by Maitane Iturrate
Yakutsk, June 27, 2013
08.00 hrs (midnight in Zurich)
Today it is grey, windy and cold. We are ready for having breakfast, although still suffering from an awful jet-lag. Fruit, cheese, butter, yogurt … the table is full of all the luxurious things that we will miss in Kytalyk!
10.00hrs
We have to go to buy the last things before flying to Chokurdakh: batteries, life-vests, spikes … Raincoats, cameras, the shopping list and money, let’s go. We are glad to be able to go to the town to buy things, until we open the door: it’s raining cats and dogs!
“Tropical” storm effects in downtown Yakutsk (Photo: I. Juszak, June 2013)
The “roads” have turned to be rivers and the sidewalks and pedestrian crossings are lakes. It’s very difficult to walk along the muddy paths and in less than 10 minutes it feels like having a second skin (our trousers). But, at last, we manage to finalize all shopping without drowning. And the reward is a great lunch in a cafeteria. We are having a cup of tea and some unpronounceable little breads filled with different stuff: fish (type 1), fish and onions (type 2), fish (type 3), vegetables, rice and meat. I think I will love Sakha gastronomy.
14.15hrs
Inge and I are going to buy the heavy things listed on the shopping list. Our collaborators from the IBPC are helping us (thank you very much Stas and Sasha!). But first we arrange a group picture at the entrance of IBPC.
From left to right: Maitane Iturrate, Stas Ksenofontov, R. Shingubara, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, A. Sugimoto, Inge Juszak, T. Morozumi , Wasia (our fantastic driver) (Photo: G. Schaepman-Strub, June 2013)
We go by one of their cars. This time the trip is a little bit less scary than the first one (from airport to the pension), but I don’t know if I will get used to the way of driving here. We stop at four different places. In-between one of the stops, we have a “technical” problem on the road: a bull is trying to cross the road on a roundabout. Seeing from the reaction of the driver, I assume that this is something quite common for them, but for me it is a bit surprising. A bull! We finish the shopping quite soon. Now everything is ready and we are ready for the evening, and the plan looks great: having dinner enjoying local gastronomy in a restaurant and, after that, a typical dancing spectacle as preparation for the summer festival that will take place during the weekend (and we will miss it because we will already be in Kytalyk!).
21.45hrs
The evening schedule has undergone a little change. We needed to wait so long for being served that the show is already over when we arrive. The fish soup was nice and the deer meat with vegetables and potatoes (“patatas bravas” style) was also good! We are walking through town and take pictures of typical buildings that are suffering from the consequences of being built on permafrost: the electrical installation, the water pipe system …
From left top to bottom right: Consequences of permafrost on traditional buildings and on road conditions, electrical installations, while walking under the aerial heating pipe system (Photos: M. Iturrate, June 2013)
22.45hrs.
The day has come to an end (well, sunset is at 23:15 PM, sunrise at 03:25 AM with almost continuous twilight …). Summarizing the day, we did three things: shop for essentials, eat and take pictures. Yakutsk leaves again lasting impressions: everything is so different to all I have seen before. It is incredible to see the problems that they have to deal with when infrastructure conservation is needed due to permafrost. The ambiance is also very much different: the light, the dust in the air, traffic, and so forth. All factors together make us feel like traveling through time: A very special experience not to miss!