In Abakan for a few more hours

Train leaves in three hours for a two day train trek to Irkutsk. I actually like the train rides, the chance to meet people, the chance to relax and feel the railroad rolling beneath us.

We got in yesterday from Kyzyl back to Abakan (five and a half hours by cab; eight and a half by bus) and checked into one of the station resting rooms - gender separated dorm rooms connected to the train station for only 170 roubles per night (about $6.80 Canadian). Sat up with some folks and tried to connect past our linguistic issues. Always lots of fun.

In Kyzyl, capital of the autonomous Tuva Republic, we went in search of a throat singer... We refused the private concert with five artists and ended up at the Khoomai centre i.e. Centre for Throat Singing. We met Zoya, the director of the centre, who mistook our request to learn about throat singing for a request to learn throat singing. She disappeared and returned five minutes later with Sergei, a well beloved teacher and master. So Chris, Sergei and I closed ourselves into a small room and he proceeded to spend the next 45 minutes with Chris teaching him to throat sing. Worry not, Chris has a long way to go yet and won't be regailing you with his own stylings but man, listening to Sergei was just out of this world. The five different types of khoomei from low pitch to rough to absolutely indescribably high pitch and bird song-esque... Sergei, about half the size of Chris, sat on the chair in complete calm and with the ease of a true master, filled the entire room with sound. It was really, really, really great. As I listened I could only feel the connection to something ancient, something from the Siberian steppe, from the nomadic Tuvan people of old. As touristy as it all sounds, it was one of the most powerful things of this trip.

We had our first snow a couple of days ago but in Kyzyl it had melted by afternoon. On the drive back to Abakan, though, we saw that the mountains and the taiga were full of snow. How the landscape had changed in just a few days from when we had gone to Kyzyl. The Finnish cliche, "Kylla luonto on kaunis" (Nature sure is beautiful) just kept ringing in my ears as I gazed upon the grasslands, the rocky mountains, the rolling hills, the valleys, the crystal clear river waters. I keep telling Chris that after all our art galleries and all our visits to Cathedrals, mosques, temples, there is still nothing that can compare to nature. It is one of those profoundly faithfilled experiences when you think, "God is the great creator". I said to Chris before we went to Kyzyl that it wasn't necessary for me to meet a shaman, that I sensed that seeing the landscape alone will let me understand from whence shamanism has sprung. It was true and still, we had the good fortune to hang out with the shamans.

In (much) more mundane news, we've both been fluctuating with feeling sick and feeling good. We both seem to have a perpetual stuffed/runny nose and sore throat comes and goes. We also have had some nasty traveller's curse with Chris being the sickest a few days ago with stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea and a high fever. Luckily it passed and he's back to his old self today. I keep thinking that for all the assaults our bodies take, it's always so neat how we have so many internal defense mechanisms that we can heal well. Sorry if this is too much detail but oddly, dealing with health issues always tends to take centre stage, especially when on the road.

Ah yes, a couple more things.

I forgot to attach the addresses of those folks/prisoners who might appreciate a penpal. If you're interested in writing (Russian, English or pictographs), send to:

Russia
Krasnoyarski Krai
G. Minusinsk
Ul. Gorkogo g. 114 43 24/2

or

Russia
Krasnoyarski Krai
G. Minusinsk
Ul. Gorkogo g. 114 YP 288/T

Also, Chris and I have bought a cell phone (alas!) as phone booths are not straightforward or easy to find. After so many years of resistance, who knew that this would be possible?

So, if you're interested, you can call us! Imagine the freedom... You may even be able to call with a calling card or one of those long distance plans so it won't be super expensive.

We're at 011-7-962-084-7671. The number might change when we go to Mongolia and we need to get a new SIM card. But anyway, there's a window of opportunity for y'all, at least for the next week.

Much love to everyone and will keep updating when we can. Miia