection that leaves me feelling very lonely. In Russia, becaause of the huuge language gap (my in lethargy to learn beforehand!) this loneliness is by far the worst I have ever felt. And this has nothing to be about me on my own, it's about me with others!

Anyway, Lena turned out to be very friendly and helpful, and wee chatted intensely as she showed me the way to the pool. Commercially focused she wished me a 'good time' and rushed off back to her work duties. It turns out the place is a large multifaceted complex that has accomodstion, a restaurant, a gym, an adventure park, coonferece facilities and is mostly used for running adventure vacationss for school kids. Sounds like an impressive placee, but really the infrasttructure was all a bit dysfunctional and the maintenance looked like it lackeed proactivity, being budget constrained and purely crisis driven!

For me this was a surprisee paradise. As I walked into the steamy shower area I couldn't believe my luck. I was the only guest, three showers all fed by lovely hot, healthy slightly sullpherous thermal water, and I could stand under them for as long as I liked. Outside was a huge man made pool, but also fed with natural volcanic thermal water. There waas a family of 4 enjoying its therapuetic benefitss, but other than that it was all mine! Gee this was heaven! The water was just shallow enough for me to be able to stand with my head just above water, as the natural gases percolated to the surface around me. I could feel all my mozzie bites loving the natural heaaling medicine, and with each one I felt this tinge of loss of itch and beginning to repair. As I looked up and out into the open countryside I wws presented with an impressive volcanic mountain peak, the same one thaat was ofteen aat the end of the straghter section of road. It's hard to explain how holistically nice this all felt. Given the physical hardship and my rough living of the past week, I think of all the user of this pool I must surelly be one of the one's that appreciated it the most! I clouldn't have asked for anything better.

I explored around andd theen found a rreal naturally fed, steam room, nicely tiled, and nobody else using it. Thinking of Lena, and how nice this was, I started wondering if Esso could wait for another day? Bad thoughts, no too much of a good thing spoils it, I must move on, the goal is Esso before nightfall. I'd spent almost two hours there, and I felt likee a new man!

I said my thanks and good-byes, and was eagerly back on the bike! Gee, how life can change: I was soon dealing with the mother of all hills, a stoney road surface that made uphill tracti0n difficult, and a powerful fleet of mozzies! In 10 minutes I went from a refreshed, relaxed, guy, to a hot, sweaty struggling and tormented one! The combinatin of the steepness and the lack of traction beat me, and I ashamedly dismounted and started pushing the bike up the steep hill. I ussed to say: "I NEVER walk hills with a bicycle!" Haha! At this speed I was a dead duck for the mozzies, and with the weight of the 'truck and trailer' needing the power of both my hands on the handle bars, I was defenceless to their attack.

Humiliated in more ways than one, I had no option but to accept my involuntary sacrificiall exxposed flesh offering, and try and focus on the single task of getting the truck and trailerto the top of the hilll and the relief of a fast downhill. Images of Lena and her tranquil thermal baths came back, but this didn't assist my focus, and I had to put them aside.

The top of the hill eventually brought a wonderful downhill, and my self created headwiind soon had the mozzies trailing in it's downstream eddies, and I was free again.

That was the worst hill of the day, and the only one I had to walk. In its ups and downs, the terrain was very interesting, but quite challenging, and using my 10km a stage strategy again I slowly reeled in the 72 kilometres to Esso. I took a detour into the village of Anabagee, which seemed like a downscaled Russsian military helicopter base, and a strong and prosperous, farming based community.

Finally around 5pm the 'welcome to Ecco' (c's are pronounced 's' in Russian) sign came up, and my day's goal had been achieved. It felt real good riding in, 'victoriously', down the main street, and now to find a place too stay? I decided a rewarding beer and some food was the best way to aa place to stay! Hmm, less places to eat / stay than I thought. In fact I haveem't sseen anythingg yet, but the village certainly has a lot of appeal and ccharracter. I decide to go across the foot bridge tthat crosses my same river, that runs right through the centre of Esso. I find what looks like the perfect café on the other side, and there are no customers, great table aandd cchairs and they sell Kamchatka draft beer and hot meals! Sounds like alll the ingredients I need, except I find an English averse, unfrieendly waitress! If only she knew how far I'd comee and the struggles I'd overcome, andd she could eveen join me in my celebration. But with her barrier up she has no mind to even guess what I might be trying to order! Shame it's not her fault, but rather mine, but this is frustrating. Aanyway, I finally get my beer and some unknown main course. It doesn't reaallly matter at this stage As I'm making my way through the food helping, there is a changing off guard. The young woman being replaced by the proprietor who is a very stern looking task master, and is seemingly 'briefed' on me by the young one. From her looks at me while the briefing is taking place, I can see my story isn't a positive one!

It's been madee clear to me already that this is not a service rewtaurant, order, pay and pickup at the counter deal. I'm finished my first rround,, and being a hungry, thirsty boy, I want a second round. The owner is now busy in the kitchen doing the books, and probably counting the cash from the young woman's shift. Full on focus and conceentrattion, no looking up at customers.

I go up to the countterr wih my beer mug and empty plaate to order a repeat of both beer and food, but she looks up irritatedly and ignores my presence. I politely say 'priviet' (hello in Russian) and without looking up she bllurts out some words I don't understand, so I proceed in my best Russian sign language (haha!) to tell herr I want the same again... Well she has a serious tantrum, shouting at me, but at least comes to the counter. She clearly doeesn't get what I want, so I pull out my Kindle to find out what 'same again' is and say it as best I can but seeing the kindle she is even more pissed off. It's so clear: I'm stressing her, she doesn't need me as a customer, and she'd prefer it if I went away.

This behaviour reminds mme so mmuch of my early days in Wengen, Switzerland, where I saw the traditional, condervative, german only speaking, village restaurant proprietor struggling with her changing clientelle, as tourism brouught more english speaking people in. Many didn't want their world to change but became stressed to the point of being ofrhhand, because the new the business future depending on them changing and embracing English. I sense Kamchatka is going through early days off this, and this woman's reaction is not about me, but rather the change she is facing.

I eventually get my second 'round', and take every opportunity I can to show her I'm not thhe enemy! I'm taking my time and savorinng this special occasion: I made it to Esso, and now cann relax and enjoy the place. Desert is all to hard at this point, so I order a coffee, which is easy and I can eeven ask for milk and it's all understood, so I'm starting to look like a not so problematic customer! In between our interactions she went outside, and must have seen my bike and trailer parked outside. In even trying to bond, I get to understand that she saw me cycling out there in the wilds, when she was on the bus coming back for Petropavlosk Kamchatka a few days back. I seem to have gone up innher eyes, or her hidden compassion is being proded. She's warming to me a wee bit, probably a huge move for her, and I take the gap: I ask her if she knows where I can find a room for two nights? Well, surprise, surprise, this is business, and her face grimaces trying to hide her excitement! She rattle off questions that I don't understand, but do understand she has an accomodation solurion that's of interest to her, and it looks like we are going to become closeer 'buddies'. She's still frustrated, to the point of almost being irritsated with my lack of answers to her barrage of questions, but making assumptions on what info she wants, I provide her with info in a mixtuure of very limited Russian, sign language, and some spanish! The spanish being my my most recent foreign language experience, and I assume it's a 'unversal' foreign language. I'm sure many of you would experienced the same illogical reaction to being really short on foreign vocabulary! The logic being, she'll never understand my native tongue, English', but she may understand my little bit of foreign tongue!

Anyway, after lots of her very emotive ranting, she takes me off to her guest house section, she enters, slips off her shoes, I follow, but without removing my very dusty cycling shoes, and the next thing I get this tyrade from her that I must remove my shoes too. I later made out that there was a HUGE sign in Russian at the door, saying "No Shoes, from this point on, inside"! Gee, I hope I haven't wrecked my chances? No, I sense the 'smell' of rubles is strongly driving her at this point! Well, to my surprise she shows me a huge, lovely decorated, four bed, room. Way beyond what I'd expected from the outside. This is bloody amazing, but I don't want to appeaar too excited, until we settle on the deal! I'd seen a good place outside for my bike, asked if that was ok, which me witthh good reaction. Maybe she was worried I was wanting to bring the bike into the room! With that approval, we struck a deal, 2 nights at 500 rubles per night, less than $20 per night!...Great deal for me, I now had all I needed for the next few days, and Bystrinsky Park, waiting to be explored on my doorstep! now I could have even kissed her! There was another very small room taken by a young Russian couple, theey seemed pretty friendly, and we shared a 'pokey' bathroom.

Time for a bath, shave and some domestic chores before retiring to a real bed! Simple bliss, nut I know within days, I'll be ready to 'go wild' again...That's 'Simply Adventure'.....