Russia and 4x4.
Friday,
September 2nd.
Weather-wise we have
hit the jackpot this trip. Again a beautiful day. Perhaps not that warm
today, but it is sunny.
Yesterday we agreed to depart at half past nine. Mark and the children who camped just outside the view of the group, are set to go and are driving up the site at half past eight. We are still having breakfast. Oops, little misunderstanding therefore. But since we will start with crossing the river along which we camp, Mark can use the time to start the crossing. It's not really deep, but the bank at the other side is rather steep and sandy. With some winching Mark eventually concurs. Close to half past nine we depart as well.
Neil, with some effort, gets up. Vaughn as a precaution is winched.
First I give it a try without lockers to get up but that fails. With
lockers engaged no problem. Also Alex and Folkert have no problem.
We follow a gravelroad along the coast line of the White Sea to the south east. Asphalt we have not seen for a long time, but the surface has been leveled recently therefore it's a nice drive.
Soon we branch off
and follow a track parallel to the main road. That is much more fun.
After a small river crossing, Mark has a problem. All of a sudden he
has no more traction. At first we think of the clutch. The pedal feels
strange, but there is no smell of a burned clutch plate. Then Mark
suspects that the transfer doesn't change gear. He tries to get it
engaged from underneath but doesn't succeed.
Then Neil decides to tow him to the next resting point. There is a shipwreck and we will pause over there. Half an hour later we arrive. Mark starts wrenching. Jade and Adam, Mark's children, get in Alex's car and we set off by means of the beach to the wreck. That almost turns into a bad experience. It is a drive on a soft soil and Vaughn is frightened to force his car, communicates that by means of the CB and stops. And sinks promptly. Neil turns back to help him and immediately gets stuck as well. I see that happen, mistrust it and drive on to an area with many stones and that looks mre or less firm, before I stop. It seems like quicksand.
Where you walk the ground moves, even here.
I point Folkert to a firm spot so he can assist Neil to get out. In the meantime I turn to Vaughn who will become winched by Alex, to assist them. We winch Vaughn out rearward. I agreed with Vaughn that if I sign him he just tries to drive towards my car without stopping or slowing down. And that succeeds. More carefully and without Vaughn and Lisa we go on to the wreck without difficulties.
Neil is disappointed to find out that the wreck is being taken apart. A group of men is, with the help of torches, separating large pieces of metal and moving them to the edge of the beach. In a month or so the wreck will be gone..
When we return to Mark, he still has not succeeded in getting power to the wheels.
Neil then decides that the group will continue the travel and that he remains with Mark. Folkert and Netty, being support car, get the necessary information and instructions and so four cars continue.
Three Toyotas and a Discovery. We just follow the coast line. We pass a couple of small settlings, a deserted but well maintained little chapel and a solitary rock in sea 'The sole Apostle'.
And again some river crossings. By five o'clock we reach a second wreck. A trawler. Because of the high tide we cannot get to it at the moment. Near this wreck, but well inland we make camp. That has been agreed with Neil and if Mark gets his car fixed, we will meet them here again.
Saturday, September 3.
Again a very nice day. Along the sea to the east. Lots of small rivers here to the sea and therefore also many crossings. Some are easy. Others somewhat more cumbersome. The track is often not visible and we have to find our way. Folkert leads.
In turn everyone gets bogged down eventually. A few times I'm lucky and can get past Folkert, the moment he hangs, so I can act as an anchor point for him to winch himself free, but it also happens the other way around. Big fun. By eleven o'clock we get bogged down entirely.
Here it is a swampy area and we explore in several directions but do not seem to be able to get out easily. On the map the area is also marked swampy. Another possibility is retrace our tracks, but we don't want to do this. We decide to move over to the beach, follow it for some distance to the east and then get back on track. This way said, this way done. We get back on track and start for the last few easy kilometres to the turning point.
What did you say? Easy? Yes. And funny.
So everyone is chattering about on the CB. Then Folkert, being first, clashes into a large and unexpected deep puddle. By CB he warns the rest of the group. At the moment Lisa is replying they dive into the same puddle. Despite the warning Lisa is completely taken by surprise and her nice and polite reply like "Okay Folkert, thank you for the warning." Changes in "Okay Folkert, thank you for the warn.....Blood... H.ll !!!!! That was deep !!!"
And indeed. It's spectaculair to see how deep their Disco dives into the water and moments later emerges again like a speedboat.
At the strike of 12 we arrive at the turning point near the ferry to the village of Kuzumo. At 66° 16 min 04 sec North and 36° 56 min 27 sec East (WGS 84).
No, we do not cross. Neil is afraid the ferry-man will immediately convert the earned money into spirits and that we won't be able to return for the next few days.
At the beach we enjoy the sunshine and pause for an hour. Then we turn
back.
At first a considerable distance along the beach. Till the point where the second wreck is and where we camped. Then, forced by the rising tide we are forced back on the track.
Later on we change over to the main road and get some speed to return
in time to the previous campsite where Neil and Mark must be.
At speed we pass a lorry seemingly about to tip over, right wheels in a ditch.
That does not look very well. Two men are standing nearby and signal us to stop.
Apparently they are part of the group of men demolishing the wreck we saw yesterday. We do not understand them and neither do they understand us.
From the tracks I can see that the driver has reversed and did not pay attention to where he was going, ending up in the ditch. It looks as if nobody is wounded but they might want us to free their lorry from the dangerous situation. The thing is enormous and capable of dragging our cars into the depth, should they be connected to it. Then a Russian lorry stops.
While that driver and the two men of ' our ' lorry start talking I am hit by the smell of alcohol. These guys have been drinking, and quite a bit!
Folkert does not want to take any risk and decides that we go on. Very well.
Shortly before reaching the camp we try to drive along the sea again to end up at the spot where can cross the river again to the camp.
We branch of from the main road and get bogged down. At that moment I am in first position. I'm only just able to pass the obstacle by using the beach and flooring the throttle, but this will be impossible for Vaughn and because of the rising tide we must take no risk. By CB I warn the others not to follow. They return to the main road to find another route to the camp. We will have to follow the track we are on now to avoid having to pass that obstacle again.
When Yvonne and I take a little pee-pause, all of a sudden I hear a strange sound. I think of iron on iron but then I realise that it must be birds. I dash to the car, grab the video and get a couple of seconds of an overflying flock of cranes. How beautiful.
Around a quarter to four we reach the camp.
However, to make it to the other side of the river it's a firm crossing, the tide being high.
Once in the camp we are told that Mark's car really is unserviceable. The clutch is shot.
He will be towed to Finland by Neil and probably repatriated by means of the RAC.
We get ourselves set up nicely at our possibly last campspot in Russia. Tomorrow we might spend
the night in a hotel near the border. For now there is a nice campfire and stories to tell.
Yesterday we agreed to depart at half past nine. Mark and the children who camped just outside the view of the group, are set to go and are driving up the site at half past eight. We are still having breakfast. Oops, little misunderstanding therefore. But since we will start with crossing the river along which we camp, Mark can use the time to start the crossing. It's not really deep, but the bank at the other side is rather steep and sandy. With some winching Mark eventually concurs. Close to half past nine we depart as well.
 |
 |
We follow a gravelroad along the coast line of the White Sea to the south east. Asphalt we have not seen for a long time, but the surface has been leveled recently therefore it's a nice drive.
Soon we branch off
and follow a track parallel to the main road. That is much more fun.
After a small river crossing, Mark has a problem. All of a sudden he
has no more traction. At first we think of the clutch. The pedal feels
strange, but there is no smell of a burned clutch plate. Then Mark
suspects that the transfer doesn't change gear. He tries to get it
engaged from underneath but doesn't succeed. Then Neil decides to tow him to the next resting point. There is a shipwreck and we will pause over there. Half an hour later we arrive. Mark starts wrenching. Jade and Adam, Mark's children, get in Alex's car and we set off by means of the beach to the wreck. That almost turns into a bad experience. It is a drive on a soft soil and Vaughn is frightened to force his car, communicates that by means of the CB and stops. And sinks promptly. Neil turns back to help him and immediately gets stuck as well. I see that happen, mistrust it and drive on to an area with many stones and that looks mre or less firm, before I stop. It seems like quicksand.
Where you walk the ground moves, even here.
 |
 |
 |
I point Folkert to a firm spot so he can assist Neil to get out. In the meantime I turn to Vaughn who will become winched by Alex, to assist them. We winch Vaughn out rearward. I agreed with Vaughn that if I sign him he just tries to drive towards my car without stopping or slowing down. And that succeeds. More carefully and without Vaughn and Lisa we go on to the wreck without difficulties.
Neil is disappointed to find out that the wreck is being taken apart. A group of men is, with the help of torches, separating large pieces of metal and moving them to the edge of the beach. In a month or so the wreck will be gone..
 |
 |
When we return to Mark, he still has not succeeded in getting power to the wheels.
Neil then decides that the group will continue the travel and that he remains with Mark. Folkert and Netty, being support car, get the necessary information and instructions and so four cars continue.
Three Toyotas and a Discovery. We just follow the coast line. We pass a couple of small settlings, a deserted but well maintained little chapel and a solitary rock in sea 'The sole Apostle'.
 |
 |
 |
 |
And again some river crossings. By five o'clock we reach a second wreck. A trawler. Because of the high tide we cannot get to it at the moment. Near this wreck, but well inland we make camp. That has been agreed with Neil and if Mark gets his car fixed, we will meet them here again.
 |
 |
 |
Saturday, September 3.
Again a very nice day. Along the sea to the east. Lots of small rivers here to the sea and therefore also many crossings. Some are easy. Others somewhat more cumbersome. The track is often not visible and we have to find our way. Folkert leads.
 |
 |
In turn everyone gets bogged down eventually. A few times I'm lucky and can get past Folkert, the moment he hangs, so I can act as an anchor point for him to winch himself free, but it also happens the other way around. Big fun. By eleven o'clock we get bogged down entirely.
Here it is a swampy area and we explore in several directions but do not seem to be able to get out easily. On the map the area is also marked swampy. Another possibility is retrace our tracks, but we don't want to do this. We decide to move over to the beach, follow it for some distance to the east and then get back on track. This way said, this way done. We get back on track and start for the last few easy kilometres to the turning point.
 |
What did you say? Easy? Yes. And funny.
So everyone is chattering about on the CB. Then Folkert, being first, clashes into a large and unexpected deep puddle. By CB he warns the rest of the group. At the moment Lisa is replying they dive into the same puddle. Despite the warning Lisa is completely taken by surprise and her nice and polite reply like "Okay Folkert, thank you for the warning." Changes in "Okay Folkert, thank you for the warn.....Blood... H.ll !!!!! That was deep !!!"
And indeed. It's spectaculair to see how deep their Disco dives into the water and moments later emerges again like a speedboat.
At the strike of 12 we arrive at the turning point near the ferry to the village of Kuzumo. At 66° 16 min 04 sec North and 36° 56 min 27 sec East (WGS 84).
No, we do not cross. Neil is afraid the ferry-man will immediately convert the earned money into spirits and that we won't be able to return for the next few days.
 |
At first a considerable distance along the beach. Till the point where the second wreck is and where we camped. Then, forced by the rising tide we are forced back on the track.
 |
 |
 |
At speed we pass a lorry seemingly about to tip over, right wheels in a ditch.
That does not look very well. Two men are standing nearby and signal us to stop.
Apparently they are part of the group of men demolishing the wreck we saw yesterday. We do not understand them and neither do they understand us.
From the tracks I can see that the driver has reversed and did not pay attention to where he was going, ending up in the ditch. It looks as if nobody is wounded but they might want us to free their lorry from the dangerous situation. The thing is enormous and capable of dragging our cars into the depth, should they be connected to it. Then a Russian lorry stops.
While that driver and the two men of ' our ' lorry start talking I am hit by the smell of alcohol. These guys have been drinking, and quite a bit!
Folkert does not want to take any risk and decides that we go on. Very well.
Shortly before reaching the camp we try to drive along the sea again to end up at the spot where can cross the river again to the camp.
We branch of from the main road and get bogged down. At that moment I am in first position. I'm only just able to pass the obstacle by using the beach and flooring the throttle, but this will be impossible for Vaughn and because of the rising tide we must take no risk. By CB I warn the others not to follow. They return to the main road to find another route to the camp. We will have to follow the track we are on now to avoid having to pass that obstacle again.
When Yvonne and I take a little pee-pause, all of a sudden I hear a strange sound. I think of iron on iron but then I realise that it must be birds. I dash to the car, grab the video and get a couple of seconds of an overflying flock of cranes. How beautiful.
 |
Around a quarter to four we reach the camp.
However, to make it to the other side of the river it's a firm crossing, the tide being high.
Once in the camp we are told that Mark's car really is unserviceable. The clutch is shot.
He will be towed to Finland by Neil and probably repatriated by means of the RAC.
We get ourselves set up nicely at our possibly last campspot in Russia. Tomorrow we might spend
the night in a hotel near the border. For now there is a nice campfire and stories to tell.
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