The flight into Ryabaga Camp.
I’ve arrived in Ryabaga Camp! We left Murmansk yesterday morning and took a three and a half hour bus ride through the tundra to the little town of Lovozero. Then a group of sixteen of us loading onto an Mi-8 for the two hour ride across the Kola Peninsula to Ryabaga.
It was my first flight in a helicopter and certainly seemed like a fitting one. Sitting on bench seats surrounded by a team of people speaking Russian and piles of various luggage and supplies at my feet, I was struck by a sense of surrealism. A week ago I was walking the harbor in Olympia, Washington. Now I’m in Russia at a fly fishing camp working with what seems to be shaping up to be a fascinating group of individuals.
Inside a Russian Mi-8 packed with sixteen people, luggage and supplies.
The river is astounding. After being in Texas in the desert for the past year, seeing this much water in one place brought a big smile to my face. It’s up; around 800 cubic meters per second, and should drop to around 400 through the season. This is rich, dark water. Darker water than I’ve seen before. The guides have been out setting up river tents along the way – basically lunch stops for clients – and come back bundled up, cold and wet. Temperatures were around 45 F yesterday with clouds and wind; today looks to be dawning still and partly sunny. Mentally, at least, that should help keep it a bit warmer.
We are prepping the camp today and tomorrow with the first week’s guests expected to arrive Saturday. I have no doubt it will prove to be a mad first few weeks as I learn the camp, learn the job, and get to know my new teammates. Much of the camp staff doesn’t speak English or has a very limited knowledge; I look forward to learning some Russian but for the moment we’re getting by with hand gestures and pantomiming.
Internet connection is a bit slow (satellite) so posting may be a bit infrequent. Rest assured, though, the updates will be coming.
Tags: Ponoi Project
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