Sunday 7th July 2013
Barnaul to Mongolian border
We are in Siberia, over 4,000 kms from Moscow, and Barnaul is its hidden gem. Close to the Altai mountains, so plenty of all year round sporting and outdoor activities. There are universities, so a vibrant night life. Certainly saw that in Hotel Barnaul. Live band in restaurant, some of the revellers were still at the bar when we went down for breakfast. Floor all sticky.
Large crowd gathered as we packed cars. Disaster. The water melon had burst and was leaking. It wouldn’t fit in the rubbish bins provided, so Tim took it off somewhere. Sad to see it go. It had travelled with us for four countries and several thousand kms. So long.
Looking at maps, we are at the most Northerly point of our trip so far, excluding our home countries. An exuberant Russian came to talk. He owns a Range Rover Evoke, much newer and cleaner than ours. Security man comes across. Three Italians stayed a few days ago, on their way to Mongolia. Hope we meet up. We drive away in warm sunshine. Behind the hotel was a sports complex, and fit young people were exercising. Lazy Sunday morning, pass large parks and impressive street architecture. Bimble along behind Hilde, road closed, can’t get over bridge. Ask a local, in a Jeep. We retrace our route, and the Jeep is waiting for us. We follow him. Finally find River Ob, and open bridge.
May be camping tonight. Need some fresh food. Red kite flying over roof tops. Bike shop. Christian churches. Little lake, with cars on verge selling paddling pools. Small pine trees. Water melon stalls, one owner slumped asleep.
Leave ring road and join M52. Following it all the way to Mongolia. Brand new road surface. For how long? 2 kms. Watering crops. People pulling off road to picnic under trees. Both of us covered in bites, think we even got bitten as we were packing the cars. this morning.
This part of Russia looks a lot like Northern France. It is far more affluent than any of the Stans. After Russia pulled out, progress stopped. What are those open lengths of fences for? This is a very pretty route. Woods, forests, lakes and rivers. Meadows with wild flowers and grasses. And lots of speed traps. Don’t really know what speed limit is. Begin to suspect every car on hard shoulder is Poli
Too many red kites to count. Car towing a caravan. Another cloud burst. Road side vendors getting wet. Strawberries, apples, honey, onions and home brew. Little service stations open 24 hours. Rain stops. Tim pleased The Lions beat Australia yesterday. Hope Murray wins today. Sue Selby is there with girlie friends. Don’t drink too much bubbly, Sue.
Big Honda Goldwing, two up and fully laden. Driven over 13,000 km. People picking bilberries. Cheeky boy squirts water through window. Where’s an AK 47 when you need one? Drive through Biysk. Meet another Defender, French. Tim stops to natter. He and his wife have travelled all over – South America to Alaska, India. They are driving to Mongolia too, so we may meet up.
Collected some provisions for the next few weeks. A very drunk old man was hugging a lamp post. What a shame. Must have been an absolute down pour whilst we were in the shop, puddles everywhere. Will eat on the move, as we want to camp early tonight. Pork steaks for dinner. Very little fruit and veg in supermarket. NO POTATOES. Shocking.
I love the smell after rain. Rubbish bin overflowing with picnic remains. Bush break needed. Run out of fuel in main tank, although needle still says full. Wait whilst second tank pumps fuel through. People drying tobacco leaves, and selling them. A lot of local people heading towards us, going home after spending the weekend in the Altay mountains.
We enter the Altay region. Hills and cliffs, driving by river. Hoarding showing pictures of bears. I wonder. People returning with kayaks on the roof. Log cabins, bbqs, white water rafting, horse riding. Skiing in the winter. Stunning scenery. Never knew Siberia was like this. Camper vans and coaches parked up. Still more are coming down from the mountains.
Climbing. Roadworks through village. Smokehouse in a garden. Saw mill. Less tourists now. Following smaller stream. Some sort of cycling race, looks hard. Workmen strimming grass. Cows block our path. We wait. Fewer and fewer cars coming towards us now. Only the two Landys going our way. Crest the pass at just over 1,000 m. Need to get more travelling done today, will press on for another hour.
So, it’s 6 pm here, 12 noon at home. I wonder when the tennis final starts? Saw on Path that Rachel is up with Claire. Have a great weekend. Just two weeks left at school Claire?
Need to get solar shower set up, and fill the life saver with water, with several weeks camping ahead. Also need long sleeved tops for Mongolia, ready for the crossing tomorrow. We are so excited. This has been a dream for three years, and until halfway here we didn’t think we would make it. But here we are, less than 24 hours away.
Suddenly hear a whining sound from engine, when accelerating. We stop. Tim looks underneath. Atle has a furtle. Cattle interested for a minute, then carry on chewing. Nothing sinister. Drive a little more slowly, looking where to spend the night.
We soon pull off the road, by a river. There is a large overland vehicle further along, and many people seem to have been wild camping along the way. We try to align the Landys so our awnings meet in the middle. We may get it right after another four weeks. Soon set up camp. Our bedding is a bit damp from all the rain, so that comes out to air. We all eat pork and fresh veg we bought today. They have it with noodles and we have it with rice. Delicious. We sit looking at the scenery, and cannot believe we are in Siberia. It is stunningly beautiful.
Hilde and I tidy up, whilst Tim and Atle work on the cars. Soldering irons and other warmed up apparatus are needed. We try to call Gardners and Rachel on the sat phone, but no reply. Sorry to not have contacted you, but good that you are out and about on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Just before it goes dark, the Frenchman drives past in his Landy, tooting his horn very loudly. Wonder where they will camp tonight? Fishermen walk past, and settle down, light a fire and have a few hours tranquility. A few clouds, but the stars beginning to come out. Getting a bit chilly.
It has been a brilliant day. We all love the wild camping much better than hotels. It is home for us at the moment. We lose another hour tomorrow, so may head to bed early tonight.