28th Aug - Russian Sauna

I was going to head off today but I wanted a wash and Aider suggested that I wait for the water to heat up - apparently it would take 2.5 hours. I thought it would be interesting to try a Banja (a Russian sauna) and so thought I would wait and faff on my blog again for a while. It ended up beign 4 hours before the Banja was available for me to take my turn. I was very happy in the warmth playing with GPS tracks though.

The Banja was really good. I can understand now why so many people have them and how people manage to wash and still keep warm in the Siberian winter. The door to the building is coated with a sheep's coat and when inside it is really very warm. There is a stove in the corner which heats up all of the water. There were about 4 buckets full of the stuff. A Banja is basically a wash with hot water while in a sauna. It is very comfortable to take off all of your clothes and pour the water over your head. It was a good experience.

After the Banja I packed up all of my things and was ready to get going at about 5 - when Aider once again suggested that I should just stay one more night and head off first thing in the morning. I was not sure but then the weather turned to rain again - decision made.


This is the view from their back garden.


This is the loo at the bottom of their garden. Most houses have electricity but no plumbing in Siberia. The water is collected for drinking and bathing from the stream that runs behind their house.

I did not go to sleep as early as I should as I as faffing around with formulas on my spreadsheet - sad git!


I was very glad to spend some time with a Siberian family and see how they live on a daily basis, to catch up on my diary and just have a few days relaxing. It was interesting to try some new foods as well.

Aider told me all about the bears and the wolves in the area. It did make me rather apprehensive about the idea of camping tomorrow night...