The Great Baikal Trail
Winter Project 2008

Severobaikal'sk - Northern Baikal

Project dates:  15th-26th March, 2008

In June last year 2007, after travelling through  Mongolia, my friend and I decided to also spend a short time in Siberia to see  this amazing Lake Baikal that I had previously read about. The five  days we spent at Listvyanka and Olkhon Island were definitely not enough for me,  and I knew that I would be back there again- I had fallen in love  with the Lake Baikal region! While staying at a homestay in Irkutsk, I was  told about 'a group' that was working on the lake and that one could stay  with.I was very interested to learn more about this group. On further  enquiries I was given more details about GBT by Natalya  Podkovyrova who we also stayed with and who works for the Baikal  Environmental Wave.

As soon as I returned home in  July I looked up the GBT website. My  first impression was that GBT appeared to be a very well organised  environmental group. All the information that I required about the projects and  the itinary , equipment needed etc was on the website. All my emails   requesting information etc were very promptly answered with all the information  supplied.

I knew that the GBT staff as well as the  volunteers would be great people, as all those interested in environmental  issues are very special people!

Briefly, the whole experience was far better  and more fun than I could ever have imagined!.

The GBT staff, Alona Mariasova, project  leader and Anya Belova, translator, were so friendly, always  concerned about us, our needs, our safety and comfort. I enjoyed all the outings  arranged for us, the hot baths, skiing, the Bam Museum, the Buryat Center,  the sauna and farewell meal. GBT really went out of their way to make sure  that we visited interesting places in and around Severobaikalsk. I really  appreciated all the effort they went to in making our stay in Severobaikalsk so  interesting and enjoyable.The director, teachers and students at STEE also went  out of their way to make us feel so welcome, to show us around SB,  and arranged the wonderful meal for us with traditional food, songs and  dances.It was a wonderful evening! All the people that I met while on  the project were very friendly, generous and made us feel so  welcome.

I enjoyed meeting and working with volunteers from  different countries, Switzerland, Germany and Russia.

I found the project to be extremely well  planned and organised, details of each days' itinary were explained to  us.

The weekend at Baikalskoe village was a wonderful  experience, as well as the hike on Lake Baikal and the hike across  the Sludyanka lake to the historic mines. I am so happy  that in the short time available we were able to complete an information board  and a pamhlet. I would have been very dissapointed if we had left without  completing these projects.I enjoyed working with all the volunteers, I  believe that we were a great team!

I felt that we all got on very well together and I  really enjoyed our small group which gave us more opportunity to get to  know each other and have lots of fun. All the meals together were very  special times.

My host family,Tanya, Elena and Nicolai   Kolosova were wonderful, so very friendly, hospitable, very generous and lots of  fun! They all went out of their way to make me feel welcome, Niclolai was  always available and so willing to transport me whenever needed, and Elena is a  wonderful cook! Even though they do not speak English, Tanya was always able to  translate, so we were able to discuss a lot of issues.It was a great  opportunity for Tanya to speak English. My sincere thanks to them, I really  appreciated all they did for me in making me feel so welcome and part of  their family.

For me, everything was exiting, it was all a  wonderful adventure!

The GBT project gave me the opportunity to visit  places that I would never have travelled to on my own.I was also able to  experience a part of the Siberian winter, lots of wonderful snow, my first ever  experience of snow! And of course, the frozen Lake Baikal, another amazing  experience!

Most importantly, it was an honour and a privilege  to have been given the opportunity to play a very small part in the  GBT project to build the first series of trails in Russia around Lake  Baikal, a UNESCO World heritage Site, the most beautiful lake in the  world!

I have now become a very good ambassador for  Russia, for Siberia, Buryatia, Lake Baikal and GBT. South Africans  generally have a very poor knowlege about this most beautiful part of the world,  its' very interesting history and environment, about the uniqueness of Lake  Baikal and the surrounding region, and about the pioneering work being done by  GBT. I am able to tell my friends and family about the wonderful  people I met, all the interesting places I saw, the very beautiful and  interesting architecture, the beautiful environment, and the traditional  cultures, food, dance and music that we enjoyed. I am also able to tell  them about the excellent work and dedication of GBT and other environmental  groups including all the very enthusiastic school children around   Severobaikalsk working to preserve and protect Lake  Baikal.

My only recommendations are:
 
1. that the time for the project is  lengthened to 14 days - I feel that 10 days was too short. I  would have liked our team to have completed at least another information  board.

2. that some free time is made available - Our  itinary was full of wonderful things to do and see, but I would also have  liked some free time just to walk around SB on my own, to go back to see  some of the places that we had seen, take some time to look at the shops,  market, etc. maybe find a banya!

3.The weekend at Baikalskoe village with the school  children creating tourist centers very well organised. All the work  they were given was relevant, but I feel that they needed some more  time for some of the things they were asked to complete. Sometimes they had  to really rush to try and complete the tasks. However I feel that this weekend  was a great success, and it was a privilege to have met and worked with school  children who are all so very enthusiastic about their environment and who want  tourists to visit the very interesting villages where they  live.

I would like to return again as a GBT  volunteer and will encourage others to do the same.

Please convey my sincere thanks and  appreciation to all concerned at GBT and STEE for this wonderful and  unforgettable experience!

Thank you to Alona and Anya, you were  wonderful!

My best wishes for success with all the GBT projects,

Marilyn Lilley

Cape Town

South Africa

 

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