I awoke to a bright sunny day. No rain during the night. I was happy about that. It still was relatively insect-free, just a few flies walking around on my hands. After driving thru all the dust yesterday, I decided to check my air filter for dirt. It didn’t look too bad. I brought with me dust covers that screen out the heavier dirt before it reaches the actual air cleaner. I put one on as a preventative measure to keep the dust out of the engine. The reason I put them on is because I’m anticipating much more dirt than less dirt. I put everything back together, oiled my chain, tore down my tent and loaded my bike. As I worked, the day shift flies were slowly returning. By the time I left the flies were taking over and I had to evacuate the area. I took several pictures showing how the flies were covering my tent and the plastic bags that I keep my maps in. I think there was one fly per square inch/25.4 square millimeters on my tent. I left my campsite and climbed the embankment back on to Highway M53. Today I’m going to get as near as possible to Angarsk, Siberia staying outside the city in a hotel or bush camp again. When I drive into the city of Irkutsk I want to enter the city at a time other than rush hour. It’s going to be hard enough to find the hotel without having to fight the traffic. I did encounter more dirt roads but it was mostly pavement all day. As I was nearing the city of Angarsk I saw a lake of off to my left and decided to pull in and clean my visor and radiator. I no more than got off my bike and was taking off my helmet when this girl walked up to me and started speaking English. She asked if I was really from Minnesota. I was quite surprised at her excellent English. She said she taught English at a University in Ulan-Ude. We talked some about my travels and a Russian gentleman who was also at the lake brought out a camera and took pictures of us and offered to send them to me. We invited him into the picture and Alla’s father took pictures of all of us. We also took pictures of Alla’s father, Alla, and myself, with my camera. I asked Alla if she could asked her dad if he knew of any tourist hotels in Irkutsk. He mentioned four hotels and I asked Alla to write them down in Russian so when I went looking for them most people could help me find one of the four. I then asked Alla if I could put my tent up in their yard and stay the night. Alla told me that her father asked her to ask me if I would like to come over for tea. I said I would, and Alla told me I could stay the night if I wanted. I accepted the invitation. I also told her I haven’t bathed in four days and might smell bad etc. etc. She said no problem. I followed Alla and her father to their home about a mile/2 kms away. I felt privileged to be invited into their home. They opened the gates to their house and I pushed my motorcycle in. I immediately met the dog. Rick R., I think the dog is the same breed as your dog. Alla told me the dog is used to protect sheep, goats and cattle from predators like coyotes or wolves. If that dog got out I would have been lunch. Her father then drove the car in and locked the gates. I was officially introduced to the family: Alla’s Father Konstantine, Mother Elena, older brother Sayan, older sister Tonya and of course Alla is the youngest. Alla’s mother promptly prepared a meal of eggs, cheese, bread and tea for me that tasted great. Alla also told me that they were preparing the sauna for me to take a bath. She said most rural homes/villages use saunas to bathe in as opposed to using a shower or bath. There is no infrastructure in the villages to handle sewer and water etc., so drinking water has to be brought into the home and not wasted. Rain water is collected off the roof to water the garden. I shaved and took a sauna. I don’t believe I had stepped into a sauna in 15 years. I told Alla to check back and make sure I was all right in ten minutes. She did. I about went into shock when I rinsed off with the cool water. That was a shock. I stayed outside for over 30 minutes just to cool down. Anyway, Alla’s mother cooked another meal for supper which I ate with Alla. I brought in my computer and cell phone and charged them up. As Alla and I talked I found out this is a very well educated family. Both her father, mother and brother are veterinarians. Her sister is a biologist and Alla is a linguist. I watched some news about the USA, went on a walk with Alla around the village and talked with her dad intil midnight. We talked about farming and some of the newer equipment that has been brought into Russia to improve farming practices. We all went to bed about midnight. I blew up my air mattress and slept with my sleeping bag on the floor. It was a great night’s sleep in a nice house.
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