On the River

Being on a guided tour takes some of the excitement out of our travel days although being catered to has some great benefits.  As we travel north the scenery in Russia is nothing like what I expected. It is mostly all forests with a few houses along the Volga or you will see a isolated group camping. It is devoid of industrialization and few roads are visible. Along the river we go up and down a total of 16 locks most of them done at night.

On board we have had Russian history updates which are informative but I still find it hard to keep everyone straight   There were language lessons and cooking Pelmeni. Napping in the afternoon is my new favorite thing to do since we seem to be getting up early since sunrise is at 3:30AM. Although it has been overcast so really not a great sunrise with blue skies

Along the river the towns we stop at are getting smaller and less populated although the area caters to the river boat traffic in the town of Yaroslavl the guides had 9 boats stop in one day. No wonder the market vendors were aggressive

In the town of Kuzino the monastery sits on the edge of a beautiful lake and was founded in 1397 with the cathedral completed in 1494. Lots of history as the monastery was a place of pilgrimage or tsars until Catherine the Great stripped it of the land and turned it into a prison. The church icons were saved and are still present in the Monastery museum dating back to the 1400’s

The highlight was a visit to the school to hear the students talk about there normal course of study and life for a typical student in this very tiny town