At long last, Lake

Today we finally arrived at Lake Baikal — the most anticipated moment
of the summer! We had an early start in order to catch the hydrofoil
that took us up the Angara River and into the Southern Basin of the
lake. It was misty and windy on the ride, but as we settled into the
Biological Station in the village of Bol'shie Koty, the sky cleared
and we were able to get a good look around. We met Dr. Zhenya Zilov
who gave us a tour of the station and its museum. We ate delicious
homemade lunch and set out for a hike to Chernaia Pad' ("Black
Gulch"). On our hike, we stopped every few minutes to look at new
plants, flowers, and wildlife, but eventually we reached our
destination and sampled the lake sediment in the shallows. To cool
down from our hike, we jumped into the lake — a very exciting and
intense experience! Now we are settling in at the biostation and
looking forward to another interesting lecture tonight. Poka!
Maddy and Annie