It is with some trepidation that I begin my post about Olkhon Island. Listvyanka, Irkutsk, Taltsy and the entire coast are just a golden frame, Baikal is a blue diamond, and Olkhon is called the heart and soul of the lake. I came here for the first time last year. If I’m very lucky, I’ll spend my next summer vacation in Khuzhir. This unusual place, with bright positive energy and attractive charisma. Besides, it’s unrealistically beautiful here! :)
Olkhon Island is relatively small, its length is 71 km, width - up to 12 km. The climate is special, almost always sunny - only 48 cloudy days a year. And relict plants that are not typical for modern climatic and geographical conditions grow here, for example, in the steppes (!) in the north of the island, clearings of edelweiss were discovered - this is a reminder that mountains once rose in this place. In Khuzhir (this is the largest village on the island where we lived) there is a whole grove of relict pine trees, whose age reaches as much as 1100 years.
There are many unique birds and snakes on Olkhon that are not found anywhere else. But, unfortunately, due to the abundance sunny days and winds, the island is highly susceptible to fires, which are almost always associated with careless tourists who light fires in the wrong places. If you decide to ride ATVs or cars, please drive only on roads, because unique relic grasses, after an ATV passes over them, are no longer restored and die. Bare bald spots remain in this place, and this, unfortunately, is forever.
You can get to the island by land in summer only through the Olkhon Gate Strait by ferry. Because of this ferry, it is better to choose the right departure and arrival times. For example, at four o’clock in the afternoon we stood for about two hours, but we left on a weekday morning and waited only 10 minutes. Check with the owner of the hotel or guest house where you decide to stay about the best time of arrival and departure.
While there is time, we photograph the flowers.
The ferry has arrived. There are two of them: one is very small, for 5-6 cars, the second is large, called “Olkhon Gate”.
After the crossing we again travel in a minibus and look at Lake Baikal.
The island's population is about 1,600 people, mostly Russians and Buryats.
I have heard a lot about the people of Olkhon. They are, in my opinion, special. I will give two examples. There is a hospital on the island, a small one, a village hospital. There is a midwife working there, she is already old. Once they sent her to Irkutsk for advanced training. The first topic is “Clavicular fractures in newborns” (according to statistics, this is the most common obstetric pathology). Our midwife asks: “What is this?” “Don’t you know, you’re new, or what?” “Yes, during my work I have adopted 3,000 children, and this is the first time I’ve heard about this!”
Second example. On Olkhon, when children grow up, parents take from orphanage children and begin to raise them, often 2-3; if there are, then brothers and sisters, so that they are not separated. That's how it is done here. Well done, right?
We were lucky, and immediately after arriving in Khuzhir we were just in time for an evening excursion on a boat and watched a sunset of rare beauty.
This little island is called Crocodile.
Cormorant Island.
The next morning, my friends left for an excursion to the north of Olkhon, but I had to stay, I needed to do a little work on the computer. Then, when things were over, Gala Sibiryakova, the owner of the Baikalsky Reach guest house, with whom we became very friendly last year, persuaded us to take the dogs for a walk. She runs a kennel of northern dogs (Samoyeds and Huskies). In the summer, in order to properly pull the sled in the winter, they need to walk with weights. As a rule, the weights are the happy tourists who have had this opportunity. Special equipment is put on the belt (similar to a climbing harness), and a dog leash is attached to it with a carabiner. That is, it is not the person leading the dog, but the dog dragging the person by the body, and he slows it down. Walking dogs is great fun! And, girls, this is also a wonderful fitness routine; after it, your stressed abdominal and leg muscles hurt like hell.
Dogs and Baikal.
And then I just went for a walk around Khuzhir. This is the most recognizable symbol of Olkhon Island - Mount Shamanka on Cape Burkhan. It is one of the nine most sacred places in Asia. The Buryats are sure that in the through cave lived the son of the heavenly Tengris - the owner of Lake Baikal named Khan Khute-baabai. "Burkhan" is a Tibetan word, it appeared when the majority of Buryats adopted Buddhism in the 17th century, and means "Buddha", "God".
The history of this place is impressive. A parking lot was discovered in the area of Cape Burkhan ancient man and burials of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, this is 5 thousand years BC! Your head is spinning, isn't it?
The shaman has amazingly powerful energy. Here you lose the sense of time and feel an extraordinary unity with nature, its power and freedom. A similar feeling occurs when you lie in the mountains near a fire and look at the night sky full of stars, but in this place the time of day does not matter. People sit for hours and admire the opening landscapes.
Prayer poles or serge (in Buryat, hitching post). The Buryats (I think like all nomads) know that the place where serge is placed has an owner. In our case, this is neither more nor less, the owner of Lake Baikal himself.
It is believed that a green ribbon is tied when asking for prosperity, a yellow one for wealth, a red one for love, a blue one for longevity and a white one for attaining enlightenment. Shamans are still revered on Olkhon. The most famous of them is Valentin Khagdaev, a 19th generation shaman. Last year we were lucky enough to meet him, listen to ancient epics and talk about traditional medicine. They say that if you wish, you can get a personal consultation. As far as I know, Alina Kabaeva, Natalya Vodianova, Anatoly Chubais and, during his visit in 2009, Vladimir Putin met with him at one time.
Every year on Olkhon in August there is a gathering of shamans, in which shamans from Buryatia, Khakassia, Altai and from abroad participate. They gather near Khuzhir and hold tailgans, or rituals. During rituals, the spirits of Olkhon are asked for spiritual cleansing of the Earth and help with natural disasters. For example, last year the Irkutsk region and Buryatia were choking in the smoke of forest fires, and after the shamans’ rituals a heavy downpour immediately began. It’s a pity that this year we were only two days late with our arrival, otherwise we could have seen this extraordinary spectacle.
We swam on this beach when the girls arrived from their trip to the north of Olkhon. It’s an amazing feeling to go into the water when it’s cold, but the longer you stay in it, the warmer it becomes. For those who don’t like extreme sports, there are cars on the shore that have been converted into mini-saunas. First you warm up, then you jump into Baikal. This, of course, makes it easier to decide. :)
I am returning to Khuzhir.
What a talented fish - at least the island will show you, or even give you a massage.
What a pity, what a pity that we only had one evening and one full day on Olkhon. I hope to return someday, at least for a couple of weeks, and have endless fun. If you are interested in learning more, there are last year's posts in my magazine under the tag "Baikal".
Thank you for being with me on this journey!
Why can Baikal make you sick for life? How do local shamans control the weather and what does the tiny golomyanka fish taste like? Valery Sokolenko, the creator of the Baikal Fan project, spoke about this and much more during a lecture organized in the Muzeon art park by the Trip Secrets project together with the Afisha-Mir publication. Lenta.ru publishes excerpts from his speech.
Sea Baikal
Never say “Lake Baikal” - the locals really don’t like that. Baikal is not a lake, but a sea. Its length is 625 kilometers, its maximum depth is one kilometer 652 meters, its width is up to 65 kilometers, and the wave height reaches 15 meters. 80 percent of the flora and fauna of Lake Baikal are endemic - living creatures that are not repeated anywhere else in the world.
Baikal is 25 million years old, and scientists have proven that it is literally in its infancy. The lake expands in width and length, goes to the Tunka Valley, along different sides where the mountains are located. On Khamar-Daban, the oldest ridge, there is great freeride and excellent ski slopes. In this regard, it is an order of magnitude better than the Caucasus. In Baikalsk, located near Khamar-Daban, low prices, free ski lifts and excellent infrastructure. Two years ago, the only enterprise in this city that somewhat spoiled the ecology of Lake Baikal was closed - a pulp and paper mill. Although in fact it is very difficult to spoil it, because it is a self-cleaning reservoir.
There are no mosquitoes on the shore of Lake Baikal in the Listvyanka area (although it is possible in the forest), because the water temperature is plus four degrees. Mosquito larvae do not live at this temperature.
Most strong wind on Baikal it is called sarma, because it breaks out of the Sarma gorge. Its speed is 250-300 kilometers per hour. He destroys everything, it’s impossible to stand. Ships that do not have time to land are immediately broken and destroyed by Sarma. In this case, it appears and disappears instantly, for only three to five minutes. Sarma rarely blows in winter; most often it happens in the off-season - in early autumn and spring.
On the eastern coast of Lake Baikal there are warm beaches and sora bays with water temperatures up to plus 20. Fishing there is excellent: large pike, ide, perch (there is also sturgeon, but you can’t catch it). There are mosquitoes here, but there are not as many as they say and they are not as bad.
What to see
Most of my friends who come for three days check the “I was there” box, and then write down twenty other places on Lake Baikal where they want to visit. My grandmother, who is 75 years old, said: “I’ll come and have a look - and that’s it, bury me.” Now she has plans, she is planning where else to go on Lake Baikal.
I don't know any other places like this in Russia. Sixty kilometers one way means kayaking, swimming, fishing, and jeeping in winter. Sixty kilometers to the other are mountains: alpine skiing, snowmobiling, climbing and rock climbing. Twenty kilometers in the third direction are water sports, including extreme ones. Baikal features all six levels of river complexity, from standing water to waterfalls. If you want to fly, you can do it on a paraglider and on Yak-12 aircraft.
The ice on Lake Baikal is transparent. In Moscow ponds its thickness is 10-15 centimeters, and fish and algae are not visible under it. The thickness of Baikal ice is from a meter to one and a half, it can withstand an excavator. But if a fish or seaweed swims underneath you, you will see it.
However, it should be remembered that Baikal is a living organism, and its ice is free to move. Today you can drive along one section and nothing will happen, but tomorrow a crack will form in this place. Considering the thickness of the ice and the depth of the reservoir, it is unlikely that you will be pulled out. Therefore, you should only drive around Lake Baikal with trusted people - “ice captains”.
There is a myth that the season on Lake Baikal is only in summer. This is wrong. In summer, Lake Baikal is high season - for tourists who like to warm their bellies. First of all, such tourists go to the village of Listvyanka - as everyone calls it, “the tourist Mecca of Lake Baikal.” The water is cold, you can’t swim there, 10 meters from the shore the depth is already 150 meters.
Photo: Alexander Miridonov / Kommersant
You walk and think: what is there to see here? ABOUT! Fish market. You see an omul, you want to buy it, and the seller asks: “Where are you from?” - “From Moscow” - “350 rubles head” - “How 350?!” - “Okay, take the tail for 350.” Walk a little further from the main road, and there will be huts of local residents. They catch this fish themselves and sell it for 50 rubles.
The coolest Baikal delicacy is omul. No matter how it is prepared: smoked, dried, and omul on the rostrum is the highlight. It is prepared like this: sticks are stuck on the sides of the fire, salted fish is placed on them, cuts are made, and fried.
Baikal is home to the golomyanka, an endemic fish so transparent that you can literally read through it. If you leave it on a stone under the rays of the sun, it will disappear - only the eyes and bone formations on the fins will remain. Forty percent of the fish is fish fat, and it tastes just like candy. Is not commercial fish, it is not mined. Golomyanka is caught only by local residents as an exception.
But the most popular endemic is still not the golomyanka, but the nerpa, the Baikal seal. This is a real miracle, and its baby squirrels are especially touching. They are born in winter white to blend in with the snow and not be eaten by predators. On the one hand, the seal is plump (after all, it lives in cold water), on the other hand, in terms of agility it is not inferior to a torpedo. When we were kayaking, a boat overtook us, and suddenly we saw a seal overtaking the boat. For 15 years, a ban was imposed on catching this animal. But if at the time of its introduction there were about 200 thousand seals, now there are more than one and a half million. They are now removing it from the Red Book and starting to catch it.
In early spring
Until June, the water in Baikal is very cold, you cannot swim. Ice drift begins here at the end of April and ends just by the end of June. The only official trip in the world on an ice floe is held here - not along the reservoir itself, but along the Angara River, at the beginning of the ice drift. It begins in Listvyanka, which is located at its source. An ice floe breaks off there and floats downstream for a distance of 30-40 kilometers. Of course, a hovercraft is floating nearby and the Ministry of Emergency Situations is watching all this.
The Angara is an ice-free river, and it also has the largest source in the world. 336 rivers flow into Baikal, but only one flows out - the Angara. Why doesn't it freeze? Let us remember that the water temperature of Baikal is plus four, and it is this that makes up the current of the Angara.
I recommend coming to Baikal from early March to mid-April. At this time, a huge number of winter sports festivals are held there. You need to go to the Small Sea (near Olkhon, this is the center of Baikal) - ice jeeping, skating, and skysurfing await you there. Finally, you can simply walk on the Baikal ice.
Photo: Vladimir Smirnov / RIA Novosti
Olkhon and Tazheran steppes
The plane does not fly directly to Baikal, it flies either to Irkutsk, located 60 kilometers from the western side of the reservoir, or to Ulan-Ude, located approximately the same distance from the eastern coast. If you want to see Olkhon Island, Arshan, the most beautiful Peschanaya Bay in Russia, go to the Tunka Valley and ride alpine skiing- I recommend getting there through Irkutsk. If you want to swim in warm waters- drive through Ulan-Ude.
If you have ever seen Martian landscapes, the Tazheran steppes, lying along the last section of the road to the Small Sea, are very similar to them. There are several Neolithic caves there (they are one and a half to two million years old). The largest cave in Russia, Okhotnichya, is located on Lake Baikal. It has not yet been fully examined, but skeletons of prehistoric animals have already been found there.
There is also Mount Yohe Yordo with a perfectly round foot, where Mongolian-Buryat dances are held. Olympic Games. One of the sports presented at this “Olympiad” is throwing stones, and these are not just stones, but boulders weighing 50-70 kilograms. The games take place every two years in mid-June.
From the Tazheran steppes you can only get to Olkhon by ferry, which is located in the village of Sakhyurta. It is free, since this route is considered a federal one.
Photo: Vladimir Smirnov / RIA Novosti
In addition to its original nature, Olkhon Island is the center of Russian Buddhism and shamanism. Many people imagine shamans as dense people in strange clothes who heal diseases. In fact, only one thing is true: they heal. These people are also some of the most educated.
A real shaman lives in Olkhon (believe me, there are not many of them in the world) - Valentin Khagdaev, we often communicate with him. He has two educations - Oxford and Moscow State University. He can control the weather with his tambourine (this may seem funny, but when you see it for yourself, you will understand that it is true). Khagdaev is a shaman of the fifth level out of nine possible. The fifth level is two tambourines, clothes and the ability to predict rain and read any person.
The power of Baikal’s energy is such that you are charged with energy for a year. You will get sick of Baikal and dream of going there again.
Subject space aliens, supposedly living in the inaccessible depths of Lake Baikal, arose almost simultaneously with the case of an unidentified flying object landing in Kudara-Somon in 1990.
Alarming news began to spread among local fishermen that in different places in the water area they were sometimes frightened by certain humanoid creatures in shiny suits, like dolphins, jumping out of the water around their boats and longboats. One of the fishermen, Nikolai Kireev, even showed me a place in the south of Lake Baikal where he and his comrades from the village of Kultuk encountered a stunning vision.
When the fishermen arrived in the evening at the fishing spot near the Circum-Baikal Railway, they were met by several of these “ichthyanders” in metallic-looking robes. One can imagine the horror of people when, here and there, from the depths in the evening darkness, one after another, as if playing, “dolphin-men” began to jump out and immediately noisily go into the water, raising fountains of spray. Having abandoned their nets, the Kultuch residents fled home on a motor boat, accompanied for a long time by mysterious pursuers. They never sailed to that terrible place with depths of up to 1400 meters. And Nikolai Kireev gave up night fishing altogether. I also met with other participants in that long-standing story, until one after another they suddenly passed away.
When a three-year international expedition of limnologists began work on Lake Baikal on the deep-sea manned submersibles "Mir", I invited Nikolai Kireev to repeat his story to the scientists who were preparing to explore the bottom of the lake approximately in the place of the water area where his meeting with the three-meter-tall "ichthyanders" took place. The rescuers of the Irkutsk Ministry of Emergency Situations also wanted to listen to this story: it turns out that their comrades in service were also not so long ago surrounded underwater by some “manfish” in spacesuits, and when they tried to capture one of them with fishing nets, they were thrown out of the depths by an unknown force... And supposedly the minister himself emergency situations Sergei Shoigu instructed to use the services of “Worlds” to explore the area of underwater contact between extraterrestrial beings and people.
These messages were important for the hydronauts, but they sounded cautionary. And although scientists were skeptical about information about paranormal phenomena, nevertheless, when descending into the abyss of Lake Baikal, we anxiously looked out the windows and listened to the outboard noises. However, there was no meeting with the mysterious “ichthyanders”. To the next summer season I prepared more thoroughly for deep-sea diving (on the topic of contacts with extraterrestrial civilization). Brought a large article from the New York newspaper “Novoye” Russian word"under the title "Combat contacts with UFOs." Its author, former Soviet military man Mark Steinberg, told how unidentified flying objects behaved when meeting with units of various branches of the military. Soviet army. At the same time, he claimed that until the beginning of the 90s this information was classified, and even today the military is reluctant to share it.
“In the summer of 1982, together with Lieutenant Colonel Gennady Zverev, I conducted a gathering of reconnaissance divers from the Turkestan and Central Asian military districts in Issyk-Kul. Unexpectedly, the head of the diving service of the engineering troops of the USSR Ministry of Defense, Major General V. Demyanenko, flew to us. He informed us about an emergency incident at a similar meeting of the West Siberian and Transbaikal military districts, held at about the same time on the western shore of Lake Baikal.
There, reconnaissance divers, during combat training dives, repeatedly met unknown underwater swimmers, similar in every way to people, but huge, almost three meters tall, in tight-fitting silver overalls, despite cold water lakes. At depths of about 50 meters, they did not have scuba gear or any other equipment - only a spherical helmet hiding their head. They moved at high speed.
Alarmed by this, the collection command decided to detain one such “ichthyander”, for which they dispatched a special group of seven divers led by an officer. However, when trying to throw a net over this creature, the entire group was thrown to the surface by some powerful impulse. And since the autonomous equipment of reconnaissance divers does not allow them to rise from such a depth without observing the decompression stops, all members of the ill-fated capture group were struck by decompression sickness. There is only one treatment - immediate decompression in a pressure chamber. There were several of them at the gathering, but only one was in working order, capable of accommodating no more than two people. They pushed four of them there. As a result, three, including the officer, died, the rest became disabled.
Subsequently, already at the headquarters of the TurkVO we received an order from the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces with a detailed analysis of the Baikal emergency and the distribution of appropriate slaps to the military. Attached to the order was an information bulletin from the headquarters of the engineering troops of the USSR Ministry of Defense, which listed, in particular, deep-sea lakes where anomalous phenomena were recorded, the appearance of underwater creatures similar to the Baikal type, the descent and ascent of huge disks and balls, a powerful glow from the depths, etc. All these documents were of high secrecy, were communicated to a limited circle of people and had the goal of “preventing and not allowing in the future.”
The facts and events stated in Mark Steinberg's article probably took place, since the report was not classified as speculation. In January 1993, it was reprinted on the pages of such a serious all-Russian socio-political publication as the Federation newspaper (that is, in government media). There were no official rebuttals to it, nor any comments from the Ministry of Defense. Then I saw reprints in other newspapers and magazines of the country, with the addition of new details of the event that took place on Lake Baikal.
Employees of the Irkutsk Ministry of Emergency Situations, assigned to the expedition on the Mir deep-sea manned vehicles, explained that the meeting with the Baikal “ichthyanders” actually took place in the waters of northern Baikal during joint exercises with the military. Now I am beginning to guess what kind of military men I met in the Barguzin Bay in the summer of 1982-1983, who, in response to my questions about the purpose of their work on Lake Baikal, answered that they were studying the depths of the Siberian reservoir, and that limnologists knew not everything about its underwater life . But it would be logical in this regard to see sailors in a military unit, and not officers with signs of belonging to engineering ground forces. In addition, if the conflict between submariners and “ichthyanders” occurred in the north of Lake Baikal, then who did the Kultuk fishermen see in its southern half? Or are these the same humanoid creatures of unknown origin, who have mastered the entire water area of the lake, and who knows where “living” on its inaccessible bottom?
I don’t know whether it was from these newspaper and magazine publications, or from some other sources, that a Moscow group of ufologists from the NTV television company arrived at Baikal with the assurance that local Pomors from time to time see unidentified flying objects diving or soaring into the sky from the depths of the lake - balls and plates of various sizes. As if at the bottom there is a hidden base of aliens who do not want to come into contact with people, considering them to be “subhuman”. And it’s as if ship captains at night even see a certain glow in the water column, reminiscent of searchlights, accompanied by frightening “unearthly” sounds.
What to say? The glow is actually recorded in different layers of deep water. In salty seas and oceans it is created by animals that have luminescence. Are there similar organisms in fresh water conditions? Frightening sounds from the depths of Lake Baikal are not new, especially in winter time. But they are associated with tectonic processes leading to earthquakes. The uterine heavy sound of the underground depths during catastrophic movements of the earth's crust is not for the faint of heart. In winter, a beginner can fall into shock when a deafening roar is heard and a one and a half meter thick layer of ice breaks up before their eyes.
What about those wandering over the water area? fireballs or disks? And this is not a fantasy either. They are talked about by many who spent nights around bonfires on the coast in the summer. Here are two observations from my personal practice.
Warm August evening. The sun has almost set behind the Baikal ridge of the “Irkutsk” coast. Looking out the window from my dacha at the Boyarsk railway station, I suddenly noticed a certain luminous ball almost in the middle of the lake. Through binoculars it was clear that this was not a flame of gas emissions (which are not uncommon on Baikal), but a perfectly round physical body. It had nothing in common with the shape of a surface ship. It held strong and confidently on the wind-raised waves and did not drift anywhere. When it got dark, its lower base began to emerge: like a second, but underwater ball. I attributed this vision to the reflection of a floating luminous apparatus.
The second incident occurred at Tankhoi station. A group of excursionists and I were walking along the embankment of the Trans-Siberian railway line. It was the same warm evening. Near the shore, several fishermen with fishing rods were sitting in boats. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that something small, black, fell from the sky at high speed, but, without reaching the surface of the water, it went low over the water area of Lake Baikal along the coastline. Another moment, and this “something” will crash into one of the boats with fishermen. But, before reaching a few meters to the target, the vision instantly disappeared, as if it had never existed. Stunned, I asked my companions: “Did you see?” - “Yes, what was that?” - “It’s clear that it’s not a bird: the shape is wrong and it didn’t flap its wings. And most importantly, where did she disappear without a trace?”
Maybe I was just imagining it. But my companions, consisting of dozens of people, noticed the same thing! They agreed that it could be some kind of alien space probe. This is a good time to remember another vision that struck me in my youth. early autumn half a century ago. Walking along an abandoned track of the Circum-Baikal Railway late in the evening, I suddenly felt some anxiety and noticed a sharp darkening of the atmosphere, as if during fog or smog. Without having time to understand anything, he was immediately stunned by the appearance of a cigar-shaped object in the sky. He flew from the direction of the Tunkin Alps to the village of Kultuk and continued moving through the southern tip of Lake Baikal towards the Khamar-Daban mountain range. The object had the correct geometric shape of a cigar-blimp, flew against the wind, leaving behind a contrail, like a jet plane. Its color was the same as the body of the flying object: silver-orange, glowing and similar to a gaseous formation. Its dimensions were approximately determined to be 200 meters long and 50 meters wide along the central part of the body.
As soon as the object appeared on the horizon, my body was frozen in a numbness of fear. It was as if nature had frozen. But, most likely, this was a consequence of sudden deafness. I saw the leaves on the trees trembling, but did not hear their noise. On Baikal, waves rose, crashing onto the rocky shore, but they were silent and did not seem to make a roar. I wanted to take refuge in the nearest tunnel, but I could not move my legs. The hair stood on end on my head, and I stood there, my mouth open in surprise. The only thing that was in my power was to follow with my eyes the rapidly moving high altitude flying vehicle of unknown origin.
Directly above the waters of Lake Baikal, three luminous balls (silver, reddish and yellow in color) unexpectedly fell from the bottom of the UFO and scattered at the same speed in different directions, and the giant extraterrestrial structure continued its path further along the chosen trajectory. As soon as the UFO disappeared behind Khamar-Daban, the numbness began to fade, the ability to hear returned, I hurried with unsteady steps to the village, all the time looking back at the place in the sky where the UFO disappeared, and looking for the small devices that had scattered from it, obviously for reconnaissance purposes for the alien crew. .
Many years later, in some scientific publication, I saw a message about how an unidentified flying object flew over Ulan-Ude big size. Having compared the dates and the trajectory of the recorded flight, I realized that this was the same UFO that I had to observe over Lake Baikal. Then, in archival documents, I found a mention of another similar case in 1909: a similar device flew over the Trans-Baikal Railway to Lake Baikal, having the shape of a ball, side windows and a contrail jet trail. Before the first balloons and there were still 10 years of aircraft left in this region.
But let’s return to the “ichthyanders”. Folk tales about “mermaids” on Lake Baikal are also known, but they are clearly associated with unusual shape body of a seal (seal). But here's another story from a century ago that gives insight into some other aquatic creature from the mysterious depths of a Siberian lake. Tobolsk peasant Kuzma Morokov spoke about his interlocutor, a Baikal Pomeranian (“World of Baikal”, No. 2, 2004): “Fedchi Tarazan said that there are pharaohs in the Baikal sea. One day the pharaohs played out and sank the ship; Now the inhabitants of the Eft place guessed it - they threw a net and pulled out up to 50 Eft pharaohs; completely human, head, arms and all human parts and legs, only where the paws (footprints) are, a fish tail has grown together; So the residents of Eftia tied rods and lashed all the pharaohs and threw them into the sea; Then, as if by hand, the pharaohs were gone, they went to another place.”
Alexey Tivanenko, local historian, candidate of historical sciences.
In general, I finally wrote my report about my vacation. which took place on Lake Baikal and in Buryatia. I want to say that before the trip, Baikal was perceived by me as something distant, like a huge blue spot on the map. Now, having already managed to move away from my thoughts and impressions from the trip, Baikal is perceived by me as something alive, which is seething with life right before my eyes. There is a living forest, there is living air, etc., but all this remains at the level of feeling, and Baikal “lives” right before our eyes - its mood changes - the weather changes, the sound around changes, the feeling changes... and this happens every minute (and more than once a week, for example). As for Buryatia, I always dreamed of going there, but I thought that the dream would hardly ever come true, but here everything turned out unexpectedly...
In general, we had the idea of going to Baikal a long time ago, and this year we decided to implement it. We bought plane tickets in advance, which turned out to be half the price. We made a list of things that we would take with us and made a route plan. As a result, we decided to walk the entire Circum-Baikal Railway (Circum-Baikal Railway) - from Slyudyanka station to Port Baikal station (highlighted on the map with a red line).
March 17, 1891 Tsar Alexander III issued a decree on the beginning of the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, “commanding now to begin the construction of a continuous railway across the whole of Siberia, which will connect the abundant Siberian regions with a network of internal rail communications.” In terms of volume, complexity and cost of work, this site had no equal among railways Russia. Before the revolution, it was called the “Golden Buckle of Russia’s Steel Belt,” a buckle because it connected the Trans-Siberian Railway, which had been severed by Lake Baikal, and a gold one because the cost of work surpassed all existing roads in Russia.
The Circum-Baikal Railway was built from the station. Kultuk along Lake Baikal to the station. port Baikal and along the Angara to Irkutsk. However, when a hydroelectric power station was built near Irkutsk, the Angara overflowed and flooded the section of the Circum-Baikal Railway from Irkutsk to the port of Baikal.
So, at 4 am local time we landed in Irkutsk. I was ready to put matches in my eyes, because the week before the vacation was stormy, I slept 5 hours a day, and the time difference between Moscow and Irkutsk stole the whole night from me. So, when in Moscow people were getting ready for bed (and my body too), in Irkutsk people were waking up, so no matter where I squatted, I immediately fell asleep. Because It was still early and there was no public transport, we ran into a nice cafe with the same name as mine, “Christina”, and ate a hamburger called “Christina.”... not bad, at least more natural than in McDuck.
Only there was a strange contingent in the cafe, a couple of strays like us, and the rest were local men with girls of incomprehensible behavior. There was a feeling that this was a meeting place for prostitutes and clients, and such couples were constantly arriving. Although surprisingly the cafe was clean and more or less pleasant.
At 5 am minibuses started running, and we took the first one and got to the railway station. There we bought tickets for the train to Slyudyanka, which departed in 4 hours. I only saved myself with coffee so as not to fall asleep. By the time the train arrived, more tourists like us began to arrive, and when we had already loaded up and set off, I blankly stared out the window at Irkutsk flying past, fighting sleep, until I finally passed out completely.
I was awakened by a push in the side and Zhenya’s joyfully dissatisfied exclamation. Dissatisfied because I was sleeping, but joyful because Baikal appeared outside the window. Looking out the window, my eyes widened from the stunning picture - we were driving over Baikal - above a huge blue saucer, and clouds were rising from the surface of the water, ... it felt like the sky was below us. When we got closer, Baikal became better visible.
We arrived at Slyudyanka station. At the station we bought a map of the Circum-Baikal Railway, met a Baltic couple who had come from nowhere, and were left with the impression that they themselves did not understand how they got here, but only knew the words Baikal and Arshan. We told them where it’s better to “take a walk” on Lake Baikal, and we learned from them that there is a settlement called Arshan, where it’s beautiful, and where it is and that no one knew... After saying goodbye to the guys, wishing each other a good trip, we set off to Slyudyanka in search of good vodka (why, I’ll write later), snacks and to explore the village.
Bridge to Slyudyanka
Here is such a monument. The name of the village of Slyudyanka comes from mica (white pebbles in the photo), which is visible here on all slopes and which can be mistaken for snow.
Fountain in the village park
After stocking up in the store, we set off along Lake Baikal. About two kilometers later the local beach began. It was hot, and the entire beach was strewn with tourists with tents. Stepping over the lying people, we reached Cape Shamansky, which became our starting point on the journey. 
On the shore of Southern Baikal there is a rocky cape, the bizarre shape of which resembles either a swimming “whale fish” or a giant dinosaur. An old shaman lived on this cape a long time ago, more than a hundred years ago. With all his strength he tried to help people - some with a kind word, others useful thing, curing the oppressed and infirm from mental and physical illnesses. He treated with spells and herbs. A shaman lived on this cape for many years. He was known throughout the Baikal region and people came to see him from everywhere. Only the shaman himself had never been anywhere else, never left his cape. But one day I wanted to go to Verkhneudinsk (now the city of Ulan-Ude) and talk about religious topics with the Supreme Lama. Here he met with the Supreme Lama, amazed everyone wise sayings and with his deep knowledge inspired universal respect. Either our shaman was already very old, or the theological dispute undermined the old man’s strength, but the guest of the high lama felt the approach of death and hurried home. He ordered his companions: “Bury me where I have lived all my life.” In Verkhneudinsk, a venerable shaman died. With great honors, the shaman's body was delivered to his homeland and buried on the very cape where the holy elder spent his entire life. Many years have passed and people still come here and pray to the spirits of nature for help - someone asks for the healing of illnesses, someone seeks the support of the gods in their affairs. Shaman's Cape continues to serve as a place of pilgrimage and still remains a sacred place of ancestors
Climbing to the very top high point cape, we performed the ritual of appeasing Baikal. According to Buryat shamanic customs, in order for Baikal to be favorable to us, we had to appease it...with vodka! It is believed that vodka is a pure drink, through which it is easier to determine the thoughts and soul of a person. So we splashed vodka around us and had a small snack with the first toast to Baikal ourselves.
View from the cape to the mica mountain 
After having a snack, we packed our things and hit the road. It was difficult to go around the entire cape and we would have to go back, so we set off along a narrow and muddy path along the swamps. 
When we reached the sign for the beginning of the settlement of Kultuk, it began to rain, and before the start of the Circum-Baikal Railway, there were still about 5 kilometers. Having reached the gas station, a heavy downpour covered us, and we dropped into a cafe at the gas station to wait out the rain and refuel, where we We ate delicious solyanka for only 30 rubles per serving. (The prices will still surprise me throughout the trip). After sitting at the gas station for about two hours, the rain almost stopped falling, and we moved on.
Finally, we passed the cherished turn from Kultuk to the Circum-Baikal Railway and already walked along the railway tracks. It was late in the evening and we were planning to walk as far as possible before dark. possible way and stop for the night when the rain that had stopped began to slowly creep in again and turned into a heavy downpour. I had to put on raincoats and look for a suitable place for a tent.
They decided to set up the tent between the railway tracks and the cliff into Baikal in tall grass. While Zhenya was laying out the tent in the rain, I protected all our equipment with my body. A lot of water flowed inside the tent, and I began to wipe all the walls with a towel. When everything was dried, the sleeping bags were laid out, and we were ready to go to the side, suddenly we heard footsteps on the pebbles, then on the grass in our direction. Zhenya and I were so scared that he ordered me to turn off the flashlight, and he went for an axe. The footsteps approached our tent, walked around it and stopped at the entrance. We have turned into two springs, tense to the limit and ready to “shoot” at any second. When I tried to open my mouth to ask who it was, Zhenya managed to shut it up for me every time. Finally it dawned on us that these steps were not steps at all, but that it was the wind rippling the grass. And then I myself remembered that in various books about anomalies and mysteries in travel, the authors really like to describe such steps. Having exhaled with great relief and laughed at each other, we wrapped ourselves in our sleeping bags and immediately fell asleep.
I woke up once in the middle of the night, not understanding what was happening from sleep, when a diesel locomotive drove along the tracks with a big roar, sharply illuminating us with light. But I felt calmer, now I knew that at least something was traveling along the Circum-Baikal Railway, and if something happened, I could always get out. With these thoughts I fell asleep and slept until late in the morning.
When I woke up and looked outside, the morning sun was shining, starting to get hot, and Zhenya was rushing around, lighting wet logs and heating up the stew.
The view from the tent was beautiful and the rising sun illuminated the mica mountain opposite
The sun was starting to get hot and we laid out all our wet things to dry and at the same time drank tea with water from Lake Baikal
After drying off, we packed our things and went on our way. Having turned the corner, it turned out that we had not reached the first tunnel, with which the Circum-Baikal Railway is simply teeming, about four hundred meters away. Or they could hide from the rain there, because... New railway tracks now often bypass tunnels. Although it’s true that the tunnel was very windy, so I don’t even know what’s better: getting wet in the rain or sleeping in a drafty tunnel.
Traces of the old Circum-Baikal Railway
The entire coast of Lake Baikal was "blooming"
Finally, we reached the first settlement on the Circum-Baikal Railway - Angasolki. Zhenya and I were beginning to be overcome by fatigue. If on the first day we somehow miraculously flew 20 kilometers without noticing it at all, then on the second day, after walking 5 kilometers, we felt completely exhausted. Having reached the station, having cleared our heads, we decided to find a store in the village, drink beer and think about our further actions. Having learned that there was only one “store” in the village, we went there, where we found a sign that the seller had left to pick up goods and the store would not be open until 4 o’clock. The time was 12 noon. And, suddenly, we heard the train whistle and saw a train approaching the station, which stopped at a stop. Our feet carried us on their own. I ran with a heavy backpack, jumping over all sorts of obstacles along the way, and one thought struck my head that we wouldn’t make it in time. We made it to the train, climbed on and plopped down on the first available seats. The train served as a local train and ran 4 times a week.
Behind is the village of Angasolskaya 
On the train we got into conversation with local men, and they advised us to get off at Cape Polovinny - the very beautiful place Circum-Baikal Railway, and at the same time they promised us that we would not catch any fish (which was later confirmed). And not because it is not in Baikal, but because here you need to catch it “in your own way.” (or networks, as everyone who lives here does). After 2-3 hours, we finally reached Polovinny Cape, got off at the station and ran into the village to look for a store. There was no store in the village, but there was the house of woman Tamara, who sold basic necessities for tourists (beer, chocolates). Having bought some Klinskoye, we went to the local beach. After a tiring journey, worry that our route had changed abruptly, and the stuffiness on the train, I realized that I had never drunk tastier beer.
And then we looked around and realized that the place was truly amazingly beautiful. Cape Polovinny formed a bay, protecting the place from strong winds.
Having scouted the area, we found a wooden ladder leading to a clearing on the bank of the Polovinnaya River, where we pitched a tent, stopping in this place for 3 days.
View from our clearing to the Polovinnaya River
Zhenya is trying to catch fish for dinner
Having caught nothing, we warm it up another jar stew over the fire, mixing it with pre-ground bread, thereby getting a hearty and nutritious porridge, and then we go to Lake Baikal for water for evening tea.
After drinking tea, we went to bed.
Having considered Slyudyanka as a major railway junction on the Trans-Siberian Railway and a potential resort for tourists, the question remains: how do local residents live in Slyudyanka?
Local residents live in Slyudyanka. And they live differently. Looking ahead, I still don’t understand whether they like living by the most beautiful lake in the country or whether this neighborhood is a burden to them.
1. The city of Slyudyanka is a small (about 18,000 people) city in the Irkutsk region, but it is famous not only for the station of the same name, but also for the mining site, for example, of marble, from which the main city station is entirely made. This is where we begin our brief examination. In addition to the already well-known station posture, there is something to see here. For example, there is a very nice police station, which is located right behind the station square.
2. First of all, having finished examining the beauties of the station, I headed towards Baikal; after all, the lake was the purpose of my trip to Siberia. I was hoping to see the city beach, but instead I found only an embankment. The embankment, let's say, is not particularly attractive, and the coastal strip is abundantly littered with bottles, bags and other tourist waste.
3. From Kutluk, neighboring Slyudyanka, Baikal still looks more majestic...
4. The propaganda here probably doesn’t believe itself... And it doesn’t have any effective impact on tourists.
5. But at first you don’t notice this, in general, you don’t notice anything except the lake, you only want one thing, to come closer to it and touch it.
6. I touched it, the water is warm... And they told us in Moscow that the water in Baikal is always cold.
7. What I didn’t expect to see were giant burrs. By the way, they are not very sticky, they come off easily from clothes, and do not stick to synthetics at all.
9. However, they could have dealt with it more radically, as in the west and center of Ukraine, but the Siberians took a different path. Now Ilyich looks with hope in his eyes at the trains leaving for the west.
10. Grocery store.
11. Street between the station and the embankment.
12. Monument to the allegory of Soviet workers: an astronaut (or pilot?), a metallurgist and a teacher.
13. Mom walks her child along the parapet on the embankment.
14. Locals have not been interested in looking at Lake Baikal for a long time...
15. Here I went down to Lake Baikal for the first time in my life.
16. Here is the church, because of which Ilyich had to be moved to the school.
17. Tourists look at the water surface of Lake Baikal stretching beyond the horizon...
18. Young people prefer to look at the lake with beer... Not everyone cleans up bottles after themselves...
19. And not only bottles, but also bags are left right next to the water... Well, what kind of pigs are they? Or is it a special chic to spoil with your garbage on Baikal itself?
20. Slavyanka is largely built up with wooden houses like this. Judging by the fact that many of the windows have already been replaced with double-glazed windows, these houses will not be resettled soon. Although... Maybe it’s better in some ways, I don’t know.
21. Near one of the institutions there is a visual campaign in memory of those killed in the Second World War. Everything is hand-drawn by local craftsmen.
22. Mailboxes
23. Slavyanka was not spared by another extremely negative phenomenon in the Russian provinces, worse than which can only be rampant drug addiction - moneylenders' stalls where pennies are given out at astronomical exorbitant interest rates (not here, but somewhere I have come across rates of up to 732% ready).
24. But here it is not customary to worry about corporate symbols: one store has 2 signs that are fundamentally different in design and - nothing, it will do.
25. Everyone can dress beautifully! Moreover, it seems to be inexpensive.
26. Thank God, otherwise we didn’t know where our taxes were going;-)
27. I went to a beer store for kvass, and here, in the most visible place, as in most Russian cities, there was a “dish break” tariff in the most visible place. Jokes aside, such advertisements indirectly indicate the prestige and/or popularity of the catering outlet :)
28. Railwayman’s Day was widely celebrated in the city.
29. Views of the central square of Slyudyanka.
30. Not far from the central square - yes, they are. Delicious poses.
31. At the central bus station of Slyudyanka.
32. There is a water tower next to the central square. According to legend (it is possible that in reality), during construction, Polish convicts took and laid out the word XUN on it as a sign of protest or as part of their usual Polish Russophobia. Probably, in order to especially offend the damned occupiers, they turned in the other direction...
33. An ordinary yard in Slyudyanka.
34. I wonder if Irishka reciprocated?
35. The most unusual city artifact: a monument to a bear and a monkey. Is there some kind of allegory here about the interaction between local authorities and the media they control?
36. In the southeastern part of the city, most of the windows of the houses are equipped with skillfully made platbands.
37. Where there are no platbands - other interesting artifacts.
38. Market Square - main shopping mall cities.
39. Several pavilions here sell everything you can - from spare parts and garden tools to frozen fish and dresses.
40. Despite some distance from big cities, I would not say that in Slyudyanka, for example, there are any special prices for food. Yes, some things are cheaper here than in chain supermarkets in Moscow, but not because everything here in itself is cheap (Moscow prices), but because the goods are different. Well, something is cheaper, especially what they bring with Far East or China. At the same time, for some reason, it is believed that “Moscow prices” (an option is “Moscow fair”) is a synonym for powerful cheapness. I don’t know why, but things are somehow like this.
41. Returning back to the station to pick up a bag left in the storage room, I found a drunk homeless man at the market. Well, I decided to take a photo of him. At the sight of the pointed lens, the homeless man became quite excited, swore at me and began to threaten me with a knife (!!), which he immediately demonstrated...
However, the homeless man's greyhound immediately sank back when he noticed that my right hand was instantly not on the camera shutter button, but was holding my knife a little more tightly than his kitchen knife. Thus, the desirability of having piercing and cutting weapons during reportage photography was experimentally shown. By the way, the photo shoot continued.
42. But in Slyudyanka there are a lot beautiful girls. However, in Russia there are generally a lot of them :) And that’s good.
