Just think where we are in the world!!

Yesterday we visited the Lake Baikal Museum which was really interesting. Although there was no English translation there were some brilliant displays and they showed how the lake has developed.
there is a big research project looking at the past and future development of the lake and the statistics are amazing.

Lake Baikal is the biggest lake in the world and unlike the Great Wall of China it can be seen from space! It hold 80s% of the fresh water in Russian and 20% of the fresh water in the world.

There are several unique species including seals, dolphins and several types of fish including the omul which we hope to try tonight.

The lake is 650km long and 60 wide and is 1.6km deep in parts!

Google it and have a look. It takes two weeks for the fishing boats to travel from one end to the other.

We had looked at the lake on maps before we came and still cannot quite get our heads round the size and importance of this place to the planet. And we also can't quite get our heads round how remote the village is and therefore how far from home we are

I keep saying to Tone "just think where we are"

There are magnificent views of the snow covered mountains that surround the lake and which the train will pass through over the next two days on its way to Harbin.

As we sat at dinner in the hotel (remember the dinner?) ice flows were passing in the current and as they bumped together big sparkly splinters of ice rose up and forms wonderful fan like shapes before collapsing as they ice moved on.

Lizzie has taken 100's of photographs of the ice on the lake, I have no idea how she will cull them but whatever she has left will fill an album! It is spectacular, sparkles, colours, shapes all defy imagination. Tony.

As we sat in the sun yesterday on the hotel terrace when it was warm and sunny in the shelter and yet almost freezing if you ventured from the sheltered side of the hotel I again thought and said "just think where we are in the world"

Wonderful awe inspiring place