Amazing Things

Special Moments

Interesting landscapes and pleasant roads are critical elements of a good motorcycling tour. But I’ve found that the most amazing and memorable experiences result from meeting and interacting with people whose way of life is significantly different from ours.  This Russian scouting trip has offered amazing experiences. It’s also provided a reminder that it’s sometimes easy to let them slip through your fingers.

As Sveta and I traveled through the small village of Elmos, we spotted a quaint chapel on the shores of a beautiful lake.  The chapel was located a few hundred yards from the road and we decided to walk to it to take a photo. An elderly man appeared, unlocked the door to the chapel, and invited us inside.  Anatoliy introduced himself and explained (in Russian of course) that he lived a few houses away and that he had built the chapel with his own hands. He explained details of the chapel’s construction and was pleased with our expressions of admiration.  As we thanked him for the personal tour and prepared to leave, he encouraged us to join him and his wife in their home for lunch.

Sveta and I had been taking our time stopping for photos during our trek north.  Fellow traveler Sergey Gruzdev was already a few hundred kilometers ahead, waiting for us in Rabocheostrovsk.  We thanked Anatoliy for the offer but politely declined.  He insisted that we permit him to host us, explaining that he had a very nice wife who would be happy to meet us and would be pleased to prepare lunch. We relented and followed him to his home.

Nina, Anatoliy’s wife of 50 years, welcomed us as though we were family members who had arrived for an annual visit. Svetlana’s translation skills were running full tilt as the four of us discussed a wide range of subjects.  Anatoliy and Nina were happy to share information about their lives.  Nina prepared soup and a Russian dish that I had never had – tvorog.  It tasted a bit like cottage cheese but was different than anything I had eaten before. We were also offered a variety of home made jams.

Anatoliy offered wine that he had been saving for a “special occasion”.  Since Sveta was driving she politely refused the offer and opted for tea, while I happily joined Anatoliy in drinking some wine.

Nina and Anatoliy encouraged us to return for another visit and encouraged me to return again with my family and to stay in their home.  Sveta and I were appreciative of the unexpected and pleasant experience and promised to stop again for photos and a brief visit when passing through on tour next year.

We continued to Rabocheostrovsk and rejoined Serge, who had already located the hotel and insured that we had rooms. The next morning we boarded a boat for the Solovetsky Islands and spent the day visiting the monastery and later the gulag museum.

This was to be the northernmost point of our scouting trip and as we were returning to Rabocheostrovsk on the boat, Sveta and I decided to forego our second night there and to head south, toward St. Petersburg.  We wouldn’t be on the road until after 5 pm but with sunset at nearly midnight we decided to get a head start to one of our next major stops, Sortavala on Lake Ladoga. We said our farewells to Serge, who decided to stay a second night in Rabocheostrovsk before leaving early in the morning to return directly to Moscow.

Water, Water, Everywhere

As I write this blog entry, I’m reflecting on the amount of time we’ve spent on water. We’ve been on the White Sea and on the two largest lakes in Europe. We’ve traveled by boat to Valaam on Lake Ladoga (Europe’s largest lake), to Kizhi Island on Lake Onega, and to the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea.

I haven’t forgotten that the purpose of this trip is to lay out motorcycle tours in Russia. I like to incorporate attractions that feature interesting aspects of the territory we’re visiting. Look at a map of the Karelia region and you’ll understand why we’ll probably incorporate a nautical twist into some of our Russian tours. Our vehicle’s navigation system has been displaying blue more than any other color.  It’s a reminder of our watery surroundings even when views of the nearby lakes are hidden by lush forests.There are thousands of islands in the region; Lake Onega is home to more than 1,600 of them alone.  Many are home to visual treasures in the form of exquisite monasteries, churches, lodges and picturesque fishing villages and other settlements.

Each island that we visited provided something of interest, but the experiences were dissimilar.  Kizhi offered “postcard perfect” photo opportunities in a World Heritage museum environment and is the most frequently visited of the islands we called on.  I had been looking forward to the visit to the Solovetsky Islands most, but felt a bit uncomfortable while there.  It was probably psychological, owing to the history of the island as the Soviet Union’s most famous gulag. It seems to have retained an aura of angst. I felt that our excursion to Valaam on Lake Ladoga offered the best opportunity to enjoy a Russian “island experience”.

We visited the dock near our hotel in Sortavala where large boats capable of transporting a hundred or so tourists at a time to the popular island destination of Valaam were preparing to begin their day.  Sveta hoped to find an alternative to the large boats that would offer a more exclusive and more intimate experience.  She struck pay dirt when she found Vladimir – a retired career Russian military officer who operated a small converted fishing boat capable of comfortably accommodating as many as 16 or 18 passengers.  We boarded and examined the boat and Sveta confirmed that a private excursion that included shashlik – a traditional Russian BBQ – could be arranged on one of the lovely islands for our tours.  Vladimir offered to give us a preview with a trip to Valaam in a small speedboat.

Shortly after leaving the docks at Sortavala behind, Vladimir pulled close to the shore of one of the islands to let us have a close-up view of president Putin’s heavily guarded lakefront dacha. He continued on to Valaam, pausing now and then to share points of interest along the way. He pulled the boat next to a high cliff to show us an interesting heart-shaped formation and he began to relate a popular legend about how the formation came to be.

Sveta was translating for me but I began to lose interest, turned on my iPhone, and began checking for a cellular signal.  Vladimir was apparently puzzled at my lack of interest (and perhaps bad manners) and Sveta gently suggested that I should pay attention to what he was trying to show us. At the conclusion of our tour, Sveta made an interesting and insightful observation.

“Ron, you have been everywhere and have seen many amazing things.  You are not easily impressed, but Vladimir was trying to show us what may well have been one of the most amazing things HE has ever seen and he was very proud to be able to share it with us.”

Sveta was right, of course, and I regret not having been more attentive.  But the experience made me realize what a fine job Vladimir had done as a tour leader in resisting a pitfall that those of us in the business know it’s important to avoid.  Vladimir exhibited excitement and enthusiasm about an amazing sight that he had surely shared numerous times before. Shame on me for not having rewarded his efforts by reciprocating with more enthusiasm.

Riders expect us to introduce them to amazing and memorable things that they would not be likely to discover on their own.  When a tour leader tires of enthusiastically introducing customers to amazing experiences, the customer loses. Ultimately, we lose as well.

So now, on to St. Petersburg and Moscow.