Irkukst and Lake Baikal

We arrived into Irkutsk mid morning and were met by honcho Toli who took us to the little town of Listvyanka on the edge of Lake Baikal. We were taken on a small hike to a view point to get a better idea of how large Lake Baikal is - its the 6th largest in the world with an area of 31,500 sq. km. We could not see the other end of it!

That afternoon, we went and sat on the 'beach' and us brave (or mad) English decided that it would be fun to go for a quick swim. It definitely was quick as it was pretty cold (it freezes in winter!)

The following day, we went to the Baikal Museum that has lots of stuffed things and learnt more about the lake. We then took another walk up to a different view point before taking a boat trip with another Vodka Train group. We moored up and all decided to go for a swim. The only problem was that we had to jump/dive off the boat. Thankfully, Martin was on hand to take action photos! We didn't stay in the water long!

That night, Kealie and I had a Vodka party with the other Vodka Train group (who had had more experience of proper Russian vodka)!

The following day, we headed back to Irkutsk, ready for the afternoon train to Moscow!