Thursday, August 1, 2013

Arrived in Irkutsk and all is well

We had a smooth overnight flight on S7 Airlines from Moscow to Irkutsk, and arrived this morning at Irkutsk International Airport at 8:05, exactly on time. In previous years, our flights were regularly diverted to other regional airports due to fog, but this morning the Angara Valley was crystal clear. Our two translators, Ruslan and Sergey, greeted us and have been extraordinarily helpful all day. We are staying just for today and tonight at a dormitory in town: the residence hall of Irkutsk State University's Railway Studies program, on Ulitsa Lermontova. We are now all rested, well fed -- our banquet of Baikal omul, the famous local food fish, is today's photo -- showered, and ready to catch the 9:00 a.m. hydrofoil to Bol'shie Koty. The students are excited finally to get their first glimpse of the lake they've spent so much time studying. Student bloggers will take over tomorrow. Best wishes to all,
               Tom Hodge

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