Hello All,
Wednesday, 26 July, was departure day for Krasnoyarsk. The highway out of Irkutsk was a four lane divided highway with only one police check point to go through. There was no real problem. After about 30 miles the road changed into two paved lanes through agricultural areas and some dense forest, then into gravel and finally into about 10 miles of mud as there had been a thunderstorm pass through early that afternoon.
I arrived in Tulun some 400 kms. northwest of Irkutsk about 21:00. I was getting a little desperate for a place to park overnight when I found a small hotel with an enclosed parking area and a small shop where I stayed the night for 5000 rubles. The watch dog barked most of the night but I was so tired of fighting the bad roads all day I slept most of the night. I was up early in the morning of 27 July as I had 670 kms. to go to Krasnoyarsk. The road was mostly gravel or dirt except in the small villages and larger towns I passed through. There is more and more evidence of mechanized farming the further west I travel, although hay is still loaded by hand on large wagons, and I have not seen any baling machines yet.
The country side is so expansive it is breath taking. There are large fields of golden wheat surrounded by bright green forests. These vistas go all the way to the horizon in 360 degrees. The wild flowers are in full bloom and every color of the rainbow is represented. It is a real pleasure to stop every once in a while just to look at the magnificent landscape.
After 14 hours on the road I finally arrived on the outskirts of Krasnoyarsk. I spent some time at a police check point trying to determine a safe place to park for the night as it was almost 22:00 and I was tired from the day's travel. They directed me to a parking area across the highway I cooked a small meal and went to bed.
The next day, 28 July, was the day to look for Irena Titarenko, who invited me to stay in Krasnoyarsk and attend a Computer Camp. The police drew a map for me and I was off to explore a city of 1 million people. I drove down what appeared to be the main thoroughfare of the city. It worried me that I had not found the bridge indicated on the map. I spotted a policeman in an area where I could park and asked him for directions. A man walked up and asked if he could be of help. I showed him the letter from Irena and he said "I know Irena!" He took me into his office and called Irena and in less than 5 minutes, we were talking on the phone. (What are the odds of meeting someone in a large city who knows who you are looking for?) My luck is still holding, I guess.
We drove to Irena's office, got acquainted and planned what I should do and see while I was in Krasnoyarsk. We decided to go to her dacha where her mother and son were for the weekend. The dacha is on the bank of the Yenisey River, a good place to escape the city smog and heat. We got a late start. We had been advised that due to high water the road to the place we were going was underwater, but she wanted to try anyway. We were unable to get through as the water was at least 1 meter deep on the road, so we turned back and stayed at Irena's apartment for the night. The next day we took a river boat to where the dacha was, arrived about 13:00 and had a nice afternoon on the river. There are many summer houses along the river in this area which gives people a chance to get away from the city during the heat of the summer. The forest around the area is full of wild strawberries and blueberries and they were ripe for picking.
I am at the Computer Camp and they have no phones, I want to get this to you, so I have to get this on a disk to give to a person going in to Krasnoyarsk who will send it for me.
Everyone take care of yourselves and do the right thing.
As Always,
Bubba and Roger