Lunch in a Sami reindeer herder’s hut. Kola Peninsula, Russia.
It’s been a mad, mad week here on the tundra. Ilya Sherbovich, the owner of the Ponoi River Company, came to camp for the past several weeks. It was a pleasure to meet Ilya and I certainly look forward to having him back in the fall. His six-year-old son, Kostya, spent several days fishing on the river under the capable tutelage of guide Nik Sigov and left camp one very happy little man.
I’m seriously sleep deprived and feeling rather tragic that my waders have yet to see the waters of the Ponoi. Work comes first but I will be exceedingly happy when I can spend a few hours on the water and learn the nuances of the spey rod. The waders and the camera both need a little exercise.
Sami house on the tundra. As Alexei said, eyeing the pull-up bar, “Strong Sami”.
I did have the chance to run away for a few hours last week, though, and hiked through the tundra with a friend for an incredible lunch inside a Sami house! The Sami people are the native reindeer herders in the area; they are nomadic and this house had been empty for several months. After a good hike across the tundra it was nothing short of nirvana to escape the mosquitoes and eat a hot lunch. The reindeer pelts hanging about only added to the surrealism and we decided it was more like a little fairy tale house than anything else.
A few hours of R&R can make all the difference in a week and goes a very, very long way to keeping morale up for everyone. Staff members have been congregating in the bar late at night when the clients have gone to bed and trying our hand at Prudoe, a dice game that a fabulous client from our first week left behind for us. It’s become a valuable time to kick back a relax with friends, even just for a little bit.
Tags: Ponoi Project
{ 0 comments… add one now }