Our guide shows Leila where we are on the map of Olkhon Island
Leila sneaks up to take a picture of Hudson
Vast, rolling grassy fields and pine trees cover the Siberian landscape
It's difficult to get a sense of how huge these cliffs are from pictures. To get a sense of scale, look at the tip of the highest rock--that little white speck is me waving my arms!
Leila looks over the precipice
This picture is a zoom-in of the top center portion of the one above
Do you see Hudson at the top of the cliff? We had a competition from there to see who could throw a rock and reach the water...it's a lot harder than it looks!
A shamanic offering pole on the northernmost tip of Olkhon Island
Kim, Leila, our guide and Hudson
The sunset was absolutely spectacular. Apart from being unusually long, the reflection in the water created a sparkling display of colorful reflections, not unlike an inverted fireworks show.
Post-sunset, the pinkish glow continues
On subsequent days we explored the east and south parts of Olkhon
I have no idea why the water pooled in this rock is red
A small village on the way back to Kuzhir. You can see the Shaman rocks in the background
The main road to Kuzhir
A shamanic site
Installation of new power lines to bring electricity to the island
The lone tree
Leila on the rocks
My turn
The dark speck on the front of the big boulder at the top is Leila, which gives you a sense for how high the island climbs out of the lake.
These are lakes inside the island. Which is kind of interesting, if you think about it: a lake, in the middle of an island, in the middle of a lake...
Our guide Anatoly
Pablo reviews his pictures
Anatoly and Leila check out a field of Edelweiss
These super-friendly Russian vacationers were camping at the beach. We spoke for a few minutes and then they generously gave me a bottle of Premierskaya vodka as a gift. Woo-hoo!
