Today has Ben a bit disappointing. I had really been looking forward to seeing Lake Baikal and spending some relaxing time there. It wasn't to be. It took about an hour before I reached the lake. I hadn't just set off after chatting to a couple of policemen about the car (at least they looked like policemen) and there it was on the left.
Lake Baikal is the largest fresh water lake in the world and it certainly is big. The mountains on the other side frame it well. I couldn't see a logical place to get down to the water so kept going. The main railway line, the one the Trans Siberian Express runs along is between the road and the lake. There are mountains surrounding the lake and several of them still had snow on the top. very picturesque. Views of the lake were few as there was mostly a stretch of treed blocking the view.
I stopped for breakfast/morning tea and googled details about the lake. It seemed the best place was to the far South West of the lake. So I kept going but when I got there I couldn't even find a way down to the water over the railway. Eventually I found a track on got to touch the lakes water. I was tempted to paddle but it was cold and the rocks looked slippery.
The road around the lake is as bad as any I've encountered so far.
Dinar, who had done so much to help me in Khabarovsk, had told me that he had a friend in Irkutsk who could help me if I needed it. So I decided I should call him and see if his friend could get me to a workshop where I could fix my oil leak and try and clean out my carburetor jets. Well after many calls and messages, I met Dimar's friend and he got me to a workshop. By then it was after 6PM so would have to wait until tomorrow. The mechanics are thinking it might be a crankshaft front seal (the pulley end) and there is oil around there. However, I'm not too keen on them trying to change it in case they can't get a new seal that will fit. I'm wondering if I should have just kept on driving and just kept pouring oil into it. I am hoping that a clean of the carb will give me a bit more power to climb hills. Looking at those snow covered peaks had me a bit worried.
Hopefully it will all get fixed in the morning and I'll be on my way towards Novosibirsk (~1900km).
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