After sailing all night across Lake Ladoga, the largest lake in Europe, we entered the River Svir and continued northeastward for about 70 miles. After breakfast we had the first of two informational lectures given by members of the resident guide staff. The first was on the geography of the region through which we were traveling; the second was on "what to eat and what to take home" -- the Russian food delicacies and the folk crafts available. We learned that the Russians are good at adopting; for example that, borscht -- the beet soup -- is really Ukranian in origin, and that the idea for the Martioshka dolls (the dolls with the successively smaller dolls inside) was borrowed from the Japanese.
Our destination was Mandrogi, a small village on the Svir River which was revived starting in 1996 to be a magnet for skilled workmen in the folk trades (as well as for tourists). Houses and hotels were built in the old Russian medieval rustic style where the visitors can ride a pony cart around the village, wander through the crafts shops, and by appointment, go to a banya -- a Russian sauna -- for a steam room experience followed by a thrashing with linden branches and then a plunge in the river. Needless to say, we did not visit the banya.
On our return, we set sail again. This is my favorite part of the cruise -- to sit on the open deck or in one of the lounges to watch the landscape roll by. It is relaxing and restoring. And since the sun does not set until 11:00 p.m., there is lots of time to take it all in.
Tomorrow we visit the island of Kizhi, the home of the oldest wooden church in Russia. It is reported that no nails were used in the construction of this building, that all the pieces are notched together. we'll have a report tomorrow...
